The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the Women's Tennis Association, introduced in November 1975. The computer that calculates the ranking is nicknamed "Medusa".

Aryna Sabalenka is the current world No. 1 in women's singles.

The WTA rankings are based on a rolling 52-week, cumulative system. A player's ranking is determined by her results at a maximum of 18 tournaments (or 19 if she competed in the WTA Finals) for singles and 12 for doubles. Points are awarded based on how far a player advances in a tournament. The basis for calculating a player's ranking are those tournaments that yield the highest ranking points during the rolling 52-week period. For singles, the period must include:

For doubles, the best 12 tournament results across all tournament levels are used. Unlike singles, there are no specific tournament level requirements and the WTA Finals are not treated as a bonus tournament, instead they are one of the 12 if applicable.

Up until 2016, the WTA also distributed ranking points, for singles players only, who competed at the Summer Olympics. However, this has since been discontinued.

In order to appear on the WTA rankings, players must earn ranking points in at least three tournaments, or a minimum of 10 singles ranking points or 10 doubles ranking points in one or more tournaments.

The points distribution for tournaments in 2024 is shown below. Points earned in 2023 and before were different and retained their values until they expired after 52 weeks except for 2013 points.

S = singles players, D = doubles teams, Q = qualification players.
* Assumes undefeated round robin match record.