Tennis has struggled to keep pace even as other sports have risen in prominence in India. However, in 2025, the Indian women's team took a significant step forward as they reached the Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs for only second time in the country's history.
A younger generation of players has taken over and is battling to climb up the tennis ladder. Hyderabad's Sahaja Yamalapalli is currently the India No.1.
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AllSportsPeople looks at how the top tennis talent in the country stacks up:
Who is the India No. 1 in women's tennis?
Since Sania Mirza departed the scene, no Indian women's player has been able to break through into the top-100 in the world. Here are India's top 5 in the latest rankings:
| Name | Ranking | Points | Tournaments | Age |
| Sahaja Yamalapalli | 367 | 168 | 20 | 25 |
| Shrivalli Bhamidipaty | 448 | 124 | 13 | 24 |
| Vaidehee Chaudhari | 462 | 117 | 16 | 25 |
| Riya Bhatia | 535 | 94 | 14 | 28 |
| Ankita Raina | 579 | 81 | 19 | 33 |
Who is the world No. 1 in women's tennis?
Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning US Open champion, clinched the year-end No. 1 spot. Here are the top 5 in women's singles rankings:
| Name | Ranking | Points | Tournaments | Age |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 1 | 10,990 | 20 | 27 |
| Iga Swiatek | 2 | 8328 | 20 | 24 |
| Coco Gauff | 3 | 6423 | 20 | 21 |
| Amanda Anisimova | 4 | 6320 | 21 | 24 |
| Elena Rybakina | 5 | 5850 | 23 | 26 |
How do tennis rankings work?
The governing body of women's tennis, the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), calculates the rankings. Players are awarded points based on their performance and the tournament tier.
The further a player progresses in a sanctioned event, the more points they will be awarded. Grand slams provide the most points with 2000 awarded to the winner and 1200 to the runner-up.
Points picked up from each tournament last for one year, or 52 weeks, with rankings updated each week.
When are tennis rankings updated?
Rankings are updated weekly. Both the ATP and WTA update their rankings every Monday when tournaments aren't running.
So, in general, you can expect updates aside from when Grand Slams are being held.