5 British women to reach the top 10 in WTA Rankings ft. Emma Raducanu, Johanna Konta

The new WTA rankings after the grass-court major of the year have been released. With Wimbledon not awarding any ranking points this year, any changes to the rankings this week are the result of points being deducted from last year's tournament.

Iga Swiatek's dominance at the top continues, while several players have achieved career-high rankings. One of them is Emma Raducanu, who recently made her debut appearance in the top 10 of the WTA rankings. The 19-year-old is now the fifth British woman since the rankings' inception to accomplish the feat.

On that note, let’s take a look at the British players who made it to the top 10 in the WTA Rankings.

#1) Virginia Wade

Former British professional tennis player Virginia Wade has won three singles and four doubles titles at Grand Slams. She is the only British woman in history to have triumphed in each of the four Majors.

Wade earned 55 titles in her 26-year career. She has participated in Wimbledon 26 times, and in November 1975 she attained her highest world ranking of No. 2.

#2) Sue Barker

Another renowned British player on this list is Sue Barker, who recently announced her retirement from her role as a television presenter.

In her professional playing career, Barker won 15 WTA tour singles titles and 12 doubles titles. The 1976 French Open champion's career-high ranking was World No. 3.

#3) Jo Durie

Jo Durie, a former World No. 5, won two Grand Slam titles in her career, both in the mixed doubles partnering Jeremy Bates.

In 1984, she had her most successful Wimbledon season as a singles player, reaching the quarterfinals after defeating Steffi Graf, who was 15 years old at the time, in a famous fourth-round match. Shortly after the tournament, she attained a career-high singles ranking of No. 5.

#4) Johanna Konta

Johanna Konta made it to three Grand Slam semifinals in her career — at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon Championships. With four singles titles to her name, she is the fourth British woman to make it to the top 10 of the WTA rankings.

The Brit's highest ranking was No. 4, which she attained in July 2017 after making it to the semifinals at Wimbledon.

#5) Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu has added another feather to her cap in her nascent career. The 19-year-old rose to fame after astonishing tennis fans by coming through the qualification rounds to win the 2021 US Open without dropping a set.

She has moved up one spot to No. 10 in the latest WTA rankings, making her the fifth British woman to enter the top 10 in the Open era.

About the author

Pritha is one of the driving forces behind Sportskeeda's tennis coverage, serving as an assistant content manager and editor. What began as a casual escape from her tiring biotechnology degree course in early 2022 has blossomed into a passion she loves, cherishes, and breathes every day.

Pritha’s love for the sport was spawned by her dad who showed her clips of "GOAT" Steffi Graf’s matches. Despite a thwarted dream of playing professionally due to injury, she finds solace in reporting the sport, while also mentoring other writers to ensure every article is error-free and top-notch. She double-checks credible sources, such as the tournament/player handles and big tennis media outlets, and gives proper credit where required.

Pritha's journey at Sportskeeda is marked by more than 2000 articles and close to 16 million views, with the "dream-come-true" moment of having her article shared by Chris Evert serving as a highlight of her career. A lifelong Wimbledon fan, Pritha also adores Rafael Nadal, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka.

When she's not seeking unique angles to elevate tennis coverage at Sportskeeda, she loves to channel her inner astrophysics "nerd" by exploring new sci-fi series and movies. A big Lionel Messi, Lewis Hamilton, and Randy Orton fan, she is always ready to engage in sports conversations anytime, anywhere, albeit not without a cup of coffee.

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