Top Ranked Professional Women Tennis Players

Maria Sharapova - Ranked No. 4 in the new 2006 WTA rankings, Sharapova became the first woman from Russia to hold a No.1 world ranking on August 22. She started the season in Melbourne as the No.4 seed and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open for the first time. She was named one of the most marketable female athletes in 2005 and was featured on cover of the July 2005 issue of Forbes Magazine, where she is listed as the richest female athlete in the world.

Justine Henin-Hardenne - Henin-Hardenne dropped two places to No. 8 in the new 2006 WTA rankings. She held No. 1 for 45 weeks in 2003 and 2004. She is the winner of four Grand Slams including the 2005 French Open, 2004 Australian Open, and the 2003 French and US Opens. She defeated higher-ranking players including Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2005 tournaments.

Amelie Mauresmo - French player Mauresmo ranks No. 3 in the new 2006 WTA rankings. She won her 4th title of the season, and 19th of her career, at the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, California. Additional season titles include the Telecom Italia Masters Roma, the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Mauresmo got her career break in 1999 after reaching the Australian Open finals unseeded and becoming the lowest ranked player (29th) to defeat a world number one in a Grand Slam since 1983.

Serena Williams - American player Serena Williams started the 2005 season by defeating World No.1 Lindsay Davenport at the Australian Open and winning her seventh career Grand Slam title (her first since 2003 Wimbledon). She pulled out from four of the eight events she entered this year, citing illness or injuries. Serena Williams is the winner of 26 singles titles including the 1999 Grand Slam Cup. She has won four Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, two mixed doubles titles with Max Mirnyi and one Olympic doubles title with her sister. She competed with the United States Fed Cup Team in 1999, 2003 and 2005 and with the United States Olympic Team 2000.

Venus Williams - In July 2005, Venus claimed her 3rd Wimbledon title, defeating world number one Lindsay Davenport in what is being hailed as one of the greatest Wimbledon matches of all time. This was her 5th career Grand Slam title and 33rd career title overall. She won her 32nd career title this year at the inaugural Istanbul Cup in Turkey. Venus ranks No. 10 in the new 2006 WTA rankings.

Jennifer Capriati - A right shoulder injury at the Advanta Championships in November 2004 forced Capriati to withdrawal from the 2005 Sydney and Australian opens, Dubai and Indian Wells, and Miami. Capriati underwent surgery January 27 in Wilmington, Deleware. She fell outside the Top 10 for the first time since January 2001.

Martina Hingis - Hingis will return to the WTA Tour in 2006. She accepted a wild card to play at the Volvo Women's Open in Pattaya City, Thailand this year, her first professional match since 2002. Hingis is one of only five players to have been ranked No.1 in singles and doubles at the same time. From 1996 to 2002, she earned 40 singles titles, 36 doubles titles, held the World No.1 ranking for 209 weeks, and captured 14 Grand Slam titles (singles and doubles).

Kim Clijsters - Ranked No. 2 in the new WTA 2006 ranking, Clijsters won her 30th career title and 9th in 2005 at the Gaz De France Stars in Hasselt, Belgium. She took her first grand slam title at the U.S. Open and became the second player to win the Pacific Life Open and Nasdaq-100 Open in the same year. She was the lowest-ranked player (133) ever to win a Tier I singles title at Indian Wells and the first unseeded player to win in Miami.

Monica Seles - In 2005, Seles played an exhibition series against Martina Navratilova in New Zealand at Auckland and Christchurch, losing both singles matches. In 2004, she pulled out of the US and French opens with a left foot injury that could end her career. Seles is the most successful active player with 53 titles, including nine majors.

Sandrine Testud - Testud reached semifinals in doubles at Doha 2005. She returned to the WTA in 2004 after the birth of her first child in February 2003. She last played professionally in 2002 Wimbledon. Testud holds seven WTA Tour titles (singles and doubles) and nine ITF Women's Circuit titles (singles and doubles).