Top 10 Greatest Women Tennis Players of All Time

Steffi Graf is the only tennis player—male or female—to achieve the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in 1988. Her 377 weeks at world No.1 ranks as the longest global record, surpassing Serena Williams' 319 weeks. With 22 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven Wimbledon crowns, she dominated with a 90.9% career win rate, faster than the average top-10 player.

Martina Navratilova revolutionized women's tennis with her serve-and-volley game, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a record 31 Grand Slam doubles championships. Her nine Wimbledon singles titles between 1978 and 1990 are more than any other woman in history, outperforming Chris Evert's three. Ranked No.1 for 332 weeks, she also holds the mark for oldest major winner at 30 years, 7 months.

Chris Evert boasts the highest career win rate in Open Era history at 89.97%, surpassing Steffi Graf's 90.9% only marginally. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven French Opens, and never lost before the quarterfinals in 56 consecutive majors—a consistency 30% better than the average elite player. Her $8.9 million in prize money, though lower than Serena Williams' earnings, reflects her two-decade dominance.

Margaret Court holds the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, a mark that still outranks #2 Serena Williams by one title. The Australian legend achieved the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1970, becoming only the second woman in history to do so. She is the sole player ever to win every Grand Slam title in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles—a feat known as the Boxed Set. Court’s career spanned both the amateur and Open Eras, with 11 of her 24 majors coming in the amateur era. Her 1970 sweep included victories at all four majors, a level of dominance unmatched in the Open Era. Despite debates over era strength, her 64 total major titles (including 19 in doubles and 21 in mixed) are 14 more than any other player in history, solidifying her statistical supremacy.

Billie Jean King won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, but her legacy extends beyond trophies to a transformative impact on the sport. Her iconic 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' victory over Bobby Riggs, watched by 90 million TV viewers, became a defining moment for gender equality. King was instrumental in founding the Women's Tennis Association in 1973, which increased prize money parity by 400% over the next decade. She also pushed for equal pay at the US Open, which offered $100,000 to the men’s champion compared to $55,000 for the women’s in 1972. Her advocacy led to the US Open becoming the first Grand Slam to offer equal prize money in 1973, a benchmark every other major eventually followed. Compared to #6 Billie Jean King, Margaret Court holds more slams, but King’s activism reshaped the game for future generations.

Monica Seles won 9 Grand Slam singles titles before age 20, a feat that makes her the youngest French Open champion in history at 16 years and 6 months. Her career was brutally interrupted in 1993 when she was stabbed on court in Hamburg by a deranged fan of rival Steffi Graf, ending a streak of 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Seles returned after 28 months and won her 9th major at the 1996 Australian Open, a comeback hailed as one of sport’s greatest. She reached world No. 1 for 178 weeks, including 113 consecutive weeks at the top. Compared to #7 Justine Henin, Seles won 2 more Grand Slams and her early dominance outpaced Henin’s by a decade. Her per-match winning rate of 85.3% in slams before the stabbing is higher than any player on this list, underscoring her sheer talent.

Justine Henin won 7 Grand Slam singles titles with arguably the most technically exquisite one-handed backhand in women's tennis history. The Belgian champion dominated clay with 4 French Open titles, including a run where she won 27 consecutive sets on the surface. She spent 117 consecutive weeks at world No. 1, the 7th-longest streak in history, despite standing just 5'6" and weighing 126 lbs. Henin’s 2007 US Open final victory featured a 6-1, 6-3 scoreline that outclassed #8 Svetlana Kuznetsova’s average set score by 3 games. She retired abruptly in 2008 at age 25, but still holds a 82.6% career winning percentage on clay, which is 5% higher than the average of any other top-10 player. Her 2003 Roland Garros title saw her drop only 20 games in the entire tournament, a record low for that decade.

Iga Swiatek is the dominant force of the 2020s women's game, having won 4 French Open titles and a US Open by the age of 23 to bring her Grand Slam tally to 5. The Polish superstar spent over 125 consecutive weeks at world No.1 from 2022 to 2024, the third-longest streak in history, and posted a historic 37-match winning streak — the longest in women's tennis in 25 years. Her winning streak outperforms #10 Victoria Azarenka's best run of 11 matches, highlighting Swiatek's sheer consistency.

Victoria Azarenka won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013, reaching world No.1 with one of the most complete games in the sport — elite serve, relentless baseline power, and exceptional court coverage. She held the top ranking for 51 weeks, fewer than #9 Iga Swiatek's 125-week tenure. The Belarusian two-time Grand Slam champion also won Olympic gold in doubles at London 2012 alongside Max Mirnyi, and boasts a career win percentage of 68%. Her aggressive style is faster than the average player's, making her a formidable opponent.