Top 10 Best Women's Tennis Players of All Time

Serena's power serve and overall game would overwhelm any of the other top 10 candidates for the number one spot. The only debate is Steffi Graf. I think if they played 10 games head-to-head, Serena would win six or seven out of 10.

Steffi and Margaret Court look a bit better on paper and statistically, but many of Margaret's wins were before the Open Era. Steffi was helped by Monica Seles being stabbed during her prime and removed as competition. Serena deserves the top spot.

Serena is very likely to reach at least 22 Grand Slams and tie Steffi. Serena, Steffi, Martina, Chris, and Margaret are the all-time top five.

Graf is the greatest player of any generation, period. As for Serena fans stating Serena beat Steffi when she was 16, that is false. Serena was older than 16, and Graf beat her twice anyway.

Given that Steffi was nowhere near her best from 1997-1999, she still beat the top players. Graf beat Serena in Hong Kong and Sydney and narrowly lost to her in Indian Wells despite playing poorly due to recurring injuries. Graf also beat Venus in Sydney after taking out Serena beforehand and then beat Venus in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. She defeated Davenport, Hingis, Seles, and Clijsters during her final year.

This shows that even the younger, top-ranked players back then couldn't stop an injury-plagued, subpar Graf. Imagine if Steffi was injury-free during her final two years. She would have won more Slams, and none of those she lost to would have come close. Graf is simply the best ever. And Serena, well, not so much.

Martina won more tournaments than any other player, including more Wimbledon titles. Wimbledon is the most prestigious tournament. She has the longest winning streak and battled Chris Evert, another all-time great, constantly during her career. Other players such as Graf and Williams did not face such competition.

Martina also played doubles and mixed doubles, while the others concentrated on singles. In fact, Williams concentrates almost solely on the slams. In assessing players, you have to look at who they played for the titles and their overall career, not just singles and slams.

Monica Seles was like the "Michael Jordan" of tennis during her prime teenage years. She was unbeatable, unstoppable! She would always find herself winning many Grand Slams against the best players in the world, such as Steffi Graf in her prime. Indeed, she played against the best and she beat the best.

This was prior to that sad and tragic day that forever changed the sport of tennis when she was brutally and violently attacked by a deranged "Steffi Graf obsessed" lunatic on April 30, 1993. She was on a path to become the greatest tennis player that ever walked the Earth, but then tragedy struck in 1993, and her destiny of becoming the greatest player ever dramatically came to a sudden halt. Her dreams of becoming the best ever were suddenly derailed forever, and sadly, we were all robbed of watching her blossom into greatness.

She had so much potential that she was the youngest ever to win the French Open at only 16 years of age, defeating Steffi Graf. She then went on to win it again and again, three times in a row. She defeated legends such as Steffi Graf multiple times, not just at Roland Garros, but also at the Australian Open. Between the ages of 16 and 18, she won most of her nine major Grand Slams. Sadly, her reign of dominance ended while she was still a teenager.

Now imagine if she had never been stabbed. Monica Seles would've rewritten the history books and broken all the records. She would've done the unthinkable, and in her roaring 20s, she could've won 22, 25, 30, or maybe even more than 30 Grand Slams. As a result, Steffi Graf would only have maybe 14 or 15 Grand Slams instead of her 22. Only Margaret Court has more, but Monica Seles would've surpassed all of them: Graf, Serena, Margaret, etc.

Monica Seles would've been like the "Bruce Lee," the Michael Jordan, the Pele, the Babe Ruth, and the Wayne Gretzky of tennis combined. Imagine that!

Loved the way she ran her opponents ragged while looking fresh as a daisy herself! She is responsible for the modern women's game. Superb anticipation and disguised shots that were difficult to read.

Serve-and-volley players, in particular, were scared of her and ended up staying back and playing Evert's game for fear of being passed and lobbed. Her emotionless display on the court also rattled many opponents. She was the bagel queen, specializing in dishing out 6-0 sets!

She instilled fear in opponents, especially in the 1970s, even among the top players. The second tier of players felt they had absolutely no chance of defeating her. She rarely suffered "upset" defeats.

Some of the top players tried to avoid the clay circuit just to stay away from Chris on her favorite clay surface where she was an absolute terror.

In 1970, Margaret Court became the first woman during the open era and the second woman in history to win all four Grand Slam tournament singles titles in the same calendar year. Court won a record 24 of those titles during her career. She also won 19 women's doubles and 19 mixed doubles titles, giving her a record 62 major titles overall.

Her all-surfaces career match-winning percentage of 91.74% (1177/106) is an all-time record. The International Tennis Hall of Fame states, "For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment, there has never been a tennis player to match her." She is clearly the greatest female tennis player of all time, so why is she not number 1 on this list?

One of the greatest female tennis players ever, and there is no doubt about it. Jumping forward at the highest level isn't easy, and she didn't just prove it but showed it when she was only 17.

Believe it or not, I believe she has what it takes to be the best ever. She completely and undoubtedly deserves a much higher ranking on this list!

Terrific, powerful player. Very tough to beat. Great service, great forehand, great backhand. The second-best player of the 2000s after Serena. Career Grand Slam holder. Third-youngest Wimbledon Champion in history.

Owner of the greatest upset in memory when she demolished Serena at 2004 Wimbledon. The most marketable tennis player (male or female) of all time. A true icon and legend. Definitely, she belongs to the echelon of all-time greats (number 6 or number 7).

Hope for her comeback in 2021! Love you, Maria.

Did a lot for women's tennis, including equal pay. A great in that regard. As a player, she was a "thinking" player who knew how to tailor her game to each opponent. And that enabled her to "punch above her weight."

If it weren't for Billie Jean King, no one would have ever heard of the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, or anyone else in women's tennis.

The Battle of the Sexes is enough to put her above all the rest.

Longevity, class, power, agility. I have always admired Venus's game and how she has adapted and added to her repertoire as her career advances. Her perseverance is very inspiring, especially her phenomenal 2017 season. Also, her doubles and Olympic record are commendable.

What she has done for women's tennis, from equal pay to the representation of Black women, and her fashion icon status is amazing. She is still playing quite well today at 39, beating players half her age or ranked higher. Her record on grass is also noteworthy.

When she wins a match, her smile and happiness are magnetic, and she is always respectful. Her love for Serena is obvious. A mentally weak person may feel threatened by Serena's success, but Venus can celebrate her sister and remain focused on her own success. She is an entrepreneur with pursuits outside of tennis. Some might argue this distracts from her tennis achievements, but it is nice to see players focus on other revenue streams besides endorsements.

Overall, I love everyone on this list, but Vee is a personal gem.

Hingis was the grandmaster of chess playing tennis. She could dismantle any power-hitting opponent with placement, stroke, and uncanny angles. An absolute favorite to watch.

Great finesse and gamesmanship. Would have had a longer time at number one were it not for the arrival of the Williams sisters, who have dominated based on brute force.

When I saw Graf and Seles come along in the 1990s, I thought that they were at another level from earlier players like Evert and Navratilova. Then along came Hingis, and the level was raised again.

The only other player who may prove to be as great is Andreescu from Canada. Honorable mention to Kim Clijsters.

She has the best backhand in the women's game. She had a very good all-around game, and her slice was considered one of the best of all time. She won 7 Grand Slams and reached the final of every Grand Slam, including reaching the final in all of them in 2006.

She also won the gold medal in 2004 at the Olympics, defeating Mauresmo in the final. The only Grand Slam she didn't win was Wimbledon. She was considered one of the best volleyers on tour and won three consecutive French Open titles.

She retired with four French Open titles, one Australian Open title, and two US Open titles and is still known as one of the greatest tennis players ever.

Simona is definitely better than #13. I would put her further up. Better than Davenport by a mile! Strong, focused, athletic, great backhand...

Very nice breakthrough season. She is the current queen of clay. Based on past seasons, she has back pains, sadly.

Gabriela had it all. She deserves to be much higher on this list. She had a great serve, a powerful return game, a cerebral ability to mix up her types and placement of shots well, and a charming personality that made her the media darling of women's tennis.

A top-10 great player for sure, but more importantly, a quality person.

She is the best player ever. She made many players go on break, biggest example was the Williams sisters, Sharapova, and players like Davenport and others. She was the true spirit of tennis.

I am sure if there were no health issues, she could beat any player on the tour. She should be back to let this world realize who the real champion is. Kim, you are truly great.

Being able to win three Grand Slams after childbirth says enough! She is the best!

A role model for tennis players and one of the best this decade.

She encourages more Asians to play tennis.

Best two-handed backhand of all time!

Definitely the most underrated and overlooked player on this list.

Agnieszka Radwańska is an amazing player. She plays really well near the net and is known for hitting the most amazing and hard shots. As a little girl, I always looked up to her. Her attitude always inspired me. No matter if she was losing or winning, she had respect for her opponent and she always stayed calm.

As a teenager that plays tennis, I hope that in the future I will be able to play like her and make our country proud.

She's an amazing person and an excellent tennis player. As far as I know, she is in fifth place in the world ranking now.

So beautiful, kind, and sympathetic.

Such a great player to watch! She is perhaps not technically the best, but she used her weapons to overpower taller, stronger, better players. She has incredible levels of fitness, toughness, and the ability to outlast any player while utilizing her highly unorthodox style.

Her method of playing the squat shot is quite remarkable. She squats so deep and returns to position quickly, even against huge power shots. Her thigh muscles are incredible, and she is incredibly strong. She is the only player capable of carrying this out in such a rugged way.

She is the best at maximizing her talents!