From Chris Evert to Aryna Sabalenka, fifty years of queens

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It happened on November 3, 1975, the moment when the WTA ranking was officially born. A system to compute points and rank talent, with Chris Evert being the first in history to hold the world No.1 position. It's worth remembering.

From Chris Evert to Aryna Sabalenka, this is the journey that has marked these 50 years of the WTA ranking. Five decades where 29 women have, at some point, ruled the locker room, although the beginnings will always hold that distinctive mystique to help us understand how we have reached this point. In a report compiled by the WTA itself, the American legend hops on the time machine to refresh our memory about a historic event that would forever change the circuit.

“I remember that time, that moment when Martina Navratilova and I were considered the world No.1 at the same time,” Evert recalls regarding the seventies. “At that time, the ITF gave much more weight to the Grand Slam events, where I had performed a bit better than her. However, based on her consistently great previous season, she was the one who actually had more points between the two of us. There were many opinions after that decision; it was all too subjective. The truth is that it ended up depending on the person who assembled that ranking,” says Chris, who ended up being the first No.1 in history.

“When rankings came through a computer, it was like suddenly opening our eyes; we all realized how easy it was to calculate. Now everything is much clearer, that's for sure, but until the rankings arrived, the importance of the Virginia Slims events wasn't fully recognized. These tournaments ended up being the ones that really rewarded players who showed a certain consistency throughout the season. With that much more balanced system, it was easier to know where you stood,” clarifies the fourth tennis player in history with the most weeks at the top of the ranking.

In total, Chris Evert held the No.1 spot for 260 weeks, spread out over nine periods, only behind Graf, Navratilova, and Serena. Fifty years later, Evert still smiles when this topic is brought up, when she is reminded that the trophy awarded at the end of each season to the best player on the circuit has her name inscribed on the metal. There could not be a better homage to the most consistent player of all time, someone capable of reaching the semifinals in her first 34 Grand Slam tournaments, just to highlight one of the many remarkable stats.

“Some numbers are incredible; I was always known for my consistency, that was my strength. I had a short memory, quickly moving on to the next tournament, but always carrying the momentum from the last one. However, the external question was always the same: ‘How did you do in the Grand Slams?’. That's where the focus began to change; suddenly every week counted, every tournament was important,” values a 70-year-old Evert, although she was only 20 when she first looked down at her rivals from the top.

Chris Evert and an era she wouldn't change for anything

Many things have happened since that November 3, 1975, many improvements have come to the circuit since that first official ranking. The players have evolved, the circuit has grown, and the prize money distributed has no comparison. However, Chris Evert responds in a second when asked about being born fifty years later and having access to the luxuries that tennis currently offers elite athletes. Can you imagine her answer? Indeed, for her, the past was always better.

“The 70s meant the peak of tennis; it was like a perfect storm, where everything came together. This circuit, represented by the female players, meant the first group of athletes to reach the highest level, leading women's sports. Many people ask me if I would have preferred to play in the current era, given all the money that is currently earned, but I am happy to have arrived at just that moment, to share the locker room with Billie Jean King and that group of women. Witnessing that moment and following their steps is something incredible; I wouldn't change it for a million years,” concludes the Floridian.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, De Chris Evert a Aryna Sabalenka, cincuenta años de reinas