Tennis is a sport that includes two or four players attempting to shoot a rubber ball above the net on a court. First, people in France played such a sport with their hands at the beginning of the 11th century. The players then experimented with rackets in the 15th century. It is now referred to as "tennis."
Men's tennis has a lot of hype, and this has taken place ever since the start of the sport. The understanding of tennis has been changed by players like Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
Over the years, however, female tennis players have also created a name for themselves. Several women have dominated the tennis scene since the beginning of the Open Era, but there were others who were idols in another era as well. Check out the Top 13 Female Tennis Players of All-Time.
13. Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport, sometimes overlooked by some of her other great stars, but she put a very good career together. She made the world’s No.1 with 98 cumulative weeks, having added three Grand Slam titles during that time.
She had a rather contemporary power game, focused on groundstrokes both the wings and from the baseline.
12. Evonne Goolagong
While Goolagong was still able to win seven Grand Slam titles in one of the most difficult times of women's tennis, she was ranked number one in the world in 1976.
She remains the first mother to have won Wimbledon after the First World War and was given the title in 1980 after her daughter had been born in 1977. The lone Grand Slam title she won was the US Open, reaching the finals for four successive years from 1973 to 1976.
11. Justine Henin
It is unlikely that any female tennis player would ever have a smaller body physique than the Belgian Justine Henin. Despite being 5 ft 6 in, she played a commanding game with a strong one-handed backhand.
She failed to lift the Wimbledon trophy but she won seven Grand Slams. Henin never gave up without a fight on the court.
10. Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis became popular as a young star, and that status brought her grand success in her career. It is impossible to find a more well-rounded player while looking at her career resume.
She has five Grand Slam titles in singles, 13 Grand Slams in doubles, and seven Grand Slams in mixed doubles. She was able to excel in her job often, but while she didn't strike with a lot of force, she was very successful.
9. Venus Williams
With a large serve and incredible groundstrokes, Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam titles. Since she began winning in 1997 at the WTA level, many assumed that she would be the next dominant star. However, there was one person who she couldn’t match, her sister, Serena.
Venus can boast of winning the US Open in her career as well. She is often a doubles partner to her sister, and they have had some great success playing together.
8. Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova is a modern baseline player, even though she has struggled a bit in recent years. Her career and her record of five Grand Slam titles are impossible to forget.
The Russian player has strong strokes and a precise serve even though she never got to able to maneuver especially well. She was a WTA World No. 1 for a total of 21 weeks.
7. Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was, without doubt, a wonderful player, having made 12 Grand Slam wins, six of them at Wimbledon from 1966 to 1975. She was a charging player who had no fear of serving and volleys.
Likewise, she did not dread speaking up for the interests of women in the field of athletics, where she played a big role in fighting to make women pay and to value men's game. She is well known for her iconic win over former Wimbledon men's champion Bobby Riggs in the famous Battle of Sexes in 1973.
6. Chris Evert
Chris Evert primarily reigned in the field of women's tennis during the mid-1970s, helped by her strong shots in the tennis scene. She won 18 Grand Slam individual titles.
She was number one in the world for seven straight years, from 1974 to 1981. Before her retirement in 1989, Evert won a total of 157 championships.
5. Monica Seles
Originally from former Yugoslavia, the young Seles became a star in the early 90s, and by the age of 19, she had won eight Grand Slam titles. However, her life took an unlucky turn, when in April 1993, a mad fan stabbed her, leading to a two-year pause in her career.
She won the Australian Open in 1996 but she never got close to her previous performances. She was well-known for her two-handed variety, as her shots were equally powerful both from the forehand and the backhand.
4. Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf has held the record for the third-most wins since the introduction of the Open era, with 22 Grand Slams Singles titles. She won four Grand Slam and an Olympic Gold Medal in a single calendar year. Graf was the first woman tennis player to succeed in doing that.
The German was able to maintain consistency on all surfaces throughout her 17-year career. Her 377 weeks record on the No.1 spot is still standing, whether they be male or female.
3. Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest players ever to step on the court, dominated women's tennis in the late 70s, and over several years of the 80s. Martina has placed the broad service and volleyball back in the game with her intense athletic fitness.
With 167 titles in the Open Era, she can also boast of winning 59 Grand Slam titles, including singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
2. Margaret Court
Many consider Margaret Court as the greatest tennis player ever. Without a doubt, Court was the first female athlete to introduce weights and exercise into her routine from the 60s to the beginning of the 70s.
An astonishing 24 Grand Slams and a long and injury-free career was the result. She is the only player to have lifted at least twice all four Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
1. Serena Williams
Serena Williams has definitely made her mark on tennis, as she is one of the greatest and most influential women of the sport. For over a decade, Serena has dominated women's tennis and at 39 years of age, she continues to play on the highest level.
The first Grand Slam triumph for Serena was against her sister, Venus, at the 2002 French Open. It was also her first win against Venus on four occasions. Since then, Serena has gone on to lift 22 more Grand Slams and manage a 17-11 record over her sister.
