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Ranking the Top 10 WTA Players of the 21st Century

Analyzing the top 10 WTA players since 2000 by titles, Grand Slams, rankings, and impact.

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Determining the best WTA player of the 21st century remains an evolving debate. With a quarter-century elapsed since 2000, a thorough examination considers Grand Slam success, total titles, ranking tenure, era competitiveness, and overall impact.

Jennifer Capriati’s comeback marked her as a notable figure early in the millennium, capturing her first major at the 2001 Australian Open, then Roland Garros the same year, followed by the 2002 Australian Open title, along with 17 weeks as No. 1.

Victoria Azarenka dominated in the early 2010s, securing back-to-back Australian Open victories in 2012 and 2013, three US Open finals, semifinal appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and spending 51 weeks at No. 1 with 21 titles including 10 at WTA 1000 level.

Naomi Osaka achieved an unprecedented streak of winning a Grand Slam in four consecutive seasons: US Open titles in 2018 and 2020, Australian Open wins in 2019 and 2021, alongside 25 weeks atop the rankings.

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Arina Sabalenka has become a consistent force with back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024 and the 2024 US Open, three Wimbledon semifinals, approaching 50 weeks as No. 1 with 20 titles including nine WTA 1000 victories.

Kim Clijsters overcame early final losses to amass four majors, including three US Open wins after returning from retirement, 20 weeks as No. 1, 40 post-2000 titles, seven WTA 1000 titles, and three WTA Finals victories.

Iga Swiatek sets the standard as a six-time Grand Slam winner with a perfect 6–0 finals record, a Surface Slam, 125 weeks at No. 1, 10 WTA 1000 titles, and an unparalleled 37-match win streak in 2022.

Maria Sharapova remains the last to complete the Career Grand Slam, with five majors and 36 titles including 14 at WTA 1000 level, despite her career’s later setback from doping allegations.

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Justine Henin, with 117 weeks at No. 1 and seven Grand Slam titles including multiple French Open wins, stands as one of the game’s all-time greats.

Venus Williams’ five Wimbledon titles, two US Open championships, nine major finals runner-up finishes, 11 weeks as No. 1, and 40 post-2000 titles underline her significance in a highly competitive era.

Serena Williams, however, towers above all, with 22 of her 23 Grand Slam titles amassed after 2000, multiple titles across all majors, two stints holding all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously, a record 319 weeks at No. 1, and 68 WTA titles since 2000, epitomizing dominance in this century.

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Anisimova Enters WTA Top 3 and Becomes the New American No. 1

Amanda Anisimova rises to No. 3 in the WTA rankings and becomes the top American player. ©Prange2025

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Amanda Anisimova rises to a career-high No. 3 in the latest WTA rankings, marking her first appearance inside the Top 3 and establishing her as the top-ranked American player. She moves up from No. 4 while Coco Gauff drops from No. 3 to No. 4, a swap driven by this week’s points adjustments.

There were no tournaments last week, but points from Week 1 of 2025 have dropped off the rankings. Anisimova remains on 6,287 ranking points. Gauff’s total falls from 6,763 to 6,273 after last year’s United Cup results are removed. The net effect places Anisimova ahead of Gauff and makes her the highest-ranked American on either the ATP or WTA lists; Gauff is now the second-highest-ranked American.

Anisimova’s climb carries additional historical notes. She becomes just the third player born in the 2000s to reach the Top 3 in WTA history, and the fifth player born in that decade to achieve a Top 3 ranking across either the WTA or ATP. She is also the 15th American woman to reach the Top 3 since WTA rankings began in 1975. For context, 11 American men have reached the Top 3 since ATP rankings were introduced in 1973.

Other notable ranking changes this week include Linda Noskova moving from No. 13 to a personal best of No. 12. Clara Tauson slips from No. 12 to No. 14; Noskova lost her second match in Brisbane a year ago while Tauson won the Auckland title at the same time last season. Cristina Bucsa makes her Top 50 debut, rising from No. 51 to No. 50. Anastasia Potapova drops from No. 50 to No. 55; Bucsa lost in the first round in Brisbane last year while Potapova reached the third round.

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© 2025 Robert Prange

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Hsieh Su-wei at 40: Four decades distilled into 40 defining numbers

Hsieh Su-wei turns 40: 40 milestones from No. 1 doubles weeks to Grand Slam and tour titles. Today!

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Hsieh Su-wei celebrates her 40th birthday with a resume few peers can match. A concise selection of career milestones captures the arc of a player who has excelled in doubles, enjoyed late-career singles highlights and returned to the tour with sustained success.

She first reached No. 1 in doubles on May 12, 2014, becoming the first Taiwanese player to reach the top spot in tennis in either women’s or men’s, singles or doubles. She claimed two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024 alongside Jan Zielinski; those were their first and third tournaments together. Her three WTA singles titles came in 2012 (Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou) and 2018 (Hiroshima).

Hsieh has won Grand Slam women’s doubles titles with four different partners: two with Peng Shuai, and one each with Barbora Strycova, Elise Mertens and Wang Xinyu. She has five Wimbledon titles, including four in women’s doubles (2013 with Peng, 2019 with Strycova, 2021 with Mertens and 2023 with Strycova) and one mixed in 2024 with Zielinski.

Her WTA Finals record features six appearances and a title in 2013 with Peng; she reached the semifinals in 2025 with Jelena Ostapenko. Across Grand Slams she owns seven women’s doubles majors, plus two mixed doubles majors. Indian Wells stands out among her 13 WTA 1000 doubles titles, winning it four times in 2014 (with Peng), 2018 (with Strycova), 2021 and 2014 (with Mertens).

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Other highlights: she has 36 doubles wins in 2025 (36-18), 37 career tour-level doubles titles (35 women’s, two mixed), and 40 career tour-level titles overall (three singles, 35 women’s doubles and two mixed). She spent 59 weeks at No. 1 in doubles and is one of only 18 women to log 50 or more weeks at the top. Her Top 10 and Top 15 singles victories mostly arrived in her 30s, including her first Top 10 singles win at Roland Garros in 2017 and a landmark win over reigning No. 1 Simona Halep at Wimbledon in 2018.

Early markers include a perfect 30-0 start below tour level at 15 in 2001 and her first Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon in 2013. She retired from singles in 2024 after Miami. Hsieh is the top seed in doubles in Brisbane this week alongside Jelena Ostapenko.

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Alcaraz Tops 2025 ATP Earnings List and Clears $60 Million in Career Prize Money

Alcaraz tops 2025 ATP prize money with over $21 million and passes $60 million career total. Update

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The ATP’s final prize money standings for 2025 confirm a season dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz led the tour with more than $21 million in prize money for the year, while Sinner followed with north of $19 million. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev ranked third on the list with $7.5 million.

Alcaraz’s 2025 total is the second-highest single-season haul in ATP history, behind only Novak Djokovic’s 2015 figure. Sinner’s earnings for 2025 also produced a milestone: he became the first player to exceed $19 million in a season and the first to top $16 million in two different seasons.

Beyond the single-season figures, Alcaraz’s 2025 earnings pushed his career prize money past $60 million. That achievement marks him as the first player, male or female, born since 2000 to reach that level. The draft also notes that he is the first player born since 1988 to pass the $60 million mark.

The final prize money leaderboard underlines the financial gap at the very top of men’s tennis in 2025, with the two leading players combining for the bulk of top-year payouts. The published top-10 list for 2025 places Alcaraz and Sinner well clear of the next tier, with Zverev as the highest earner after them.

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These numbers frame a season in which prize money concentrated at the top for a small group of players. Alcaraz’s performance in 2025 not only reinforced his place as the year’s top earner but also cemented a rapid climb in career earnings, while Sinner’s consistency produced an unprecedented dual-season benchmark in annual pay.

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