ST PETERSBURG, FL, (WTA Media Release)
The WTA today celebrates the 50th anniversary of the PIF WTA Rankings, the system that is used to determine entry and seeding in all tournaments for singles and doubles on the Hologic WTA Tour.
A total of 135 players featured on the first computer rankings released on November 3, 1975, with Chris Evert confirmed as WTA World No.1. As the 2025 season draws to a close, nearly 1,600 female tennis professionals own an official PIF WTA Ranking, and Aryna Sabalenka has secured the coveted WTA Year-End No.1 Singles Ranking presented by PIF for the second year in a row.
On Saturday, at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, Sabalenka – the 16th player to end a season as No.1 – was awarded the Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy. The 27-year-old was joined on court by former No.1s Garbiñe Muguruza, tournament director of the WTA Finals Riyadh, and Simona Halep, a legend ambassador for the event.
Before the dawn of the “Open Era” in 1968 – and, indeed, for a good few years after – tennis players were ranked by their national associations as well as a select group of authoritative tennis journalists – who didn’t always agree. Such an approach was never going to be adequate for an increasingly complex global sports entertainment business, and by 1975 the WTA was ready to apply mathematical formulas to singles rankings; doubles rankings came later, on September 10, 1984.
Led by Evert, who won 16 of 22 tournaments played in 1975, the WTA’s first Top 10 featured eight women who were already Grand Slam singles champions and nine who would later be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Since then, 29 players have achieved a No.1 singles ranking; 156 players have achieved a Top 10 ranking; and 1,140 players have reached the Top 100. Fifty players have risen to No.1 in doubles. Six players have held the top spot in singles and doubles at the same time: Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport. Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams.
“Any player who achieves a WTA ranking deserves respect for their talent and commitment to the game,” said Evert, who spent a total of 260 weeks in the top spot. “To turn that into a successful career on the WTA Tour is a very special achievement, as well as a privilege.”
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion added: “Computer rankings brought clarity and gave new importance to the entire season of tournaments and I was proud to be the first official WTA No.1. Fifty years later, I salute all the incredible athletes who’ve made tennis the leader in women’s sports.”
Today, the PIF WTA Rankings are based on a rolling 52-week, cumulative system. A player’s ranking is determined by her results at a maximum of 18 tournaments for singles (or 19 if she competed in the WTA Finals) and 12 for doubles.
To mark the anniversary, the Player Groups at this week’s WTA Finals Riyadh were named for Stefanie Graf and Serena Williams (singles) and Martina Navratilova and Liezel Huber (doubles), in recognition of their ranking supremacy in the respective disciplines.
Additionally, a special content series looking back at five decades of champions will be released on WTA channels in the weeks ahead.
PIF WTA Rankings – By the Numbers
– Most weeks spent at No.1 (singles): Stefanie Graf (377)
– Most weeks spent at No.1 (doubles): Martina Navratilova (237)
– Most season-ending singles No.1 finishes: Graf (8)
– Number of times the singles No.1 ranking has changed hands: 107
– Number of times the doubles No.1 ranking has changed hands: 161
– Youngest to rank No.1 in singles: Martina Hingis (16 years 182 days, 31 March 1997)
– Oldest first-time singles No.1: Angelique Kerber (28 years 238 days, 12 September 2016)
– Most separate stints as singles No.1: Evert and Navratilova (9)
– Most years finishing in singles Top 10: Navratilova (20)
– First time 10 different nations featured in rankings Top 10: 31 January, 2011
Read more: PIF WTA Rankings Explained
