7 players who became World No. 1 without winning a Grand Slam title 

Kim Clijsters, a 4-time Grand Slam champion reached the top of the rankings without having won a major till then. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on August 11, 2003 before winning her first Grand Slam title at the 2005 US Open.

Amelie Mauresmo turned World No. 1 for the first time on September 13, 2004. But similar to Clijsters, she had to wait for 3 seasons before winning her first of the two majors at the 2006 Australian Open. 

Jelena Jankovic holds the distinction of becoming the first WTA player to retire without a Grand Slam despite never winning a Grand Slam title. The Serbian reached the summit of the rankings on August 11, 2008 before retiring in 2017. Safin reached just one Grand Slam final, the 2008 US Open. 

Dinara Safin, a 3-time Grand Slam finalist was the second WTA player to retire without winning a major. She achieved the top of the rankings on April 20, 2009 before retiring in 2014. 

2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki became the World No. 1 for the first time on 11th October 2010. She remains the player who had to wait for the longest time for winning a major after becoming the top-ranked player.

Karolina Pliskova became the top ranked player on 17th July 2017 but continues to hunt for her first Grand Slam title. Pliskova is a 2-time Grand Slam runner-up going through the 2022 season. 

Simona Halep is the latest player to reach the top of the rankings without a major. Halep made the list on October 9, 2017 before winning the 2018 French Open, her first of two majors so far. 

CLICK HERE

FOR MORE STORIES