3, Barker had an illustrious playing career during which she won 15 WTA singles titles, including the 1976 French Open. Evonne Goolagong Cawley was not just a phenomenal tennis player, she was also a person of colour from Australia who succeeded in a sport that was and is still dominated by the white, middle classes. This period included her best Grand more Birthplace: Sydney, Australia Nationality: Australia 98 In 1998, she fulfilled her longtime dream and won that title, the last of her style to do so. She retired in 2008, picking up a hugely impressive 53 career titles, including 9 Grand Slams. In 2011, she became the first woman from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final and then win a Slam outright at the French Open, in front of a TV audience of hundreds of millions of Chinese fans. Making a list of the greatest tennis players of all time is certainly a challenging task. Monica Seles took the tennis world by storm with a unique playing style two-handed groundstrokes on both sides that she used to devastating effect. Yea, unquestionably Serena was a very dominant player in her era. Remarkably, Venus is just a few months away from playing professional tennis after the age of 40 years old. British tennis player Anne Keothavong, hailed for winning 28 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, played her first professional match at age of fourteen, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. She also won 12 doubles titles, including the WTA Austrian Open. But even more importantly, it was effective, and enabled her to win three consecutive French Open titles on the red clay of Paris. Totally agree and Graf was far more mobile at 29 than Serena. Ann Jones is an English former tennis and table tennis champion. Nicola Viggers. WebHeather Watson is a professional tennis player who has won nine career titles so far, including four singles titles. For years, however, the title most befitting a serve-and-volley player, Wimbledon, eluded her. WebVirginia Wade and Andy Murray are the most successful British tennis players in the Open Era by singles titles. When she returned, she was able to win one more grand slam singles title, but she was not the same caliber of player. This week our writers have made the case for Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles. Shes still looking for that first Grand Slam title since giving berth, and maybe some Olympic success in Tokyo as well. British tennis has produced some of the greatest tennis players of all time. She has redefined athleticism in womens tennis. Tracy Austin has left her mark on and off the court. In the early 1950s, she took the tennis world by storm, winning six straight Grand Slam singles titles between 1952 and 1953. From trailblazing legends like Billie Jean King to champions like Serena Williams, dominant athletes on the tennis court have elevated womens sports to new heights. Serena Williams (the choice of our tennis correspondent, Kevin Mitchell) and Martina Navratilova were also popular choices and you added some new names to the discussion. As we get ready for the 2020 season, heres how things look. Those who try to diminish her achievement have their own agenda. Graf gave even proof that she would have had the capacity to regain the # 1 position: After an almost 2 years injury break with back and knee surgery, she had made it already back from not being listed any more to #3 of the ranking. A hero in her native Brazil, she was greeted at home by ticker-tape parades upon returning from winning her Grand Slam titles. There is no arguing that Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player of all time. Yes Venus & Serena have been great and deserve praise, but dont forget the past. You could tell Chris would become a star. (modern). She is a seven-time British National Singles winner and a nine-time British National Doubles winner. Serena Williams; Steffi Graf; Martina Navritolova; Chris Evert; Margaret Court; Monica Seles; Billie Jean King; Venus Williams; Evonne Goolagong Cawley; Justine Henin; Martina Hingis; Helen Wills Moody; Maureen Connolly; Lindsay Davenport; Kim Clijsters; Jennifer From Fred Perry and Virginia Wade to Andy Murray, British Tennis success has grown and grown over the years. Billie Jean King was already a very accomplished tennis player before she became a worldwide celebrity in 1973. She has eight ITF career titles, including three singles titles, under her belt. Required fields are marked *. Murrays tally of 46 singles titles is good for 14th on the all-time list, just behind Boris Becker and ahead of greats including Arthur Ashe and Stefan Edberg. British tennis has produced some of the greatest tennis players of all time. In doing so, she elevated herself from great to greatest. Billie Jean King has come to personify womens equality in sports thanks to her famous "Battle of the Sexes" win against Bobby Riggs in 1973, immortalized in countless retrospectives, books and a Hollywood film adaptation. She was such a happy, joyful person; you could not help but love her. Vote up the best women's tennis players ever. WebMonica Seles is a part-Hungarian, part-Yugoslavian, and part-American former womens tennis pro who had all the makings of one of the greatest tennis players to ever live. She was well on her way to being a legitimate rival to Steffi Graf, but a stabbing incident in 1993 stopped her career temporarily just as she was ascending to the top of the game. Although Ivanovic never won another Slam, she showed persistence and determination by overcoming multiple injuries to reach the top 5 again late in her career. If she was a little more dedicated to fitness early in her career, she might be higher on the list. Twice. She has grown up in the Alnwick Castle, which was featured as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Harriet Dart is a British tennis player who has won 14 doubles and four singles titles on the ITF Circuit so far in her career. For much of the 2010s, Caroline Wozniacki was a model of consistency, winning 30 titles and ending two consecutive years at world No.1. its been a great career so far for Romanian Simona Halep. She previously won a junior title at Wimbledon. In 2012, she became the first British female player to win a WTA singles title since 1988. But what puts Steffi miles ahead of Serena is the Grand Slam and the Golden Slam. Winning four French Open, eight Wimbledons and seven U.S. Open titles is truly remarkable, regardless of era. This made her nearly unbeatable on clay, finishing with a 382-22 record on that surface. Died: July 4, 1938, Paris, France (Age 39). Venus is often overshadowed by her younger sisters achievements, but her career is worthy of tremendous recognition in its own right. She memorably won Wimbledon again nine years later. From trailblazing legends like Billie Jean King to champions like Serena Williams, dominant athletes on the tennis court have elevated womens sports to new heights. Its very popular these days to put Serena ahead of Graf on the all time greatest list. Serena did so. WebShe is the face of womens tennis in the UK and took home a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. 6 Borg, No. So taking all this in consideration, for me its no question that these singular achievements plus the over all carerer picture not only equalize Serenas one win advantage at the Majors. I have been a tennis fan since the early 60s when I started playing. Most impressive is her feat of reaching 34 Grand Slam finals, a record no woman or man has equaled since. But Id have to go with her first Wimbledon victory, in 1988 over the great Martina Navratilova. Ranker Tennis. If it was not for elbow injury issues that simply wouldnt go away, Henin likely wouldve played a few more years. The top players also dominated their peers, and most of them had games that could translate into success in other eras. Without a doubt, her struggles and success paved a path to be followed by Venus and Serena Williams, who often have paid tribute to Gibson as an inspiration. In 2016, she won the mixed-doubles at Wimbledon, becoming the first British player to win at Wimbledon since Joanna Mary Durie in 1987. She was able to have a lot of success with her volley at the net, and her speed was tough for opponents to overcome when combining with her height. Now its time to hear from our readers. Overnight, she was gracing fashion magazine covers and starring in television commercials around the world. She might have dominated the tour as a whole, but her career was derailed by contracting mononculeosis and then being stabbed during a home invasion. WebTop British Female Tennis Players 1: Angela Mortimer. 2, Jones managed to establish herself as a praiseworthy player despite playing in a highly competitive era; she played against some of the all-time greats like Margaret Court and Billie Jean King. If Virginia Wade was the last great British womens champion of the 20th century, Dorothy Round was one of the first. By doing so, she broke her countrys Grand Slam title drought, becoming the first Australian woman to win once since Evonne Goolangong Cawley in 1980, Born: Feb. 28, 1985, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Born: Jan. 18, 1988, Bremen, West Germany. All told, the Swiss champion won five singles Grand Slam titles before celebrating her 20th birthday. In particular, Venus used a powerful serve and crisp volleys to dominate at Wimbledon, which she has won five times. Yea, Williams is one ahead of Steffi (23:22). Reehan Miah. She certainly left a great impression on a young 11-year-old schoolboy when she won Wimbledon for the first time in 1971. When considering singles and doubles, Martina Navratilova has had a ton of success in her career. Some people believe that Serena Williams still has work to do to become the greatest tennis player of all time. From Fred Perry and Virginia Wade to Andy Murray, British Tennis success has grown and grown over the years. it destroyed her confidence. With that in mind, we are spending the Wimbledon fortnight debating which of the greats is the greatest of them all. Though the daughter of a tennis coach mother, Katie Boulter had initially focused on playing the piano before she deviated to tennis as a career. She has risen from humble beginnings in Compton a world away from the privileged start of many tennis players and has overcome overt racism to become an active voice for equal rights for women and men on and off the court. Born: March 30, 1984, Brisbane, Australia. Florence Angela Margret Mortimer Berret, better known as simply Angela Mortimer, is the 2: Ann Jones. She was able to win the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Open after giving birth, and that cemented her legacy on a list like this. Born: Oct. 2, 1984, Le Puy-en-Velay, France, Plays: Right-handed (two-handed on both sides). Not so with Angelique Kerber. I'm Fred, the guy behind TennisPredict. but failed to do so. Konta has won four singles WTA Tour titles. Rebecca Joyce. 9 Agassi and No. Stephens demonstrated enormous promise by defeating Serena Williams as a teenager at the Australian Open, and then fulfilled that promise by defeating Venus Williams en route to the U.S. Open title. Kathleen McKane Godfree was a British badminton and tennis player. She previously won a junior title at Wimbledon. She has grand slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, and shes most remembered for her runs at the Australian Open. First, she came out of nowhere at Wimbledon in 2007 to make the final in a huge upset over Justine Henin in the semis. Seles started her career young, turning pro in 1989, aged just 16. Many people view Jennifer Capriati as the child star who had too much gone her way early in her career. That record still stands today as the most ever won by a woman. They put Graf ahead of Serena and on #1 position of the greatests. That lead to seven Grand Slam singles titles, and a dominant run at the French Open. Now married to Andre Agassi, she has formed perhaps the most powerful tennis partnership in the history of the sport. She won seven grand slams and an Olympic gold medal in a hugely competitive era in the womens game. If she can add a few more Grand Slam titles to her list, she could creep up fast. However, her ability to dominate in the first half of the 1970s is hard to overlook. She also demonstrated incredible overall consistency at the majors, reaching a then-record 26 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals between 1959 and 1960. Angela Mortimer Althea Gibson By Associated Press / Public domain Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett is a 4. Female athletes continue to fight for equality in sports, and tennis players have been at the forefront of that struggle for decades. She never won the Australian Open, but that tournament was not the same level back then, so it should not be held against her. Its a big psychological difference to win those four within the career, not within a year or that to withstand the pressure and fear not to fail just once at all the matches of the four Grand Slams which are hold within one season. In her short time as a top-level player, she had seemingly no weaknesses in her game. Jelena Jankovic was part of a wave of players that established Serbia as a tennis powerhouse for the womens game while Novak Djokovic led the charge for the Serbian men. Born: June 8, 1976, Palos Verdes, California. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Now its time for the readers to offer their verdict. Her trademarks the footwork of a ballerina, the speed of a gazelle, the impeccably carved backhand slice and that monstrous bazooka of a forehand coalesced into a rare brand of athleticism, as beautiful as it was brutal. WebShe is the face of womens tennis in the UK and took home a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Kim Clijsters shocked the tennis world by retiring at 24 years old, just when she had reached the top, after winning her first Grand Slam. Off the court, she has remained a major presence in the tennis world to this day as a television commentator, calling Grand Slam matches on NBC and on the Tennis Channel. All rights reserved. WebEasily one of the most successful female British tennis players, Virginia Wade is a three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. Ones labeled as a player who couldnt perform well in the Grand Slams, her 2018 French Open championship and 2019 Wimbledon championship changed that perception. She is the only player in womens tennis history to be number one at singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. Serena Williams celebrates after winning the French Open in 2013. Undeterred by this adversity, Kvitova fought to reach the 2019 Australian Open final and the top of the tennis world once again. Post-retirement, she has stepped into a broadcasting career and has also appeared on ITVs Interceptor and Channel 4s Treasure Hunt. She won 12 of the final 13 games. 1 Federer, No. Not only did she take home the title, but she did it without dropping a single set. But of all the great women in tennis, only one can stand alone as the greatest of all time. She had the consistency to remain at world No.1 for 64 consecutive weeks and the tenacity to win big individual matches, coming from behind to win her first French Open title against Sloane Stephens. Monica Seles revolutionised the womens game with her power. Chris Evert and Serena Williams each have won six titles in New York. The United States was credited with the most great players (38), followed by Australia (17), France (7), Great Britain (6) and Czechoslovakia (5). With that in mind, we are spending the Wimbledon fortnight debating which of the greats is the greatest of them all. Graf, the only player to have won all four majors at least four times, finished with 22 Grand Slam singles titles despite playing about a decade less than Williams. Died: May 31, 2011, Potomac, Maryland (Age 91). Heather Watson is a professional tennis player who has won nine career titles so far, including four singles titles. Sue Barker is an English former professional tennis player. 9 Agassi and No. Had she not been stabbed in 1993, the history books would look a lot different. Sure, other players have won more slams, but Seles will always be the best player to have ever played the sport. Steffi #2? Injuries piled up for her early on in her career, and an automobile accident, in particular, put a damper on making any serious come back. This article was amended on 6 July 2020. Due to an error during editing, Martina Navratilovas grand slam titles were listed as being between 1975 and 2003, rather than the actual dates of 1974 and 2006. Evonne often bullied her opposition, dominating early on and consistently throughout matches. Vote up the best women's tennis players ever. Not only did she excel as a player by winning 39 grand slam titles 12 in singles, 16 in womens doubles and 11 in mixed doubles but she is a crusader for social justice and womens equality in sports. At 23, she was only ranked No. But don't rule out a return to the top of the sports ranks from a competitor as tough as she is. Grit and determination defined Seles along with her trademark grunt. Steffi Graf had the most graceful game of any female player in history. Navratilova conquered all of the grand slams winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at all four slams between 1974 and 2006 but it was at Wimbledon where her volleying prowess caused the most damage, not only in titles but in eventually winning the respect of the crowd. Number 2 of the greatest female tennis player and most tennis Grand Slams womens division winners we have Steffi Graf. Born: Oct. 18, 1956, Prague, Czechoslovakia. With recent success from Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie, British tennis can only get better and better and we cant wait to see what 2022 From trailblazing legends like Billie Jean King to champions like Serena Williams, dominant athletes on the tennis court have elevated womens sports to new heights. The game is changed quite a bit since she was playing, so its hard to compare her directly to some contemporaries. How is that fair? In fact he was the first British man since the 70s to reach a Grand Slam semi-final position. There are a few what if scenarios on this list, but Maureen Connolly might be the biggest of them all. Martina Hingis isnt the most physically imposing player, especially in todays modern game. From trailblazing legends like Billie Jean King to champions like Serena Williams, dominant athletes on the tennis court have elevated womens sports to new heights. In fact he was the first British man since the 70s to reach a Grand Slam semi-final position. WebEasily one of the most successful female British tennis players, Virginia Wade is a three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. After her playing career, she became a coach and broke through a major glass ceiling by coaching Andy Murray, one of the first women to ever coach a top-ranked man. How Many Languages Does Roger Federer Speak. Graf, the only player to have won all four majors at least four times, finished with 22 Grand Slam singles titles despite playing about a decade less than Williams. After retiring as a player, Sue Barker became a sports reporter. While she did not reach similar numbers at the Grand Slam level, Davenport proved she could put in performances of the highest caliber on that stage, too, winning one Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open title apiece. WebShe is the face of womens tennis in the UK and took home a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Graf was 29 when she won her last Major. Simona Halep has established herself as one of the most consistent players on the womens tour in tennis history while showing what it takes to perform on the greatest stage. Anita Lizanas impact on tennis has been unjustly lost to the mists of time. Graf finished her career with 22 Grand Slams and 107 total singles titles, and her accomplishments may never be equaled again. There is no question that Graf most probably would have won at least one more Major if she would have continued playing 6 more years. WebVirginia Wade and Andy Murray are the most successful British tennis players in the Open Era by singles titles. Players must track down balls and keep long rallies going to survive in a game that now takes place almost exclusively at the, Read More 10 Fastest Tennis Players In The WorldContinue, In the world today, about 10% of people are left-handed, and 1% of the population has what is called mixed-handedness or cross-dominance. That last, dramatic French Open triumph against Hingis in 1999 is up there for the unexpected delight of it all. Steffi Graf. She is an absolute legend. But when the moment came for her to perform at the highest level, she did not disappoint. Her first Grand Slam victory came in 1968 at the US Open, and shed go on to win 55 singles titles throughout her career. And after beating Serena to win the French, she became the first woman to best both Williams sisters in Grand Slam finals. Steffi Graf. Ranker Tennis. In 1933, Wills won a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match, decades before Billie Jean King. WebMonica Seles is a part-Hungarian, part-Yugoslavian, and part-American former womens tennis pro who had all the makings of one of the greatest tennis players to ever live. Bottom line: Hilde Sperling pioneered a playing style in the early 20th century that now appears to have been many decades ahead of its time. In 2012, she became the first British female player to win a WTA singles title since 1988. Women's rankings Men's rankings Women's wheelchair rankings Men's wheelchair rankings Quad rankings British padel players Browse the profiles of Britain's top women's and men's padel players, including where they're ranked. 1, Smith also represented Britain in the European Cup and Fed Cup on several occasions. Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet. Thats not to say that Venus Williams did not have a great career of her own. Known as The Little Wonder, Lottie Dod gained fame as a remarkable tennis player and a five-time Wimbledon Ladies' Singles champion. Its been said that no backhand in the history of womens tennis has been as great as Justine Henin. By the end of 1993, she was burned out of tennis, taking over a year off and dealing with arrest, drug use, and more. She was just 16 years old when she won the U.S. Open in 1979, and she would follow up that seat was a win in 1981. Died: June 8, 2018, Sao Paulo, Brazil (Age 78). Many of the women on this list were teenage sensations, finding championship success instantly on the tour. Beyond the race issue, she was a breath of fresh air on our TV screens in the 1970s. Wills finished her career with 19 Grand Slam titles. Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand). There were so many great Graf matches. She became the first Grand Slam winner from Japan after stunning the tennis world with a finals win over Serena Williams at the 2018 U.S. Open. Martina Navratilovas athleticism, power and determination to succeed were truly astonishing. Forty-three players made the list from the Americas, 39 from Europe and 18 from Oceania. The character and poise were there from the start. Still, its hard to overlook her career Grand Slam and a total of five titles in her career. Venus and Serena Williams form arguably the most iconic pairing of siblings in sports history. 2, Wade won three Grand Slam singles titles, including the famous 1977 Wimbledon, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. Henins career is synonymous with the French Open, where she was magical. Svetlana Kuznetsova is something of a tennis enigma. Despite playing great tennis for the first hour or so, Graf somehow contrived to lose the first set from a winning position, and then found herself a break down in the second. Chris Evert won 90% of the singles matches she played, a record for men or women. Since then, Kerber has proved that she belongs at the top of the game, using her powerful left-handed strokes to win three majors and attain the world No. Garbine Muguruza is part of a new wave of emerging tennis champions. When playing against women, King won a Grand slam Championship at all four majors. A journeywoman for the first few years of her career, she showed she belonged at the top by winning the U.S. Open in 2011 over Serena Williams. Some weeks later she crowned her Grand Slam with the Olympic Gold becoming the only player ever to achieve the Golden Slam. After retiring at 21, she launched her fashion brand. Her surface of choice is red clay, where her heavy groundstrokes allow her to maintain the upper hand in rallies. 2 who turned pro in 1968 and retired in 1986. Although Henin won an impressive seven Grand Slams, the question of "what might have been" lingers over her career since she retired due to injuries at only 29 years old. Jacobs amassed five titles of her own over the course of her career and brought a Jazz Age flappers sensibility to the stuffy world of 1920s tennis. 2 who turned pro in 1968 and retired in 1986. But she is currently the premier defender in the game. As a player, she became the first woman from Spain to take home the Wimbledon title in 1994, winning an epic three-set classic over the heavily favored Martina Navratilova. This feat puts her in lofty company, as only six female players have ever won a Slam title without dropping a set.
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