The 37-year-old exits the game following a trophy-laden career that has spanned three decades, 209 weeks as the singles WTA World No.1, 70 weeks as the doubles WTA World No.1 (and counting) and an induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013. 

“Tennis will always be part of my life,” said Hingis. "I've had an amazing career that I will cherish forever, and I'm excited for the challenges ahead of me. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout all of the years."

Hingis turned professional in 1994 and clinched her first WTA singles title in 1996 at Filderstadt. She went on to collect a total of 548 singles match wins, while her haul of 43 career singles titles is the 12th-most in WTA history. The Swiss star is also one of only six players to hold the WTA World No.1 ranking in singles and doubles at the same time.

Following two previous retirements, in 2003 and 2007, Hingis returned to professional tennis in 2013, and enjoyed phenomenal success in doubles, lifting 28 titles following her comeback. In a further testament to her extraordinary career, Hingis has announced her retirement while currently co-ranked World No.1 in doubles with Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yung-Jan, whom she has won nine titles with this year. 

Away from the court, Hingis has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades surrounding her accomplished career, including being named the 1997 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, named in the 2000 Forbes magazine Power 100, becoming the first female athlete to be on the cover of famed magazine GQ in 1998, and landed the 2000 Jerry Diamond WTA Aces Award which celebrates off court participation.

Hingis played her last professional tournament at the 2017 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, reaching the semifinals with Co-World No.1 Chan Yung-Jan.

Information from WTA

Since the inception of computer rankings in 1975, Halep becomes the 13th WTA player to achieve the year-end No.1 singles ranking, and the first from Romania.

“Our congratulations to Simona Halep who is a worthy winner of the WTA year-end World No.1 singles ranking. Simona has had a great season, winning the title in Madrid and reaching the final at Roland Garros,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Dubai Duty Free. “We wish her well for the remainder of the year and look forward to seeing her play in Dubai in the near future, where she won the title in 2015 and has many ardent fans.”

The Romanian became the 25th player to achieve the No.1 ranking on October 9, 2017 following her 27th career WTA final at the China Open in Beijing, and is ensured to retain the position as the top player for the rest of the year.

“I’m very proud to end the season as the WTA World No.1,” said Halep. “I have worked extremely hard to be the best player I can be, and it is an honor to be in the No.1 position at the end of the year.”

Halep has enjoyed another consistent season, highlighted by defending her title at the Mutua Madrid Open and reaching her second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. In addition, the 26-year-old reached the title match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati) and the China Open (Beijing), earning her fourth consecutive qualification at the year-end BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

This season, Halep also made a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, as well as semifinal showings at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and Rogers Cup (Toronto).

Halep entered the Top 10 for the first time on January 27, 2014, and has maintained her Top 10 status for 196 consecutive weeks. Having made her debut in the Top 5 in the spring of 2014, the Romanian has spent just eight weeks below that threshold.

Information from WTA