Monica Seles

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.