Justine Henin is one of the greatest and most underrated players in womens tennis. The game has changed so much, and the racquets, in particular, have turned the modern game into something vastly different from the past. Not only did she win 12 Grand Slam titles in singles, but she took home the career Grand Slam, winning all four majors. The greatest: Steffi Graf power and perfect timing personified | Katy Murrells, The greatest: Martina Navratilova an enduring champion brave enough to be herself | Emma John, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Venus is often overshadowed by her younger sisters achievements, but her career is worthy of tremendous recognition in its own right. Greatest British Tennis Players She preferred to play from the baseline, using her power and accuracy to blow opponents away. 3. And she has transcended her sport. By the end of 1993, she was burned out of tennis, taking over a year off and dealing with arrest, drug use, and more. I m talking about the real and the only Grand Slam: the wins of the four Majors within a calendar year. She previously won a junior title at Wimbledon. She has grown up in the Alnwick Castle, which was featured as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. She had a varied and beautiful all-around style of play and, despite being small in stature, was a giant fighter. Now 53 years old, she is a former professional player who ranked World No.1 for a record 377 weeks. The list of the failing ones is prominent: among them even most of the all time greats: Evert, Navratilova, Seles, Serena, Federer, Djokovic. She also found success in doubles, winning at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open into her thirties, to bring her career full circle. Had one of them not existed, 30 Slams would of been easily attained. Justine Henin is one of the last great tennis champions in the women's game to use a one-handed backhand. From that point on, she raised her game to something otherworldly probably the highest sustained level of excellence I have ever seen from a female tennis player. With that in mind, we are spending the Wimbledon fortnight debating which of the greats is the greatest of them all. Vote up the best women's tennis players ever. Her father was an aspiring tennis coach. Top 5 British Tennis Players of All Time For those who arent quite convinced Serena Williams is number one all-time just yet, the most mentioned name is Steffi Graf. She was able to have a ton of success in the 1990s in particular, but it was 1988 where she first made a huge splash. 100 Greatest of All Time But of all the great women in tennis, only one can stand alone as the greatest of all time. I generally agree with the rankings, especially the top 5 with Chris at 4 ahead of Court at 5. Mary Pierce had to overcome incredible adversity on the tour, battling injuries and an abusive relationship with her father. More than 500 of you have been in touch to argue your case and as with our writers it has proven to be a game of opinions. The top players also dominated their peers, and most of them had games that could translate into success in other eras. British tennis players Her career was cut short due to injuries, but her trailblazing impact on the game remains significant. She previously won a junior title at Wimbledon. The game has had many great female players, pioneers and trailblazers, but only one gets the all-time top ranking. Although she represented France in national play, she made history as the first Canadian-born player to win a Grand Slam and was the most recent French player (to date) to win the Roland Garros title. Serena Williams is the greatest of all tines in North America. British Tennis Players Tennis has seen a slew of epic rivalries throughout the course of, Read More 15 Greatest Rivalries In Tennis HistoryContinue, Over the last couple of decades, the tennis court has turned into a home for some very tall players. Greatest Women's Tennis Players of All Time Without question, they are the greatest pair in tennis history. She won seven grand slams and an Olympic gold medal in a hugely competitive era in the womens game. This article was amended on 6 July 2020. In 1983, she played 87 matches and lost only one of them. Conchita Martinez played a decisive role in different Wimbledon championships more than two decades apart. She also won 12 doubles titles, including the WTA Austrian 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. She was able to win the Golden Grand Slam, taking home all four major titles, as well as the Olympic gold in the Seoul Olympics. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Her first Grand Slam victory came in 1968 at the US Open, and shed go on to win 55 singles titles throughout her career. After retiring at 21, she launched her fashion brand. Most memorable British tennis players Victoria Azarenka put the tiny, post-Soviet republic of Belarus on the tennis map, winning the Australian Open back to back in 2012 and 2013. The face of tennis is notably more diverse than when she and her sister arrived. Throughout her 11 year career, she showed she was a continually great competitor. Martina Navratilova shows off her Wimbledon trophy in 1990. A great ambassador to the game and her country. In doing so, she elevated herself from great to greatest. Godfree won two Wimbledon singles titles. This feat, winning an entire set while losing zero points, has only been recorded 14 known times across the entire history of mens or womens tennis. She returned the ball like a human backboard, manipulating her opponent around the court. 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. She was also a very good doubles and mixed doubles player, taking home 27 Grand Slam titles with different partners. The key to her success? She still prefers to stay near the baseline, but she can play many different styles depending on who she is facing. She won four times at her home Australian Open and seven Grand Slam titles total, as well as leading Australia to three Fed Cup titles. 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. Justine Henin is one of the greatest and most underrated players in womens tennis. She was particularly great on grass courts, winning five Wimbledon championships. Nick Gannon. At 15, she became the youngest from Britain to play senior Wimbledon in almost 100 years. Your email address will not be published. 9 Agassi and No. Known as The Little Wonder, Lottie Dod gained fame as a remarkable tennis player and a five-time Wimbledon Ladies' Singles champion. Its just the highest and most legendary achievement for tennis players in history. Evert gave American fans an incredible champion to cheer for as she won 157 titles and 18 Grand Slams. it was used the first time, when Navratilova failed to win rthe Grand Slam although she had even won 6 consecutive Majors. But the Chilean changed all that by winning the 1937 U.S. Open. And so did also Steffi Graf. 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. Serena Williams celebrates after winning the French Open in 2013. Playing in the 1950s, when segregation was still the law of the land in America, Gibson became the first African-American woman to win Grand Slam titles, amassing five. 20 Greatest Female Tennis Players Of All Time Angela Mortimer Althea Gibson By Associated Press / Public domain Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett is a 4. The days are long and the nights are warm but, sadly, we will have to wait until next year to see the great players of our time compete at Wimbledon. Some people believe that Serena Williams still has work to do to become the greatest tennis player of all time. Totally agree and Graf was far more mobile at 29 than Serena. Although she's never won a Grand Slam, her consistency propelled her to the top of the world rankings for the first time in 2008. She also became a huge inspiration for a lot of mothers when she came back after giving birth. Best Women With that said, she had a ton of success as a child prodigy, and she hung around enough to have considerable success in doubles as well. I remember watching her in action on an old black and white TV with my mum and sister. 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. Christine Truman Margaret Court doubles Wimbledon By fotograaf onbekend / CC BY-SA 3.0 NL (https://creativecommons. Johanna Konta is a British tennis player who represented Australia till 2012. When she returned, she was able to win one more grand slam singles title, but she was not the same caliber of player. The only knock against her is that most of her domination came in the 1960s, before the open era of tennis. 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. Top 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. 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. Most memorable British tennis players Four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, Elena Baltacha was a Ukrainian-born British tennis player, who held the British No. She retired in 2020, bringing her storied career to a close. Ranker Tennis. The United States was credited with the most great players (38), followed by Australia (17), France (7), Great Britain (6) and Czechoslovakia (5). Yea, unquestionably Serena was a very dominant player in her era. 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. She has five Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam doubles titles and seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. 1 in doubles, Wade won four Grand Slam doubles titles. 1 Federer, No. Played: Right-handed (two-handed backhand). On the court, Sharapova dictated points with a strong serve and heavy groundstrokes and won all four majors for the career Grand Slam. Her style of play that relentless serve and volley approach where she would attack the net at every opportunity stood out among the sea of baseliners and her rivalry with Chris Evert is the soundtrack of womens tennis in this era. Born: Aug. 25, 1927, Silver, South Carolina, Died: Sept. 28, 2003, East Orange, New Jersey (Age 76). 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. A former world No. Shes been number one in the world for 64 weeks so far in her career, and she may add to that number in the end. This remains her best Grand Slam result to date. Martina Hingis isnt the most physically imposing player, especially in todays modern game. Bottom line: Players from Russia are now a common part of the tennis landscape, but it was not always the case. WebEasily one of the most successful female British tennis players, Virginia Wade is a three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. Christine Truman Margaret Court doubles Wimbledon By fotograaf onbekend / CC BY-SA 3.0 NL (https://creativecommons. Evonne often bullied her opposition, dominating early on and consistently throughout matches. Evonne often bullied her opposition, dominating early on and consistently throughout matches. 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. Seles started her career young, turning pro in 1989, aged just 16. Virginia Wade is a British former tennis player. Lindsay Davenport was a model of consistency at the top of the game. Greatest Women's Tennis Players of All Time Seles started her career young, turning pro in 1989, aged just 16. Best Female Tennis Players of All Time 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. She underlined that with her historical wins over #3 Seles, #2 Davenport and #1 Hingis at Roland Garos. Wades tally of 55 is particularly impressive. This was due to a kick serve and deadly volleys that made her the best of her era on grass. This guy was the tennis pro of the 90s. Serena's power game, anchored by a devastating serve, is without equal in the history of the womens game. 3. Retired from professional tennis in 2013, she continued to remain associated with the game, captaining Great Britain Fed Cup team from 2017 to 2019. Steffi Graf. 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. She played with a serve-and-volley style, which even in her time was declining, but she found great success with it. Born: June 8, 1976, Palos Verdes, California. 2, Wade won three Grand Slam singles titles, including the famous 1977 Wimbledon, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. From Fred Perry and Virginia Wade to Andy Murray, British Tennis success has grown and grown over the years. Ann Shirley Jones is a tennis legend and easily one of the greatest of all time, playing at a time 3: Virginia Wade. Her stretch of seven grand slams won between 1990 and 1993 is one of the greatest runs of dominance recorded by a player in the modern era. 9 Agassi and No. 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. A hero in her native Brazil, she was greeted at home by ticker-tape parades upon returning from winning her Grand Slam titles.
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