WTA 100: 10 Oldest women’s singles tennis players

In this article, we look at the 10 oldest tennis players in the women’s singles category currently occupying the top 100 spots in the WTA rankings.

Tennis is a physically demanding sport, and players competing in the singles space must maintain peak fitness levels to perform at their best. However, due to the intense physical strain and the gruelling demands of the tennis calendar, many players often retire earlier than expected. 

Despite this, there are a select few who defy the conventional notion of age, embodying the adages “ageing like fine wine” and “old is gold.” These players continue to maintain exceptional fitness and form, winning tournaments and making deep runs in Grand Slams, often causing upsets against younger, higher-ranked opponents. Their enduring success is a testament to their resilience, discipline, and commitment to excellence, showing that age is not always a barrier to greatness in sport.

Tatjana Maria

Tatjana Maria has been around the WTA tour for more than 20 years and still competes in the WTA tournaments and the grand slams. Even after becoming a mother in 2013 and then again in 2021, Maria has continued to compete at the highest level in professional tennis. 

The German veteran turned pro back in 2001 and has managed to reach a career highest ranking of World no. 42 in January 2024. Maria is also a regular doubles player and reached a career highest ranking of World No. 54 in June 2016. Maria has three singles titles on the WTA tour and her best grand slam performance was a Semi-final appearance at the Wimbledon in 2022 which also earned her the ‘WTA Comeback Player of the Year’. In addition, she also made it to a Fed Cup Semi-finals with Germany in 2018. 

In the ongoing Australian Open, she reached the second round where she came up against a much higher ranked player and lost in straight sets. Currently ranked as the World No. 90, the 37-year-old is still persevering and like she proved in 2022 by reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, she can still cause upsets with her great first serve and crafty slice shots on both the wings. 

Laura Siegemund

Laura Siegemund is another German Singles player and has been a regular face on the WTA Tour. Siegemund plays Singles, Doubles and Mixed-doubles as well. 

Siegemund turned pro in 2006 and reached a career highest Singles ranking of World No. 27 in August 2016. Her best singles grand slam result is a Quarter-Finals at the French Open in 2020. In addition, she has three grand slam titles – 1 in Doubles (US Open 2020) and two in Mixed Doubles (US open 2016, French Open 2024). She also won the United Cup with Germany in 2024.

Currently ranked World No. 97, Siegemund upset World No. 5 and last year’s Australian Open finalist in Qinwen Zheng in the second round of this year’s Australian Open. The German is a fierce opponent with her skills, great Tennis IQ, tactics and experience. 

Victoria Azarenka

The former World No. 1 and Two-time grand slam Champion is another women’s player who has made a comeback after a hiatus. 

The 35-year-old Belarussian turned pro in 2003 and reached a career highest World No. 1 ranking in January 2012. Azarenka has 21 career WTA Tour titles and is also a two-time Australian Open Champion from 2012 and 2013. She also made it to the finals of the US Open thrice (2012, 2013, 2020). The Belarussian also has an Olympic Bronze medal that she won in the 2012 Olympics. In addition, she also has two doubles grand slam titles as well, one at the US Open (2007) and the other at the French Open (2008).

Resuming Tennis after becoming a mother, Azarenka is still competing in grand slams and WTA Majors. Azarenka is currently ranked World No. 24 and continues to perform at the top level. In the recently concluded Brisbane Open, she managed to reach the Semi-finals where she was defeated by the World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Even an ageing Azarenka is still a massive threat as she can plunder them with her aggressive baseline play and massive groundstrokes. 

Sorana Cîrstea

 Sorana Cîrstea has been a fairly popular name on the WTA Tour for a long time now. The 34-year-old Romanian can surprise anyone on her day.  

The Romanian turned pro in 2006 and reached her career highest singles ranking in August 2013. She has two career WTA Titles. Her best performances at a grand slam are two Quarter-finals appearances at the French Open (2009) and recently at the US Open (2023). Cîrstea also plays Women’s Doubles and has 5 career titles in the doubles. 

Cîrstea is currently ranked World No. 71 and continues to participate and compete in the major tournaments. She is an aggressive baseliner and, on her day, she can still cause upsets to higher ranked players as she did in 2023 at the US Open when she beat Elena Rybakina, Anna Kalinskaya and Belinda Bencic- all players ranked in the Top 20 on her way to the Quarter-finals. 

Cîrstea has been a steady presence on the WTA Tour. Despite her early exit in the first round of this year’s Australian Open, she possesses the fitness and skills needed to remain competitive at a high level for several more seasons.

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki needs no introduction as she has been a former World No. 1 who dominated Women’s tennis in her heyday. 

Wozniacki turned pro in July 2005 and reached a career highest World No. 1 in October 2010. She has a mammoth 30 career WTA titles and is also a former Australian Open Champion from 2018. She also reached the finals of the US open on two occasions (2009, 2014). She also has a WTA finals title that she won in 2017.

Wozniacki had retired from tennis in 2020 but made a comeback in 2023 and since then, she has competed well and even reached Round 4 or Quarter-finals of a few tournaments on the WTA Tour. 

Currently ranked World No. 73, Wozniacki still possesses plenty of fuel in the tank to cause major upsets. With her wealth of experience, sharp skills, and high-quality play, she’s more than capable of competing with the top players on the tour.

Also read: ATP 100 | 10 Oldest men’s singles tennis players

Irina-Camelia Begu

Another Romanian veteran, Irina-Camelia Begu has been playing for almost two decades on the WTA Tour. 

Begu turned pro in 2005 and reached her career highest ranking of World No. 22 in August 2016. She has 5 Singles titles and 9 Doubles titles. Her best performance at a Grand Slam is multiple Fourth round appearances at the Australian Open and the French Open. 

Begu is currently ranked No. 80, Begu started the  2025 season well, reaching the fourth round at the Adelaide International which shows that she can still compete at the highest levels, against the top players. 

At 34-years-old and two decades of professional tennis, it’s miraculous that she is still playing in both singles and doubles on the WTA tour – a massive credit to her fitness, work-ethic and dedication. 

Arantxa Rus

Arantxa Rus from Netherlands is another 34-year-old veteran on the WTA Tour. 

Rus turned pro in 2008 and reached her career highest ranking of World No. 41 in August 2023. Her best performance at a Grand Slam came in the fourth round at the French Open in 2012. She has one career Singles title that she won at the Hamburg Open in 2023 and has four other titles in Women’s Doubles. She is also a junior Australian Open Champion from  Her best singles performances have been a second round upset over the then World No. 2 Kim Klijsters at the 2012 French Open and a win over World No. 5 Samantha Stosur at the 2012 Wimbledon to make it to the third round. 

Rus has definitely gotten better over a period of time and with her experience as she proved by reaching a career highest ranking in the latter stages of her career. However, she has dropped down to World No. 73 after that but she continues to put up impressive performances.

Rus is a left-handed player with a decent serve and backhand. Armed with loads of experience on the WTA Tour, Rus continues to demonstrate high levels of fitness to compete in WTA Tournaments and Grand Slams. 

Rebecca Marino

Rebecca Marino is a Canadian on the WTA Tour who returned to Tennis after a four-year hiatus in 2017.

Marino turned pro in 2008 and reached her career highest ranking of World No. 38 in July 2011. Marino has 1 career title and her best performance at a Grand Slam has been a third-round appearance at the French Open (2011) and the US Open (2022). She also has two career titles in Women’s Doubles. In addition, Marino was also awarded the ‘Female Player of the Year’ by Tennis Canada for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011. 

Marino has taken two long breaks from tennis – first in 2012 (one year) and the second from 2013 -2017. However, she returned to professional tennis in 2017 and won her first ITF tournament without dropping a set. She returned to the WTA Tour in 2021 using a protected ranking to gain entry into the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open.

Currently ranked World No. 98 with several breaks from tennis later, Marino has shown time and again that her love for Tennis far exceeds everything else as she continues to compete on the WTA Tour.  

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is a popular player on the Women’s tour. The 33-year-old Russian has been a Top 20 player and a Grand Slam finalist. 

Pavlyuchenkova turned pro in 2005 and reached her career highest ranking of World No. 11 in November 2021.  Pavlyuchenkova was a child prodigy winning three junior Grand Slams and reaching the Juniors World No. 1 ranking aged only 14. The Russian has 12 career singles titles and has also reached a French Open final in 2021. She has reached the Australian Open Quarter-finals on four occasions- most recent in 2025.  She has also been a handy doubles player, reaching the quarter-finals of all four grand slams over the years. Pavlyuchenkova is also a Fed Cup winner in 2020-21 with Russia. 

The 33-year-old has had an injury-ridden career and has never really reach her full potential. Having said that, Pavlyuchenkova is a massive threat on the women’s tour. Playing at the ongoing Australian Open, she reached the Quarter-finals yet again and gave the World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka a run for her money, losing a close game in three sets. 

Even at 33-years-old, the powerful Russian has the skills, quality and the agility to beat any top ranked player. Her current ranking of World No. 32 doesn’t do her any justice. If she stays fit, it will be a matter of time before she breaks into the Top 15. 

Magda Linette

The 32-year-old Polish player, Magda Linette has been a regular on the WTA tour for many seasons now. 

Linette turned pro in 2009 and reached her career highest ranking of World No. 19 in March, 2023. Linette has 3 career WTA Singles titles and her best performance at a Grand Slam is a Semi-final appearance at the Australian Open in 2023. Linette also plays Women’s Doubles where she has performed fairly well with two career titles. 

Linette had a magical run at the 2023 Australian Open defeating many top-ranked players in former World No.1 Karolína Plíšková, Caroline Garcia and Ekaterina Alexandrova. She was finally defeated by eventual champion, Aryna Sabalenka. 

Linette has changed her playing style and gotten more aggressive minded as her career has progressed. She is still able to compete on the WTA Tour and looking to better her ranking with improved performances.