The world of tennis has been the scene of legendary performances, thrilling rivalries and incredible achievements by the greatest women tennis players of all time.
From the birth of the sport until today, several women have left their mark, inspiring generations and redefining the limits of what is possible in the world of tennis.
In this article, we list the 25 greatest female tennis players of all time, highlighting their achievements, curiosities and life stories to celebrate their extraordinary legacy and perhaps inspire you to follow in their footsteps! 🎾
25 greatest women tennis players of all time
Check out our special selection of legends of the tennis, including athletes who marked the past of the sport and contemporary stars who are still active.
1. Martina Navratilova
- Career titles: 167 singles, 177 doubles and 11 mixed doubles titles.
Martina Navratilova is one of the few tennis players to have won the Grand Slam in all three categories: singles, doubles and mixed doubles. In total there have been
- 18 Grand Slams in singles
- 31 Grand Slam doubles titles
- 10 Grand Slams in mixed doubles.
His list of titles also includes:
- Australian Open: 3 (1981, 1983, 1985)
- Roland Garros: 2 (1982, 1984)
- Wimbledon: 9 (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)
- US Open: 4 (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
Born in the former Czechoslovakia, Navratilova stood out as much for her playing ability as for her strong personality and activism for LGBTQ+ rights.
2. Serena Williams
- Career titles: 73 singles, 23 doubles and 2 mixed doubles titles.
Serena Williams holds the record for the most Grand Slam titles in the open era of women’s tennis.
Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena and her sister Venus Williams revolutionized women’s tennis with their aggressive style and dominance on the court.
Their story, and that of their father, was made into a movie, earning Will Smith the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as the athletes’ father. It’s well worth checking out.
Serena, who retired from the courts in 2022, still won four Olympic medals during her career, all gold:
- Gold in doubles, in Sydney in 2000
- Doubles gold in Beijing 2008
- Gold in singles, London 2012
- Doubles gold in London 2012
3. Steffi Graf
- Career titles: 107 singles titles, 11 doubles titles and 1 mixed doubles title.
Steffi Graf is the only tennis player, in either the men’s or women’s categories, to win the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.
For 10 uninterrupted years, Graf won at least one Grand Slam, between 1987 and 1996, and is the woman who has remained the world’s number one for the longest time, placing her name definitively among the greatest female tennis players of all time.
Born in Mannheim, Germany, Graf dominated tennis in the 80s and 90s with her aggressive play and incredible precision.
4. Chris Evert
- Career titles: 157 singles, 32 doubles and 4 mixed doubles titles.
Chris Evert is known for her rivalry with Martina Navratilova, which is considered one of the greatest in tennis history. In fact, with 154 wins, she is the second tennis player with the most titles on the women’s circuit, behind Navratilova.
However, when it comes to money, the American holds a record, having been the first woman in tennis to reach US$1 million in prize money in 1976.
Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Evert was one of the most dominant tennis players of the 1970s, with her consistent play and relentless mentality, winning 18 Grand Slam titles in singles.
5. Margaret Court
- Career titles: 192 singles, 95 doubles and 37 mixed doubles.
One of the reasons Margaret Court is among the greatest women tennis players of all time is that she has won 24 Grand Slam titles and 192 singles titles, most of them in the amateur era of the sport.
Now 81, Court, born in Albury, Australia, is one of the legends of Australian tennis, known for her power and dominance on grass courts.
6. Billie Jean King
- Career titles: 129 singles, 101 doubles and 11 mixed doubles.
Billie Jean King’s greatest record is an incredible 20 Wimbledon singles titles.
As well as being a star on the court, Billie Jean King is one of the pioneers in the fight for equal rights for men and women in tennis and beyond.
As well as being one of the first athletes in the history of sport to come out as homosexual, she has been at the forefront of the fight for LGBT rights, and was one of the founders of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association).
Born in Long Beach, California, King is an advocate for women’s rights in sport and beyond, and is famous for the “Battle of the Sexes”, an exhibition match against Bobby Riggs.
The story was also recently made into a movie, with King played by Emma Stone.
7. Suzanne Lenglen
- Career Titles: 31 Grand Slam titles in her career, including 12 in singles, 10 in women’s doubles and 9 in mixed doubles.
One of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time has three Olympic medals to her name
- Gold in singles in Antwerp in 1920
- Gold in mixed doubles, Antwerp, 1920
- Bronze in doubles, Antwerp, 1920
Suzanne Lenglen revolutionized women’s tennis with her aggressive style of play and charismatic personality.
Lenglen was known for her elegant movements and her ability to dominate her opponents with ease.
Born in Compiègne, France, in 1899, she began playing tennis at the age of 11 and quickly distinguished herself as a prodigy of the sport and won her first Grand Slam in 1914, at the age of 15.
Her career was temporarily interrupted by the First World War, but she returned to the courts after the conflict.
Lenglen was also one of the first women to turn professional in tennis, defying social conventions and paving the way for future generations of female tennis players.
8. Helen Wills Moody
- Career Titles: Helen Wills Moody won a total of 31 Grand Slam titles in her career, including 19 in singles and 12 in doubles.
Helen Wills Moody was nicknamed “Little Miss Poker Face” because of her impassive expression during matches.
In addition to her tennis achievements, Wills Moody was also a talented artist, having studied art at the University of California, Berkeley.
Helen Wills Moody was born in 1905 and started playing tennis at the age of 13. At the age of 17, she made her debut at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals.
Helen Wills Moody’s greatest record is her incredible run of Grand Slam titles.
In addition, one of the greatest women tennis players of all time won the US Open seven times and Wimbledon eight times.
After retiring from professional tennis in 1938, Wills Moody turned to her passion for art, becoming a renowned artist.
9. Venus Williams
- Career titles: 49 singles, 22 doubles and 4 mixed doubles titles.
Venus Williams is one of the few tennis players to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles.
The older sister of Serena Williams, Venus was born in Lynwood, California, and was one of the dominant forces in women’s tennis in the 2000s, making her one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
10. Maria Sharapova
- Career titles: 36 singles, 3 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Maria Sharapova is one of the few tennis players to have won all the Grand Slams, having played in 10 finals during her career.
She was number 1 in the world in the WTA rankings for 21 weeks.
Sharapova won the WTA Finals once and achieved a Fed Cup title with the Russian team, as well as taking home the silver medal in the tennis tournament at the London Olympics in 2012.
In 2020, the Russian tennis player announced her retirement, but remains an icon of the sport.
11. Monica Seles
- Career titles: 53 singles, 6 doubles and 0 mixed doubles titles.
Monica Seles became world number one at the age of 17, becoming one of the youngest tennis players to achieve this feat.
Born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Seles was one of the most dominant players of the 90s.
However, one of the most absurd stories in tennis happened to Seles, in a match against Steffi Graf, in which Monica Seles had her back stabbed by a fan of the German during a break. The stab wound took her off the circuit until 1995.
Five years after her return to the courts, Monica Seles won bronze in singles in Sydney in 2000.
12. Lindsay Davenport
- Career titles: 55 singles, 38 doubles and 1 mixed doubles title.
Born in Palos Verdes, California, Davenport was one of the most consistent tennis players of her time, reaching the top of the world rankings.
In 1996, she was Olympic champion in Atlanta and won titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.
Lindsay Davenport ended the 1998, 2001 and 2004 seasons as the leader of the WTA rankings.
Securing her place on the list of the greatest women tennis players of all time.
13. Justine Henin
- Career titles: 43 singles, 2 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Justine Henin is known for her ability on clay courts, being one of the best in history on this surface.
Born in Liège, Belgium, she has become one of the most respected tennis players on the circuit, with 7 Grand Slam titles in singles and a gold medal from the Athens Olympics (2004).
However, a shoulder injury meant that she had to end her career prematurely at the age of 28.
14. Martina Hingis
- Career titles: 43 singles titles, 64 doubles titles and 7 mixed doubles titles.
Martina Hingis has a strong connection with Brazil, after all, it was here that she won her Olympic silver medal in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Her story begins much earlier than that, after all, at the age of 18 she had already won five Grand Slams in singles. In doubles, Martina Hingis won all four Grand Slams.
Born in Kosice, Slovakia (now Slovenia), Hingis made a name for herself at an early age, becoming world number 1 in singles at the age of 16!
15. Evonne Goolagong
- Career titles: 68 singles, 39 doubles and 7 mixed doubles titles.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley is one of the few Aboriginal tennis players to achieve success in world tennis.
Although she didn’t win the US Open, she reached four consecutive finals between 1973 and 1976.
Born in Australia, Goolagong Cawley overcame financial difficulties and racial barriers to become one of tennis’ legends.
16. Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario
- Career titles: 29 singles titles and 69 doubles titles
Sánchez-Vicario is a three-time Roland Garros champion and US Open singles winner.
She is known for her exceptional ability on clay courts, where she has won most of her titles.
In addition, she is one of the few tennis players to have won all four Grand Slam titles in doubles.
Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario reached number one in the world singles rankings in 1995 and won five Grand Slam titles in her career: four in singles and six in doubles.
17. Maria Esther Bueno
- Career titles: 62 Grand Slam titles, 19 in singles, 40 in doubles and 3 in mixed doubles.
Maria Esther Bueno was the first South American to win the singles title at Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as being the first woman to win the full Grand Slam in doubles.
Her elegant style of play and technical ability were unmatched in her day.
Maria Esther Bueno was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1939, and started playing tennis at the age of six. At the age of 14, she won her first international title, thus launching a successful career that would lead her to become one of the greatest in world tennis.
Despite facing a number of injuries throughout her career, Bueno always showed resilience and determination, continuing to compete at a high level until her retirement.
Maria Esther Bueno’s greatest record is her incredible collection of Grand Slam titles, including seven singles titles, 11 mixed doubles titles and 12 women’s doubles titles.
She also reached number one in the world singles rankings in 1959 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.
18. Garbiñe Muguruza
- Career titles: 8 singles, 3 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Garbiñe Muguruza is known for her power and aggression on court.
A native of Venezuela, Muguruza moved to Spain at a young age, where she developed her game and became one of the world’s leading tennis players.
- Greatest Record: 2 Grand Slam titles in singles.
19. Simona Halep
- Career titles: 22 singles titles, 3 doubles titles and 0 mixed doubles titles.
Simona Halep is known for her speed and ability to cover the court, which has led her to become one of the stars of world tennis, reaching the top of the world rankings in 2017.
Still active, she is already considered one of the best tennis players of all time, having been ranked number 1 in the world in singles twice between 2017 and 2019, for a total of 64 weeks. She is currently ranked eleventh in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association.
20. Kim Clijsters
- Career titles: 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles.
Kim Clijsters is known for her aggressive and versatile game, as well as her warm and friendly personality on and off the court.
She was one of the few tennis players to retire and then return to the professional circuit, achieving even more success after her comeback.
In 2007, she announced her retirement from professional tennis, but surprised the world by returning in 2009 and winning three Grand Slam titles after her comeback.
21. Bianca Andreescu
- Career titles: 4 singles titles, 0 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Bianca Andreescu is known for her versatility and tactical intelligence on the court, and became known for surprising the tennis world by winning the US Open in 2019.
Andreescu made a name for herself as a young unknown who was competing in a Grand Slam for the first time and took the title over none other than Serena Williams!
She is currently the only tennis player in Canadian history to win a Grand Slam in singles and is one of the big names in tennis for years to come! It’s worth keeping an eye on.
22. Ashleigh Barty
- Career titles: 15 singles, 10 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Ashleigh Barty is known for her ability on all surfaces and her versatility as a tennis player.
The tennis player, who announced her retirement at the age of 25 in March 2022, began her career as a cricketer before returning to tennis to become world number one and win two Grand Slam titles in singles.
23. Maureen Connolly
- Career titles: 9 Grand Slam titles, all in singles.
Maureen Connolly, also known as “Little Mo”, is considered one of the greatest tennis players in the history of women’s tennis.
She was the first woman to win the full Grand Slam in a single year, winning all four major tournaments in 1953.
Connolly won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 16, when she won the US Open in 1951.
She continued to dominate the circuit in the following years, winning the full Grand Slam in 1953 at the age of 19.
However, her career came to an abrupt halt in 1954, when she suffered a serious horseback riding accident that resulted in a leg injury and ended her professional tennis career at the age of 19.
Before that, she had won the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in a single year.
24. Karolína Plíšková
- Career titles: 16 singles, 0 doubles and 0 mixed doubles.
Karolína Plíšková is known for her powerful serve and aggressive game. Born in Louny, Czech Republic, Plíšková is one of the leading tennis players on the circuit, reaching the top of the world rankings in 2017.
She was one of the few tennis players in history to reach the top of the rankings without ever winning a Grand Slam.
She is currently number 9 in the world in the WTA singles rankings and has won eight WTA titles.
Another of the new generation to keep an eye on!
25. Jennifer Capriati
- Career titles: 14 singles titles and 1 doubles title.
Jennifer Capriati emerged as a young tennis prodigy, achieving early success in the sport.
She was the youngest champion of a professional tournament at the age of 14 and quickly became one of the leading players on the women’s circuit.
Capriati is remembered for her resilience in facing personal challenges and injuries throughout her career.
The tennis player achieved early success by winning the French Open in 1990 at the age of 14, becoming the youngest player to win a Grand Slam title.
However, she faced some personal setbacks and injuries in the following years, which affected her performance on the circuit.
After a period away from tennis, Capriati made an impressive comeback in 2001, winning three consecutive Grand Slam titles (Australian Open 2001 and 2002, and Roland Garros 2001) and reaching number one in the world rankings!
25 greatest female tennis players of all time are:
- Martina Navratilova
- Serena Williams
- Steffi Graf
- Chris Evert
- Margaret Court
- Billie Jean King
- Suzanne Lenglen
- Helen Wills Moody
- Venus Williams
- Maria Sharapova
- Monica Seles
- Lindsay Davenport
- Justine Henin
- Martina Hingis
- Evonne Goolagong
- Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario
- Maria Esther Bueno
- Garbiñe Muguruza
- Simona Halep
- Kim Clijsters
- Bianca Andreescu
- Ashleigh Barty
- Maureen Connolly
- Karolína Plíšková
- Jennifer Capriati
Is there anyone missing? Let us know in the comments, and let’s cheer on Brazil’s athletes, including the talented Bia Haddad, who has been excelling in the championships.
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