Top Five Women's Performances at Wimbledon

There have been several female players to play the game of tennis and make an appearance in Wimbledon. The fact that they only recently got equal salary for the games and that they still do not play the full five games is a sad fact to the bigotry that exists in the sport. Even though Billie Jean King proved that women can play just as well as men 1973 when she defeated Bobby Riggs, women are still treated as inferior. Just to prove that there are some stellar women out there in the sport of tennis, here is a look at five of the all time greats. Any one of these could easily beat me in a match (although a golden retriever could probably accomplish that feat).

1957 Althea Gibson

One of the most forgotten names in the Civil Rights Movement is Althea Gibson. Not only did she break the color barrier here in the United States for black female athletes, but, since tennis is more of a global sport, she accomplished the feat on an international level. Becoming the first black woman to ever win a grand Slam title, Gibson opened the door for many players behind her. There is little documented about her matches since women did not have a league to play in at the time. It was mostly exhibition games and she made no money from it. There were no salaries or endorsements, especially not for a woman, least of all a black one. Aside from all the hatred, degradation, insults, and overall disdain that the world showed this amazing woman, she continued to work on her tennis game and become the greatest player that she could be. She went on to win the Wimbledon Final in 1957 and 1958. For all that she suffered, she still continued on despite the haters and did what she wanted to do. Rarely will anyone ever witness such passion and love for the game. Althea Gibson deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest to ever play the game of tennis.

1966 Billie Jean King

One of the biggest names in the world of women's tennis is Billie Jean King. She is credited with revolutionizing the game for women and being an integral part of making it what it is today. Billie Jean was a very outspoken women's activist and was known not only for her amazing skills with the racket, but the fact that she knew women could be just as good as men in this sport. Her ultimate goal of making it one competition and not a women's and men's separate finals has yet to be seen, but this fiery young woman showed that women were a force to be reckoned with on the courts.

1966 brought one of the best performances of Mrs. King's career. From her beginning in 1959, Billie Jean had several close calls when it came to winning a Grand Slam tourney. It was not until 1966 that the dream was realized. It was during this year that Billie Jean had a fire burning deep inside her and she had something to prove. It seemed that this was also an iconic year. Every single match of the Wimbledon tournament that year, she had to play an opponent that had bested her in the past. Many of these opponents had kept her from a title by defeating her in the final round. She went on to trounce each of them. It was as if she were playing against history as she worked her way to the final round. From "Dodo" Cheney to Margaret Court, Billie Jean tore through them all until she finally beat Court for the Finals title. It was an amazing year to watch her drop opponent after opponent as she worked her way to the first Wimbledon win of her career.

1970 Margaret Court

No matter what your feelings are towards Margaret Court's political and religious beliefs (she is rather boisterous about them), you must admit that she was one of the greatest women to ever play tennis. With a standing record of 62 Grand Slam titles and 85 total appearances, there is no arguing this woman's skills. It was in 1970, however, that she played one of the finest matches she has ever played. After loosing to Billie Jean King in '66, Court was on the warpath. She had to have that title back and she would stop at nothing to regain it. This desire and passion was evident in every stroke she took that year as she geared herself up for Wimbledon. In one of the most epic battles to ever occur in women's tennis, the 1970 Wimbledon Final was a true masterpiece. Once again it was Court and King on Centre Court. These two were both tenacious and neither wanted to give in the least little bit. In a grit and nails, knock down drag out fight, that has yet to be rivaled (not even by the Williams sisters), these two gave one of the best matches of their career. Court finally won out and defeated King, but the battles between these two Aces became rivals for the record books. This was truly one of the best matches in the history of tennis, both men's and women's.

2002 Serena Williams

In 2002, the world's stage opened up for one of the biggest rivalries in all sports. I know from experience that Yankee and BoSox fans are more civil to each other than the Williams sisters are to each other when they are on the court. Whenever you get two people with this much desire to win to face each other, there is bound to be some aggression. Now you add the fact that they are women AND sisters, you better run for a bunker when you see this match in the headlines. 2002 brought the first of many Grand Slam competitions where these two would vie for the title. Serena had lost to her older sister Venus several times in the past, but this year would be different. The Ali and Foreman fight was not nearly as bloody as this match up as both of these women went for the jugular. Serena finally bested her sister for the championship and once the game was over, everything returned to a happy sibling relationship. While the match was going though, it was brutal. This was a true test of Serena's ability and she had to dig down deep to give one of the best tennis performances of her life to beat out big sis for the Wimbledon Championship.

2007 Venus Williams

Venus Williams has had several amazing seasons behind her. From her debut at 14 years old, to the several times she has had to play against her sister for a Grand Slam title, her tennis life is full of some true grit stories and amazing play. It was 2007 that she truly showed the world what she was made of. Dynamic performances go well beyond natural talent or ability. For me, a great game is one that shows what an athlete is made of. Win or lose, if they poured their heart out into the sport, that is truly an epic game that should be one of their career highlights. 2007 was one of those years for Venus Williams. She had nothing left to prove. She had several Grand Slam titles and was currently in the lead with wins against her sister. 2007 was the year that she came back from several injuries and a lot of off the field hype. She returned to what made her happy and she was there to show the world that she was not too old or too broken to play. She was on a mission to prove to everyone, and I think she had to prove something to herself as well, that she was still one of the all time tennis greats. After horrible seasons and a plethora of injuries from '03 to '06, it was time to get back in the saddle.

She came out a little sluggish and nearly got eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon. After straightening up, she was able to advance, but kept stumbling all the way up the ladder. You could tell that her determination was kicking in in each match. She would start to fall behind and then something inside her would come alive and she would dominate the remainder of the sets. All the way until the Finals. It was here that the reality of things sank in. She then utterly destroyed Marion Bartoli for the Championship. This win gave her a fourth Wimbledon and put her with the likes of Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf. Being only the fourth woman in history to accomplish this, she not only proved to the world that she was not too old and broken to do what she loved, but she proved it to herself.