World number one women tennis players

Number one ranked female tennis players at year-end.

1883-1920 rankings

1883-1920 rankings^{[citation needed]} are more variable in nature because of limited sourcing.

Year	Players	Country	Sources and Notes
1883	Maud Watson	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1884	Maud Watson	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1885	Maud Watson	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1886	Maud Watson	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1887	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1888	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1889	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1890	Louisa Martin	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1891	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1892	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1893	Lottie Dod	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1894	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1895	Louisa Martin	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Pastime classification of British players
1896	Louisa Martin	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British players
1897	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British Players
1898	Charlotte Cooper	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British Players
1899	Louisa Martin	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British players
1900	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British players
1901	Charlotte Cooper Sterry	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis classification of British players
1902	Muriel Robb	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis and Croquet classification of British players
1903	Louisa Martin	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis and Croquet classification of British players; German International Rankings
1904	Dorothea Douglass	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players and Lawn Tennis classification of British players
1905	May Sutton	United States	The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players and the American and Australian visitors
1906	Dorothea Douglass	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players and the American and Australian visitors and German International Rankings
1907	May Sutton	United States	[citation needed]
1908	May Sutton	United States	[citation needed]
1909	May Sutton	United States	The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players and the American and Australian visitors
1910	Dorothea Douglass Chambers	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	[citation needed]
1911	Dorothea Douglass Chambers	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	[citation needed]
1912	May Sutton	United States	[citation needed]
1913	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	[citation needed]
1914	Dorothea Douglass Chambers	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	[citation needed]
1915–1918	None (World War I)		world rankings static with Dorothea Douglass Chambers in the #1 position[citation needed]
1919	Suzanne Lenglen	France	[citation needed]
1920	Suzanne Lenglen	France	[citation needed]

1921–present

More recent rankings are much better sourced.

Year	Players	Country	Sources and Notes
1921	Suzanne Lenglen (1)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, The Daily Telegraph (London)
1922	Suzanne Lenglen (2)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, The Daily Telegraph (London)
1923	Suzanne Lenglen (3)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, The Daily Telegraph (London)
1924	Suzanne Lenglen (4)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, The Daily Telegraph (London)
1925	Suzanne Lenglen (5)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1926	Suzanne Lenglen (6)/(6)	France	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1927	Helen Wills Moody (1)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1928	Helen Wills Moody (2)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1929	Helen Wills Moody (3)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1930	Helen Wills Moody (4)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1931	Helen Wills Moody (5)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1932	Helen Wills Moody (6)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1933	Helen Wills Moody (7)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
1934	Dorothy Round Little	United Kingdom	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London)
	Helen Jacobs (1)/(2)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis
1935	Helen Wills Moody (8)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Pierre Gillou, president of the French Tennis Federation
1936	Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling	Denmark	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis
	Helen Jacobs (2)/(2)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London); Fred Perry
1937	Anita Lizana	Chile	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis
1938	Helen Wills Moody (9)/(9)	United States	Wallis Myers, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Pierre Gillou, president of the French Tennis Federation
1939	Alice Marble	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Gordon Lowe; John Olliff
1940–1945	None (World War II)		The U.S. Championships was the only Grand Slam tournament held from 1941 through 1944. The Australian Championships was held in 1940 but then went into hiatus until 1946. The French Championships resumed in 1945. Although there were no world rankings during this period, the United States Lawn Tennis Association continued to rank players from the United States during the war years. The top ranked players during this period were Alice Marble (1940), Sarah Palfrey Cooke (1941 and 1945), and Pauline Betz Addie (1942, 1943, and 1944).
1946	Pauline Betz Addie	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Pierre Gillou, president of the French Tennis Federation; John Olliff
1947	Margaret Osborne duPont (1)/(4)	United States	John Olliff, Lawn Tennis Almanack
	Louise Brough Clapp (1)/(3)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis
1948	Margaret Osborne duPont (2)/(4)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; John Olliff, Lawn Tennis Almanack
	Louise Brough Clapp (2)/(3)	United States	Pierre Gillou, president of the French Tennis Federation
1949	Margaret Osborne duPont (3)/(4)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Pierre Gillou, president of the French Tennis Federation; John Olliff
1950	Margaret Osborne duPont (4)/(4)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; John Olliff, Lawn Tennis Almanack
1951	Doris Hart (1)/(2)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; John Olliff, Lawn Tennis Almanack
1952	Maureen Connolly Brinker (1)/(3)	United States	Ned Potter, American Lawn Tennis; Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London)
1953	Maureen Connolly Brinker (2)/(3)	United States	World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London)
1954	Maureen Connolly Brinker (3)/(3)	United States	World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London)
1955	Doris Hart (2)/(2)	United States	World Tennis magazine (U.S.)
	Louise Brough Clapp (3)/(3)	United States	Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London)
1956	Shirley Fry Irvin	United States	World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London)
1957	Althea Gibson (1)/(2)	United States	Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1958	Althea Gibson (2)/(2)	United States	Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1959	Maria Bueno (1)/(4)	Brazil	Lance Tingay, Daily Mail (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1960	Maria Bueno (2)/(4)	Brazil	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1961	Angela Mortimer Barrett	United Kingdom	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1962	Margaret Court (1)/(7)	Australia	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1963	Margaret Court (2)/(7)	Australia	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1964	Margaret Court (3)/(7)	Australia	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London)
	Maria Bueno (3)/(4)	Brazil	Ned Potter, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll; Ulrich Kaiser
1965	Margaret Court (4)/(7)	Australia	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll; Sport za Rubezhom (Russia)
1966	Billie Jean King (1)/(6)	United States	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Pierre de Thier, Belgium
	Maria Bueno (4)/(4)	Brazil	Bruce Walkley, Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1967	Billie Jean King (2)/(6)	United States	Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); British Lawn Tennis Reader's Poll
1968	Billie Jean King (3)/(6)	United States	Bud Collins; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Rino Tommasi; Ulrich Kaiser; Seagram's (panel of experts)
1969	Margaret Court (5)/(7)	Australia	Bud Collins; Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Rino Tommasi
1970	Margaret Court (6)/(7)	Australia	Bud Collins; Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Judith Elian, L'Equipe; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Mike Gibson (Wimbledon referee); Rino Tommasi
1971	Billie Jean King (4)/(6)	United States	Bud Collins, The Boston Globe; Rino Tommasi
	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	Australia	Bjorn Hellberg, Tennis Tidning (Sweden); Joseph Macauley, World Tennis magazine (U.S.); L'Equipe; Rex Bellamy, The Times (London); Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Frank Rostron
1972	Billie Jean King (5)/(6)	United States	Tennis magazine (U.S.); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Bud Collins; John Barrett; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Rino Tommasi; Frank Rostron
1973	Margaret Court (7)/(7)	Australia	Bud Collins; John Barrett; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Rino Tommasi; World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1974	Billie Jean King (6)/(6)	United States	Bud Collins
	Chris Evert (1)/(8)	United States	John Barrett; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Rino Tommasi; World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1975	Chris Evert (2)/(8)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; John Barrett; World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1976	Chris Evert (3)/(8)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; Bud Collins; World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1977	Chris Evert (4)/(8)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; John Barrett, Financial Times (London); Judith Elian, L'Equipe; Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London); Peter Bodo, Tennis magazine (U.S.); Rino Tommasi, Tennis Club (Rome); Wataru Tsukagoshi, Tennis Magazine of Japan; World Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1978	Martina Navratilova (1)/(7)	Czechoslovakia	Bud Collins; Women's Tennis Association; Lance Tingay
	Chris Evert (5)/(8)	United States	Tennis Magazine (Australia); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); International Tennis Federation; John Barrett; Joe Macauley, Tennis Australia; Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1979	Martina Navratilova (2)/(7)	Czechoslovakia	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; Jeffrey Bairstow, Tennis magazine (U.S.); Peter Bodo, Tennis magazine (U.S.); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Alan Trengrove, Tennis Magazine (Australia); Bud Collins; John Barrett, Financial Times (London); Rino Tommasi, Tennis Club (Rome); Joe Macauley, Tennis Australia; Wataru Tsukagoshi, Tennis Magazine of Japan; Lance Tingay
	Chris Evert (6)/(8)	United States	Judith Elian, L'Equipe
1980	Chris Evert (7)/(8)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett; World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay; Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1981	Chris Evert (8)/(8)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; Alexander McNab, Tennis magazine (U.S.); Peter Bodo, Tennis magazine (U.S.); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Alan Trengrove, Tennis Magazine (Australia); Judith Elian, L'Equipe; John Barrett, Financial Times (London); Waturu Tsukagoshi, Tennis Magazine of Japan; Rino Tommasi, Tennis Club (Rome)
	Tracy Austin	United States	John Barrett, Financial Times (London); Lance Tingay
1982	Martina Navratilova (3)/(7)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Tennis magazine (U.S.)
1983	Martina Navratilova (4)/(7)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London); World Tennis magazine (U.S.); Lance Tingay, The Daily Telegraph (London)
1984	Martina Navratilova (5)/(7)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1985	Martina Navratilova (6)/(7)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1986	Martina Navratilova (7)/(7)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1987	Steffi Graf (1)/(8)	West Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1988	Steffi Graf (2)/(8)	West Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1989	Steffi Graf (3)/(8)	West Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1990	Steffi Graf (4)/(8)	Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1991	Monica Seles (1)/(3)	Yugoslavia	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1992	Monica Seles (2)/(3)	Yugoslavia	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1993	Steffi Graf (5)/(8)	Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1994	Steffi Graf (6)/(8)	Germany	Women's Tennis Association
	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Spain	International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1995	Steffi Graf (7)/(8)	Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
	Monica Seles (3)/(3)	United States	Women's Tennis Association
1996	Steffi Graf (8)/(8)	Germany	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1997	Martina Hingis (1)/(3)	Switzerland	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1998	Lindsay Davenport (1)/(4)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
1999	Martina Hingis (2)/(3)	Switzerland	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation; John Barrett, Financial Times (London)
2000	Martina Hingis (3)/(3)	Switzerland	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2001	Lindsay Davenport (2)/(4)	United States	Women's Tennis Association
	Jennifer Capriati	United States	International Tennis Federation
2002	Serena Williams (1)/(2)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2003	Justine Henin (1)/(3)	Belgium	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2004	Lindsay Davenport (3)/(4)	United States	Women's Tennis Association
	Anastasia Myskina	Russia	International Tennis Federation
2005	Lindsay Davenport (4)/(4)	United States	Women's Tennis Association
	Kim Clijsters	Belgium	International Tennis Federation
2006	Justine Henin (2)/(3)	Belgium	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2007	Justine Henin (3)/(3)	Belgium	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2008	Jelena Janković	Serbia	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2009	Serena Williams (2)/(2)	United States	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2010	Caroline Wozniacki	Denmark	Women's Tennis Association; International Tennis Federation
2011	Caroline Wozniacki (2)/(2)	Denmark	Women's Tennis Association
	Petra Kvitová	Czech Republic	International Tennis Federation

See also

• List of WTA number 1 ranked players
• World number one male tennis player rankings
• Tennis world champions named by the International Tennis Federation

External links

• Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701–6. ISBN 0-942257-41-3. 
• International Tennis Federation World Champions