ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA — The WTA on Monday 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.<\/p>\n
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, some 1,600 female tennis professionals own an official PIF WTA Ranking, and Aryna\u00a0Sabalenka has secured the coveted WTA Year-End No.1 Singles Ranking presented by PIF for the second year in a row.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, Sabalenka — the 16th player to end a season as No.1 — was presented with the Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy. The 27-year-old was joined on court by fellow former No.1s Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza, tournament director of the WTA Finals Riyadh, and Simona Halep, a legend ambassador for the event.<\/p>\n
Before the dawn of the \u201cOpen Era\u201d 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\u2019t always agree. Such an approach was never\u00a0going 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.<\/p>\n
Led by Evert, who won 16 of 22 tournaments played in 1975, the WTA\u2019s first Top 10 featured eight Grand Slam singles champions and nine players who would later be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0same time: Martina Navratilova, Arantxa S\u00e1nchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport. Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams.<\/p>\n
Read more on the WTA\u2019s first official Top 10<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAny player who achieves a WTA ranking deserves respect for their talent and commitment to the game,\u201d said Evert, who spent a total of 260 weeks in the top spot. \u201cTo turn that into a successful career on the WTA Tour is a very special achievement, as well as\u00a0a privilege.<\/p>\n The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion added: \u201cComputer 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\u2019ve made\u00a0tennis the leader in women\u2019s sports.\u201d<\/p>\n