Sonay Kartal claimed the British number one position for the first time in her career after reaching the Wuhan Open final last week.
The British star rose 121 places to world number 49, despite losing to Roland Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska in the final.
Kartal overtook four British players to achieve the top spot, including Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones and Katie Boulter.
Kartal is now the fourth player to achieve the British number one ranking since the turn of the decade.
Emma Raducanu and Johanna Konta are among the players who have achieved the British number one ranking since 2020
Johanna Konta, one of Britain’s most successful players of the 21st century, was the first woman to hold the British number one spot this decade.
Konta, a former Miami Open champion, first attained the ranking in 2015 following Heather Watson’s defeat in the Wuhan Open first round.
Konta held the position for six consecutive years before 18-year-old Emma Raducanu claimed the top position.
Raducanu rose 127 places in the WTA rankings to world number 23 following her stunning victory at the 2021 US Open.
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Just under two years later, Katie Boulter cemented her place in British tennis folklore.
Boulter, a Leicester native, overtook Raducanu after reaching the Nottingham Open semi-finals in June 2023.
Boulter and Raducanu exchanged the British number one ranking on multiple occasions, before Sonay Kartal established herself as the 24th Briton to hold the position on Monday.
The first recorded British number one
Virginia Wade, one of the greatest players in her nation’s history, is Great Britain’s first recorded British number one.
Wade won three Grand Slam singles titles during her career – including Wimbledon – and five major titles across doubles and mixed doubles.
She also achieved the world number two ranking in singles and the world number one ranking in doubles.
British number one players since 1975
- Virginia Wade
- Sue Barker
- Jo Durie
- Annabel Croft
- Anne Hobbs
- Sara Gomer
- Monique Javer
- Sarah Loosemore
- Clare Wood
- Lizzie Jelfs
- Rachel Viollet
- Sam Smith
- Louise Latimer
- Julie Pullin
- Lucie Ahl
- Elena Baltacha
- Anne Keothavong
- Katie O’Brien
- Heather Watson
- Laura Robson
- Johanna Konta
- Emma Raducanu
- Katie Boulter
- Sonay Kartal
Wade retired from her playing career in 1986.
