Maria Sharapova retired from tennis by 2000.
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 -- 31 January 2016 . The list of WTA number 1 ranked players shows the professional women 's tennis players who have been or currently are ranked world No. 1 by the Women 's Tennis Association , along with the dates of first reaching and losing that spot . Maria Sharapova . Sharapova became the world No. 1 for the first time on August 22 , 2005 , at the age of 18 , and last held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11 , 2012 , to July 8 , 2012 . In June 2011 , she was named one of the `` 30 Legends of Women 's Tennis : Past , Present and Future '' by Time and in March 2012 was named one of the `` 100 Greatest of All Time '' by Tennis Channel . The Women 's Tennis Association ( WTA ) , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King , is the principal organizing body of women 's professional tennis .