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Who are the top women’s tennis players of all time? Here is our top 10 countdown:
Note: Updated in 2022.
10. Suzanne Lenglen: the first female tennis star, Lenglen dominated women’s tennis in the 1920s, winning eight Grand Slam singles titles (and 21 overall) and being the top-ranked player for five years before eschewing her amateur status to become the first women’s professional tennis player.
9. Maureen Connolly: though her career was cut short at age 19 by a horseback riding accident, Connolly was the dominant women’s player of her time, becoming the first woman to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam en route to nine total Grand Slam singles titles.
8. Monica Seles: despite being the victim of a horrific on-court attack while at her peak, Seles nevertheless still won nine Grand Slam singles titles; however, eight of those came as a teenager pre-attack, leaving many to wonder how great she truly could have been.
7. Billie Jean King: a trailblazer both on and off the court, King was also a dominant player – in addition to winning 12 Grand Slam singles titles (including six at Wimbledon), she also has 16 Grand Slam women’s doubles and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
6. Helen Wills Moody: the dominant women’s player of the early 20th century, Moody was the top-ranked player for nine years and won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, including a then-record eight Wimbledon titles (which stood until Martina Navratilova won her ninth in 1990).
5. Margaret Smith Court: as part of her record 24 career Grand Slam singles titles (11 in the Open Era), Court was also the first woman in the Open Era to achieve the calendar year Grand Slam.
4. Chris Evert: with a record seven French Open titles among her 18 career Grand Slam singles titles, Evert is perhaps the greatest clay court player in women’s history; moreover, as a testament to her consistency and greatness, she won 157 career singles titles and made the singles finals of a record 34 Grand Slams.
3. Martina Navratilova: arguably the greatest all-around women’s tennis player in history (singles and doubles), Navratilova not only won 18 Grand Slam singles titles as part of a record 167 career singles titles, but also has 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles to her name.
2. Steffi Graf: during her career, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and is the only player to win each Grand Slam at least 4x; moreover, in 1988, she became the first player to achieve the Golden Slam in one season (all four Grand Slam titles plus an Olympic gold medal).
1.Serena Williams: viewed by many as the greatest women’s tennis player ever, Serena won 23 career Grand Slam singles titles, a record for either men or women in the Open Era, including a record 13 on hard courts; additionally, she won 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles with sister Venus.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
More Good Stuff
- Watch: Get tickets to see the US Open or other major tennis tournaments
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- Play: Show off your tennis knowledge by playing daily fantasy tennis
- Build: Start your own sports website/blog
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