Tennis greats who became No. 1 without winning the US Open or any other Grand Slam

Exclusive list
1. Kim Clijsters
2003
2. Amélie Mauresmo
Australian Open and Wimbledon
3. Simona Halep
French Open and Wimbledon
4. Ivan Lendl
Great career
5. Jelena Janković
11 August 2008
6. Marcelo Ríos
No Grand Slam win
7. Dinara Safina
20 April 2009
8. Karolína Plíšková
Two finals
9. Caroline Wozniacki
Australian Open
Exclusive list

Some players have made it all the way to the top of tennis, becoming number one in the world without winning a Grand Slam. Find out who in our exclusive list.

1. Kim Clijsters

One of the biggest names to have done so is Belgian Kim Clijsters.

2003

Clijsters reached world No. 1 in 2003, when she had yet to win a Grand Slam tournament. Later, however, she won the US Open (3 times) and the Australian Open.

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2. Amélie Mauresmo

Next up is France's Amélie Mauresmo, who became the world's best on 13 September 2004.

Australian Open and Wimbledon

Mauresmo filled this gap in 2006, when she crowned herself Australian Open and Wimbledon champion.

3. Simona Halep

Simona Halep has also managed to reach the top of the rankings without having won a Grand Slam tournament.

French Open and Wimbledon

She became world No. 1 on 9 October 2017, but went on to win the French Open (2018) and Wimbledon (2019) thereafter.

4. Ivan Lendl

The first male player on our list is Ivan Lendl, who became world No. 1 on 28 February 1983.

Great career

The former Czech-American tennis champion nevertheless retired with no fewer than eight major titles to his name. Impressive.

5. Jelena Janković
11 August 2008

On 11 August 2008, Janković topped the rankings without having won a major, a gap she has never been able to fill thereafter.

6. Marcelo Ríos

The first Latin American player to be ranked No. 1 in the world, Marcelo Ríos is a legend in his native Chile.

No Grand Slam win

Ríos has never achieved Grand Slam success, however, despite reaching the final of the Australian Open in 1998.

7. Dinara Safina

The next name in our list is Russian Dinara Safina, the sister of former male tennis champion and world No. 1 Marat Safin.

20 April 2009

Marat managed to win two majors in his career, but Safina was unable to follow his example. That didn't stop her, however, from reaching world No. 1 on 20 April 2009.

8. Karolína Plíšková

Karolína Plíšková was on top of the tennis world on 17 July 2017, when she crowned herself world No. 1.

Two finals

Plíšková has fought her way to two Grand Slam finals in her career, but lost on both occasions.

9. Caroline Wozniacki

Perhaps one of the bigger names on this list, Caroline Wozniacki reached world No. 1 on 11 October 2010.

Australian Open

That was long before her one and only Grand Slam title, at the 2018 Australian Open.

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