5 of the best WTA World No. 1s

Simona Halep became world number one for the first time by beating 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko to reach the final of the China Open. The Romanian star became the 25th world number one since Women's Tennis Association (WTA) began producing rankings in November 1975.

The WTA was formed under the leadership of Tennis legend Billie Jean King on 20th June 1973, a week before the All England Championships at Wimbledon. Months preceding the formation - known as the Summer of Discontent - were witness to some of the most controversial events in Tennis history. The women made less than half of what the men were paid. At times, women were paid a bonus of $15,000 when the men were paid $1 million. Billie Jean King and 8 of her colleagues formed the Virginia Slims Circuit with the support of Gladys Heldman, the founder of the World Tennis Magazine in 1970. This became the precursor to what is now known as WTA.

As Halep became the 25th woman to hold the coveted world number one tag, let's look at 5 of the best players to have been crowned world number one.

#1 Steffi Graf

In 1999, Billie Jean King said, "Steffi is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time". Chris Evert (who features later on this list) once said, "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player. Martina [Navratilova] won more on fast courts and I won more on slow courts, but Steffi came along and won more titles on both surfaces." That's as big a compliment as it can get.

Steffi Graf, on her day, was beyond unplayable. She was adept with both her forehand and her backhand, but it was her forehand that stood out. She generated so much pace that often the ball flew past her opponents before they could react. It also was so accurate that it allowed her to 'hit the lines' often. The German combined power, grace and movement to deadly effect. Her serve, once clocked at 108 miles an hour, remains one the fastest serves in the women's game.

Steffi won a total of 22 Grand Slams before retiring at a rather young age of 30. She holds the record for being the world number one for a total of 377 weeks. She also holds the record of being the world number one consecutively for 186 weeks jointly with Serena Williams (also on this list).

Graf, who prefers to be called Stefanie, remains the only player, male or female, to have won the calendar-year Grand Slam on three surfaces or to have won each Grand Slam at least four times. She reached the finals of 13 consecutive Majors, a record. She also completed the Golden Slam when she won all the Majors (the Australian Open, the French Open, All England Championships at Wimbledon and the American Open) along with the Olympic Gold in 1988. Simply the best!

#2 Martina Navratilova

Navratilova played professional Tennis for a whopping 32 years, retiring at the age of 50!

Some of Martina Navratilova's records are simply unbreakable. In my humble opinion, no player, male or female, will ever break her record of 167 singles titles (including 18 Grand Slams) and 177 doubles titles (including 41 Grand Slams). Whilst some of the most accomplished players aim for ending up with 5 or 10, she won, in all, 59 Grand Slams! 31 of those were women's doubles titles, another record. If I were a betting person, those are the records I'd bet would never be broken.

Martina reached the finals of 11 consecutive Grand Slams, a record at the time and only bettered by Steffi Graf. She and Serena Williams (next) are the only players to have won six Grand Slams without dropping a set. She won the Wimbledon singles a record nine times. Half of her Grand Slam singles titles came at the famous venue.

The southpaw was known for her serve and volley. She could make her opponents run from side to side with ease, thus making them work for every point. She revolutionised the fitness regime of Tennis players and that enabled her to continue playing until the age of 50.

#3 Serena Williams

Serena is just one Grand Slam short of Margaret Court's all-time record

Serena Williams has won 39 Grand Slam titles. Her 23 Grand singles Slam titles are the most by any player in the Open Era and just one short of Margaret Court's all-time record. She has also won 14 women's doubles Grand Slam titles, all with her sister and former WTA world number one, Venus Williams and the pair is unbeaten in Grand Slams finals.

Serena has won the most number of singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles among the active players. In 2015, she completed what is now called the 'Serena Slam' when she won the All England Championships at Wimbledon, winning all four majors in a row. She narrowly missed the Calendar Grand Slam when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals of the US Open in three sets.

Serena primarily plays from the baseline. She has a strong and accurate serve, clocked at a peak of 128 miles, is the third fastest in the women's game. Her forehand and her backhand are probably the most powerful ever in the women's game. That said, her unique ability to overpower her opponent's serve is her biggest weapon. She never gives an inch to the opponent and hits the lines often.

She recently came back to the circuit after giving birth to her daughter. She was 8 weeks pregnant when she won the 2018 Australian Open. On her comeback trail, she reached the 2018 US Open singles final which she lost under controversial circumstances. Hope the superwoman of Tennis delights us fans for a foreseeable future!

#4 Chris Evert

When the WTA began producing rankings in November 1975, Chris Evert was the very first world number one.

Chris Evert holds the distinction of being the first WTA world number one. She has won the French Open singles seven times, a record she shares with Serena Williams. Her career singles win-loss record of 1309-146 gives her a winning % of 89.96, the highest for any player, male or female, in the Open Era.

On clay courts, her winning % of 94.55 is a WTA record. She won at least one Grand Slam for thirteen consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986, a record. Evert ended 5 consecutive years as the world number one from 1974 to 1978.

Though frequent doubles partners and good friends off the court, her fierce rivalry on-court with Martina Navratilova is one of the best in Tennis history. The two dominated the women's Tennis scene for more than a decade from 1976 to 1987 before the emergence of Steffi Graf.

She has won 10 Grand Slams on clay, seven French Opens and three US Opens (which were played on clay from 1975 through 1977), a feat bettered only by Rafael Nadal (11 titles in Roland Garros). She remains the best lady Tennis player on clay.

#5 Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis will always be remembered for what she could have become rather than what she became

It is rather unusual for me to include a player who has won only 5 singles Grand Slams as against the minimum of 18 won by those mentioned earlier in this list. However, the prodigy, the force that Martina Hingis was back in her heyday merits her inclusion here.

Martina Hingis remains the youngest Grand Slam champion when she won the women's doubles title with Helena Sukova at the All England Championships at Wimbledon in 1996 aged just 15 years and 9 months. She became the world number one the next year.

She became the youngest Grand Slam singles title winner at 16 years and 3 months by winning the Australian Open. She then won the singles title at the All England Championships at Wimbledon, becoming the youngest champion at the venue in 110 years. She also won the US Open defeating Venus Williams (who would eventually become world number one and is now regarded as an all-time great). In 1998, she won the women's doubles title at every Grand Slam, becoming just the fourth woman to do so.

Injuries then wrecked her career. She underwent operations on both of her ankles and retired at the age of 22 having won 40 singles and 36 doubles titles. She made a comeback and has been extremely successful in singles having won 13 women's doubles Grand Slams and 7 mixed doubles Grand Slams. In all, she has won 25 Grand Slams and an Olympic Silver medal in mixed doubles. As sad as it is, the world will always wonder what she could have become rather than appreciate what she became.

Bonus slide: Monica Seles

But for misfortune, many believe Monica Seles had the talent to be the best ever

You get a bonus slide for patiently toggling through the slideshow!!

Hungarian star Monica Seles was so good, I just couldn't leave her out of this list. One could argue for her inclusion in place of Martina Hingis, it's just a choice I made. Monica was as good as the rest on this list.

In 1990, Seles became the youngest singles champion at the French Open aged 16 years and won 8 Grand Slams (3 Australian Opens, 3 French Opens and 2 US Opens) before turning 20. She was the year-end world number one in 1991 and 1992.

However, on April 30, 1993, she was the victim of an on-court attack, when a mentally ill man (who apparently was a fan of Steffi Graf) stabbed her in the back with a 9-inch (23 cm) long knife in Hamburg, Germany. Her physical injuries healed quickly but she couldn't cope with the trauma of the attack and missed more than 2 years, in her prime. Though she enjoyed some success after rejoining the tour in 1995, including a fourth Australian Open in 1996, she was unable to consistently reproduce her best form and last played professional Tennis at the French Open in 2003.

The leftie was known for two-handed forehand and backhand. She had a solid serve which she used to great effect. Many have argued that had Seles not been stabbed, she would at least have doubled her Grand Slam tally, if not more. Much like Hingis, she remains a case of what could have been.

Post Script: To choose 5 out of the best players to have played the game is a cumbersome task. Some of the ladies who miss out are absolute legends. Notable mentions: Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova.