Aryna Sabalenka kicks off milestone 50th consecutive week at No. 1 on WTA rankings

Aryna Sabalenka may not be playing in Beijing this week due to a minor injury, but that doesn't mean she can't still hit milestones.

And she hits a big one today.

The four-time Grand Slam champion kicks off her 50th consecutive week at No. 1 on the WTA rankings today, having begun what is currently her second stint at the top spot on October 21st, 2024.

It's her 58th overall week on top, having spent eight weeks there in 2023.

She's just the 10th woman to spend 50 straight weeks at No. 1 since WTA rankings began in 1975, joining a list of absolute legends of the sport.

PLAYERS TO SPEND 50+ STRAIGHT WEEKS AT NO. 1 ON WTA RANKINGS (players with multiple streaks listed in order of their longest streak):

• 186 weeks: Steffi Graf, 1987-91 (also 87 weeks, 1993-95 and 94 weeks, 1995-97)
• 186 weeks: Serena Williams, 2013-16 (also 57 weeks, 2002-03)
• 156 weeks: Martina Navratilova, 1982-85 (also 90 weeks, 1985-87)
• 114 weeks: Ashleigh Barty, 2019-22
• 113 weeks: Chris Evert, 1976-78 (also 76 weeks, 1980-82)
• 91 weeks: Monica Seles, 1991-93 (also 64 weeks, 1995-96)
• 80 weeks: Martina Hingis, 1997-98 (also 73 weeks, 2000-01)
• 75 weeks: Iga Swiatek, 2022-23 (also 50 weeks, 2023-24)
• 61 weeks: Justine Henin, 2007-08
• 50 weeks: Aryna Sabalenka, 2024-present

Sabalenka is currently almost 3,000 points ahead of everyone else on the WTA rankings—2,792 to be exact, 11,225 to Swiatek's 8,433—and it's no surprise given how consistently deep she goes at every big event.

She's made the quarterfinals or better at 15 of the 17 events she's played in the last 12 months, winning five titles (Wuhan last year and Brisbane, Miami, Madrid and the US Open this year) and reaching another four finals (including the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year).

She's compiled an incredible 66-13 win-loss record in the last year.

Sabalenka doesn't have the year-end No. 1 ranking locked in yet, though, as Swiatek can still pass her—she's currently 1,577 points behind her in the year-to-date standings, 9,610 to 8,033, and with back-to-back WTA 1000s in Beijing and Wuhan over the next few weeks and the WTA Finals coming up as well, there could be a final battle brewing...