The female tennis legends discussed below continue to inspire the fans and the young generation of players today after creating a legacy filled with excellence and hard work on the court.
Steffi Graff
One of the best players in the history of tennis, Steffi Graff has won 22 major singles titles and is the only player to complete a Golden Grand Slam in 1988, claiming all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal. She remained undisputed till 1990 while staying in the top for 377 weeks, the most by any woman.
She was an International Tennis Federation World Champion seven times (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996) and an eight-time WTA Player of the Year (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996).
Her major titles include four Australian Opens (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994), six French Opens (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999), seven Wimbledon’s (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996), and five US Opens (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996).
She retired in 1999 after dominating the sport for over a decade.
Serena Williams
A revolutionary player in women’s tennis since the 1990s, Serena is the second African-American woman to win the US Open title in 1999 at the age of 17 after Althea Gibson (1958). She remained World No. 1 for a total of 319 weeks straight, sitting behind Graf (377) and Martina Navratilova (332).
She holds the record for the second-highest number of Grand Slam titles in the Open era in the women’s game with 23 wins, behind Margaret Court, who holds a record of 24.
Between the 2002 and 2017 seasons, Serena was named the top-ranked player eight times on the WTA Rankings charts.
Martina Navratilova
Navratilova is the only tennis player with the top rank for over 200 weeks in both singles and doubles events. With 18 Grand Slam singles titles, a record-breaking 31 major women’s doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles, she is the world No. 1 player to sit in that rank for 332 weeks.
Navratilova was named WTA’s “Tour Player of the Year” seven times and “Female Athlete of the Year” two times by the Associated Press in 1983 and 1986. She was named No. 19 on the top 100 list of North American athletes by Sports Century.
The former legend was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame back in 2000.
Chris Evert
Known as ‘The Ice Maiden’ during her era, Evert is the first tennis player to win 1,000 singles matches with the second most career match wins (1,309). With 157 career titles and 18 Grand Slams that include a record-breaking seven French Open titles, two Australian Open titles, six US Open singles titles, and three Wimbledon titles. The record made her the fifth-best in women’s tennis history.
Besides this, she has won 157 singles titles, the second-highest record, and was the first player to reach the 150-plus mark. She was also named best player at no. 4 in the TENNIS Era by TENNIS Magazine.
Evert has been named the ‘Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year’ four times, including 1974, 1975, 1977, and 1980. As for her international career, she represented the United States in the Fed Cup for nine seasons, winning eight titles (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, and 1989).
Martina Hingis
Hingis was the youngest tennis player to win a major junior tournament like the 1993 French Open. In 1996, she then became the youngest player at the age of 15 to win a doubles title at Wimbledon, a record that hasn’t been broken even today.
At the start of her career, from 1996 to 2007, Hingis won nine out of 15 titles in women’s doubles. She was ranked 22nd in the list of 40 Greatest Players by TENNIS Magazine with a 548-133 career singles record.
As for her major championship titles, she has won three at the Australian Open (1997, 1998, 1999) and one each at Wimbledon (1997) and the US Open (1997). At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Hingis won a silver medal in the doubles event alongside Timea Bacsinszky.
Take a look at the Top Female Commentators from the World of Women’s Tennis.
