This article presents top ten lists of female singles tennis players, as ranked by various official and non-official ranking authorities throughout the history of the sport.
The article is split into two sections: 1921–1974, and since 1975 when the first official WTA rankings were published, for ease of navigation.
A. Wallis Myers [1] ( The Daily Telegraph ) | B. H. Liddell Hart [2] ( The Times ) |
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A. Wallis Myers [3] |
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A. Wallis Myers [3] | B. H. Liddell Hart [4] |
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A. Wallis Myers [3] |
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A. Wallis Myers [3] | Bill Tilden (American Lawn Tennis) [5] |
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(incomplete) |
A. Wallis Myers [3] | Suzanne Lenglen [6] |
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A. Wallis Myers [3] | Bill Tilden [7] |
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A. Wallis Myers [8] |
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A. Wallis Myers [9] | F. Gordon Lowe [10] ( The Scotsman ) | Jean Samazeuilh [11] ( Le Miroir des sports ) |
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A. Wallis Myers [12] | Pierre Gillou [13] ( L'Auto ) | Bill Tilden [13] |
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A. Wallis Myers [14] | Pierre Gillou [15] | Didier Poulain (L'Auto) [15] | Bill Tilden [16] |
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A. Wallis Myers [17] | Pierre Gillou [18] |
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| Only 6 players ranked:
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A. Wallis Myers [19] | Pierre Gillou [20] |
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A. Wallis Myers [21] | Pierre Gillou [22] | Ned Potter (American Lawn Tennis) [23] |
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A. Wallis Myers [24] | Pierre Gillou [25] | Ned Potter [23] | The Times [26] |
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A. Wallis Myers [27] | Pierre Gillou [28] | Ned Potter [29] | The Times [30] | Harry Hopman [31] ( Melbourne Herald ) | Mervyn Weston [32] ( The Australasian ) | Fred Perry [33] |
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A. Wallis Myers [34] | Pierre Gillou [35] | Ned Potter [36] | The Times [37] | Harry Hopman [38] [39] | Mervyn Weston [40] | Alfred Chave (Brisbane Telegraph) [41] |
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A. Wallis Myers [42] | Pierre Gillou [43] | Ned Potter [44] | F. Gordon Lowe [45] | The Times [45] | American Lawn Tennis [44] | Mervyn Weston [46] | Pierre Goldschmidt (L'Auto) [47] | Alfred Chave [48] | G. H. McElhone [45] ( The Sydney Morning Herald ) | "International" ( The Referee ). [49] |
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American Lawn Tennis [50] | Pierre Gillou [51] | Ned Potter [52] | F. Gordon Lowe [53] | The Times [54] | Alfred Chave [55] | G. H. McElhone [56] |
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no world rankings (World War II)
Pierre Gillou; [57] Ned Potter [23] | Harry Hopman [58] |
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Pierre Gillou [59] | Ned Potter [60] [23] | John Olliff [3] (The Daily Telegraph) |
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Pierre Gillou [61] | Ned Potter [62] | John Olliff [3] |
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Pierre Gillou [63] | Ned Potter [23] | John Olliff [64] |
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Ned Potter [65] [23] | John Olliff [66] |
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Pierre Gillou [67] | Ned Potter [68] [23] |
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Ned Potter [23] | Lance Tingay [69] (The Daily Telegraph) |
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Ned Potter [70] [a] (World Tennis) | Lance Tingay [3] |
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Ned Potter [72] | Lance Tingay [73] | New York Times (panel of experts) [74] [75] |
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Ned Potter [76] | Lance Tingay [3] | L'Équipe |
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Ned Potter [78] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) |
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Ned Potter [79] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) |
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Ned Potter [80] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) |
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Ned Potter [82] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Denis Lalanne (L'Équipe) |
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Ned Potter [83] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Ulrich Kaiser [84] (panel of 13 experts) | Margaret Smith |
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Ned Potter [85] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Ulrich Kaiser [86] (panel of 13 experts) |
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Ned Potter [87] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) [88] | Ulrich Kaiser [89] (panel of 14 experts) | Margaret Smith [90] |
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(didn't rank herself) |
Ned Potter [91] | Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Ulrich Kaiser [92] (panel of 16 experts) | Sport za Rubezhom [93] |
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Lance Tingay [94] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Joseph McCauley [95] (World Tennis) | Bruce Walkley ( Herald Sun ) | Pierre de Thier [96] | Sport In The USSR [97] |
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Lance Tingay [3] | British Lawn Tennis (readers' poll) | Ulrich Kaiser [98] (panel of 13 experts) | Joseph McCauley [99] |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Ulrich Kaiser [101] (panel of 18 experts) | Joseph McCauley; [102] Seagram's (panel of experts) [103] | Bud Collins [104] ( The Boston Globe ) | Rino Tommasi [105] ( La Gazzetta dello Sport ) | The Times [106] |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi; [105] Joseph McCauley [107] | Frank Rostron [108] ( Daily Express ) |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Joseph McCauley [109] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi [105] | Rex Bellamy [110] | Judith Elian [111] (L'Equipe) | Mike Gibson [111] | Tennis magazine [112] (Germany) |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Joseph McCauley [113] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi [105] | L'Èquipe | Rex Bellamy (The Times) [114] | Frank Rostron [115] | Björn Hellberg (Tennis Tidning) |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi [105] | Rex Bellamy [116] | Frank Rostron [117] | John Barrett ( Financial Times ) | Neil Amdur [118] (World Tennis) |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi [105] | Rex Bellamy [119] [b] | John Barrett | Neil Amdur | Poll of 17 international sportswriters [121] |
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Lance Tingay [100] | Bud Collins [104] | Rino Tommasi [105] | John Barrett | World Tennis [122] | Judith Elian [123] | Rex Bellamy [124] | Tennis magazine (U.S.) [125] |
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