Through the years there have been countless women with amazing achievements in the world of tennis. Now it’s our difficult job to condense all of these accomplishments into the ten best female players to ever play the game. While it’s difficult to outline an apples-to-apples comparison with athletes from different eras, and this transcends all sports. We are judging each player by her individual accomplishments (singles), how they ranked (and dominated) in their respective times and overall contribution to the sport of tennis.
Evonne Goolagong
Country: Australia
Professional Career Length: 15 Years
Career Prize Money: $1,399,431 ($11,774,603 with inflation)
Career Titles: 68
Grand Slams: 7
She might be slightly overshadowed by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who absolutely dominated their sports, but this doesn’t take anything away from Goolagong’s 68 career titles and 7 grand slam titles. Having been only one slam short of a career grand slam (the US Open) in which she appeared in 3 finals might be the mark that sets her under the radar. What stood out about Goolagong was her longevity and ability to perform on all surfaces. Many players (even the greatest) tend to have a weakness, though Goolagong remained fairly consistent.
Justine Henin
Country: Belgium
Professional Career Length: 12 Years
Career Prize Money: $20,863,335 ($30,228,617 with inflation)
Career Titles: 50
Grand Slams: 7
As a naturally gifted athlete, Justine Henin would regularly “wow” spectators with her ability to cover all parts of the court. It was incredibly difficult to get the ball by her, making her one of the fiercest competitors in not only her era but all of history. Henin was a former world number one and Olympic gold medalist. There were multiple instances where she was able to pull off upsets and come from behind to win big matches, including her 2005 French Open Final and 2003 US Open Semi-Final. This was the result of quite a few tennis drills!
Venus Williams
Country: United States
Professional Career Length: 22 Years (and counting)
Career Prize Money: $40,775,058 (and counting)
Career Titles: 49
Grand Slams: 7
One-half of the most dynamic siblings in tennis history. Venus became pro in the mid-1990s and is still playing competitively today in 2018 (40th in the world). Many can’t help but think of what Venus could have accomplished had she not been plagued with knee and hip injuries, which doesn’t even include Sjogren’s Syndrome. Winning 49 tournaments, including 7 grand slam titles after having all of these injuries and illnesses really speaks volumes about her sheer talent.
Monica Seles
Country: Yugoslavia
Professional Career Length: 20
Career Prize Money: $14,891,762 ($26,413,865 with inflation)
Career Titles: 53
Grand Slams: 9
Monica Seles suffered probably one of the biggest tragedies in all of tennis after being stabbed by an insane spectator in 1993. Nobody doubts that had an impact on her career statistics, including her grand slam totals. After the incident, she was gone for roughly 24 months and was never quite the same, indicating that the event changed her forever. A real shame. During her short reign, Monica Seles was able to win 8 grand slams in just a little over 4 years, which was amazing. Many project she would have close to 20 grand slams, had the stabbing incidents never happened.
Billie Jean King
Country: United States
Professional Career Length: 18
Career Prize Money: $1,966,487 ($11,713,394 with inflation)
Career Titles: 129
Grand Slams: 12
Not only an icon for tennis but for women’s sports, Billie Jean King represents excellence. There’s a reason she has a court named after her at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York (where the US Open is played). Her peak was her iconic win against Bobby Riggs in 1973 (the guy who said a woman could never beat a man). King was an elite grass and clay player who had an array of tools that left her without a weakness. She was a massive shot maker and aggressive player who was always able to get the big point when she needed it. You can add fan favorite to her resume!
Margaret Court
Country: Australia
Professional Career Length: 18
Career Prize Money: appx $500,00 ($3,951,676 with inflation)
Career Titles: 192
Grand Slams: 24
192 career titles is quite the accomplishment, especially when you add 24 grand slams to the mix. There’s no question that Margaret Court dominated the sport during her time. Margaret Court was also known as one of the first women tennis players to take strength training and flexibility training to help her shots and avoid injuries for a long career. People forget how easy it is to get hurt in tennis, so having a long career is a major accomplishment in itself.
Martina Navratilova
Country: Czechoslovakia
Professional Career Length: 20
Career Prize Money: $21,626,089 ($65,279,850 with inflation)
Career Titles: 167
Grand Slams: 18
Arguably one of the most fun female tennis players to watch was Martina Navratilova. Between her strength and endurance, she was so physically capable which made her long rallies so entertaining. Her big serve and consistent return game made her such a solid player, that players felt they could only beat her in her prime if she was having an off day.
Chris Evert
Country: United States
Professional Career Length: 18
Career Prize Money: $8,895,195 ($26,850,763 with inflation)
Career Titles: 157
Grand Slams: 18
Such a remarkable competitor that played with such finesse. Chris Evert was unbelievable in long rallies and had a drop shot that could knock anyone off balance. She had one of the most complete arsenals of tools, even in this group of elite all-time players, which puts her third on our list.
Steffi Graf
Country: Germany
Professional Career Length: 17
Career Prize Money: $21,891,306 ($46,032,480 with inflation)
Career Titles: 107
Grand Slams: 22
Known for always being in the mix, Steffi Graf was an elite athlete and respected tennis player. Her ability to float around the court and make shots from so many angles was in ways, unprecedented that some think she changed the game forever. Steffi Graf has the record with 377 weeks ranked number one (that’s over 7 years worth of sitting on the throne).
Serena Williams
Country: United States
Professional Career Length: 21 (and counting)
Career Prize Money: $88,233,301 (and counting)
Career Titles: 72
Grand Slams: 23
Undoubtedly the most accomplished female tennis player has to be Serena. The other half of the most dynamic siblings in sports, she had the most dominating serve that would overpower anyone, anywhere. If not impressive enough, her 23 majors spanned over 25 years and that’s after leaving the sport to work on her clothing brand. Few people could just leave and come back, making her the Michael Jordan of women’s tennis and inspiring a new age of tennis. Looking to the future, players like Sloane Stephens, Simona Halep and Madison Keys all looked up to Serena.
