Top 10 Female Tennis Players of All Time

The sport of women's tennis has really taken off in recent years, with players like Anna Kournikova, Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova really bringing the sport of tennis to the spotlight of mainstream media. However, it hasn't always been that way, and thus the women's side of the sport, unlike the men's, isn't quite as rich in history, and hasn't produced as many legendary players. But there have been enough great female players over the past few decades to warranty compiling a list of the top 10 female tennis players of all time. Here is my list of the best female players to ever swing a racket:

10 - Justine Henin

Had this diminutive Belgian decided to play longer you can rest assured she would have eventually found herself much higher up this list. However, in May of 2008 at the tender age of 25 she announced to the world she was calling it a career. She was ranked number 1 in the world at the time of her retirement, and had already amassed an impressive 7 grand slam titles during her relatively short career. It is a huge blow for the sport to have a player of her caliber leave its ranks so early. Hopefully she will reconsider and will return one day soon.

9 - Evonne Goolagong Cawley

If this was a list of the greatest tennis names this Australian Aboriginal would be right up there with Vitus Gerulaitus. One of the dominant players of the 70s she played in 18 grand slam singles finals, winning 7 of them during her career. She also won a total of 7 grand slam doubles titles, making her an easy selection on the list of the top 10 female tennis players of all time.

8 - Serena Williams

If Serena Williams dedicated her life to tennis the way many others in the sport do, she would undoubtedly have many more grand slam titles than the impressive 8 she has already captured. One of the most powerful hitters on the female side of the sport, this younger Williams sibling easily overpowers many of her smaller opponents. She also has 6 grand slam doubles titles with sister Venus, and has already accomplished this at 26 years of age.

7 - Monica Seles

This Hungarian, born in Yugoslavia, and now a U.S. citizen is truly an international sports star. Arriving on the scene while Steffi Graf was still tearing up courts across the world, she looked to be on track to be the next big female superstar in the sport. However, a deranged Graf fan ran on to the court and stabbed her in the back during a 1993 tournament in Hamburg, derailing a career that might have been the brightest in the sport. More psychologically than physically wounded, Seles did not play professional tennis for over 2 years, and was a shadow of her former self upon her return. She did manage to win 1 more grand slam title (Australian Open) giving her 9 for her career.

6 - Billie Jean King

This aggressive, hard-hitting speedster is one of the most recognizable players in the sport of tennis. She was one of the most dominant players of her era, winning an even dozen singles grand slam titles in the 60s and 70s. As good a singles player as she was she was even more successful at doubles, winning a total of 27 titles (doubles & mixed doubles) in grand slam events. Her career accomplishments are outstanding and rank her easily as one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time.

5 - Helen Wills Moody

Going back to the earliest days of professional women's tennis, one name stands above all as the greatest of her era. A dominant player in the 20s and 30s, Helen Wills Moody racked up a staggering 19 singles grand slam titles in only 22 appearances, including 8 Wimbledon titles. Perhaps most astonishingly of all she reached the finals in every grand slam event she competed in, and at one point had a 158 match winning streak, during which she did not drop a set.

4 - Chris Evert

This former #1 ranked female tennis player held that spot for an impressive 7 years. During her career she racked up 18 grand slam singles titles, including a record 7 French Open titles. She is generally considered to have one of the best passing shots in the history of the sport, hitting her shots with pinpoint accuracy against such formidable serve and volleyers as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.

3 - Margaret Smith Court

Another female Aussie superstar, Margaret Smith Court has a career resume that would rank her as number 1 among the top 10 female tennis players in history. However, the competition is fierce, so she only makes number 3 on my list. Her 24 grand slam singles titles is the most all time for a tennis player, male or female. In 1970 she became the first woman of the open era to win all four grand slam titles in the same year, and to go along with her singles titles she also amassed an incredible 38 grand slam doubles (doubles & mixed) titles.

2 - Martina Navratilova

The top 4 players on this list are so close in my mind I could reverse them from 4 to 1 and still be satisfied my list was a good one. Though Navratilova did not have quite as many titles as Margaret Smith Court did it is my opinion she faced tougher competition during her time on the tour, so I will give the edge to Navratilova. Probably the female best serve and volleyer to ever play the game, her dominating net presence helped this lefty win 59 total grand slam titles during her career, including 20 total victories at Wimbledon.

1 - Steffi Graf

Many will argue that Graf is not deserving of the top spot on my list of the top 10 female tennis players of all time. She did not have the longevity of players like Navratilova and Evert, and also lacked the doubles titles racked up by many of the women in the sport. Still, during the peak of her career she dominated the game like no other woman before or since. Much like Federer does today, she seemed to win easily against even the most talented opponents, using her incredible baseline power to crush winner after winner. Her 22 singles grand slam titles are the 2nd most ever, and if she hadn't opted to retire when she did, there can be little doubt she'd hold the number 1 spot in that category. Simply put, the most dominant female tennis player ever.