Greatest Women's Tennis Players

The game has had many great female players, pioneers and trailblazers, but only one gets the all-time top ranking.

Greatest Women's Tennis Players

Female athletes continue to fight for equality in sports, and tennis players have been at the forefront of that struggle for decades.

From trailblazing legends like Billie Jean King to current champions like Serena Williams, dominant athletes on the tennis court have elevated women’s sports to new heights.

But of all the great women in tennis, only one can stand alone as the greatest of all time. These rankings determine who holds the crown.

Stats are through May 7, 2020.

Honorable Mention: Anastasia Myskina

Country: Russia

Born: July 8, 1981, Moscow, Russia

Career: 1998-2007

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 355-191 (65.02 percent)

Titles: 10

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: $5,606,725

Bottom line: Players from Russia are now a common part of the tennis landscape, but it was not always the case.

Anastasia Myskina was part of the first wave of young women who helped put the world’s largest country on the map, with her French Open win in 2004, the first singles title for a Russian player.

Her career was cut short due to injuries, but her trailblazing impact on the game remains significant.

50. Sloane Stephens

Country: USA

Born: March 20, 1993, Plantation, Florida

Career: 2009-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 294-201 (59.4 percent)

Titles: 6

Grand Slams: 1

Prize Money: $15,271,325

Bottom line: Sloane Stephens is a bright light for American tennis in the post-Williams sisters future.

Stephens demonstrated enormous promise by defeating Serena Williams as a teenager at the Australian Open, and then fulfilled that promise by defeating Venus Williams en route to the U.S. Open title.

Her career has been up and down since then, but she still has the talent to repeat that level of excellence.

49. Sam Stosur

Country: Australia

Born: March 30, 1984, Brisbane, Australia

Career: 1999-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record:605-443 (57.7 percent)

Titles: 9

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: $19,037,221

Bottom line: Sam Stosur’s game stood out for the sheer power of her serve and heavy topspin forehand.

A journeywoman for the first few years of her career, she showed she belonged at the top by winning the U.S. Open in 2011 over Serena Williams.

By doing so, she broke her country’s Grand Slam title drought, becoming the first Australian woman to win once since Evonne Goolangong Cawley in 1980

48. Jelena Jankovic

Country: Serbia

Born: Feb. 28, 1985, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Career: 2000-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 644-370 (63.5 percent)

Titles: 15

Grand Slams: 0

Prize money: $19,089,259

Bottom line: Jelena Jankovic was part of a wave of players that established Serbia as a tennis powerhouse for the women’s game while Novak Djokovic led the charge for the Serbian men.

Her efficient, counterpunching game style has served her well over a long career. 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.

47. Ana Ivanovic

Country: Serbia

Born: Nov. 6, 1987, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Career: 2003-2016

Played: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 480-225 (68.1 percent)

Titles: 15

Grand Slams: 1

Prize Money: $15,510,787

Bottom line: The other Serbian woman who emerged as a star in the 2000s, Ana Ivanovic matched Jelena Jankovic by earning the world No.1 ranking spot in 2008.

Ivanovic even went one step further and won a Grand Slam, taking home the French Open that year in convincing fashion.

Although Ivanovic never won another Slam, she showed persistence and determination by overcoming multiple injuries to reach the top 5 again late in her career.

46. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Country: Russia

Born: June 27, 1985, Leningrad, Russia

Career: 2000-present

Played: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 663-336 (66.4 percent)

Titles: 19

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $25,389,852

Bottom line: Svetlana Kuznetsova is something of a tennis enigma.

Often well known for falling apart in big matches, she has nonetheless found enough toughness and consistency to win the champion’s trophy at both the U.S. Open and the French Open.

The key to her success? A powerful, attacking baseline game that allows her to dictate the pace of play on multiple surfaces and consistently gain the upper hand in rallies.

45. Marion Bartoli

Country: France

Born: Oct. 2, 1984, Le Puy-en-Velay, France

Career: 2000-2013

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed on both sides)

Record: 490-229 (62.1 percent)

Titles: 8

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: $11,055,114

Bottom line: Marion Bartoli gave the tennis world one of its great underdog stories. Twice.

First, she came out of nowhere at Wimbledon in 2007 to make the final in a huge upset over Justine Henin in the semis.

Then, in 2013, she far surpassed that feat. Not only did she take home the title, but she did it without dropping a single set.

This feat puts her in lofty company, as only six female players have ever won a Slam title without dropping a set.

44. Caroline Wozniacki

Country: Denmark

Born: July 11, 1990, Odense, Denmark

Career: 2005-2020

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 635-264 (70.6 percent)

Titles: 30

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: $34,233,415

Bottom line: For much of the 2010s, Caroline Wozniacki was a model of consistency, winning 30 titles and ending two consecutive years at world No.1.

The only problem? For years, she failed to win a Grand Slam title and was unfairly branded as someone who could not perform on the biggest stages.

It took her much of the decade, but Wozniacki put all doubts to rest when she took home the 2018 Australian Open title.

43. Angelique Kerber

Country: Germany

Born: Jan. 18, 1988, Bremen, West Germany

Career: 2003-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 627-33 (65.3 percent)

Titles: 12

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: $29,526,500

Bottom line: Many of the women on this list were teenage sensations, finding championship success instantly on the tour. Not so with Angelique Kerber.

At 23, she was only ranked No. 92 in the world when she broke out by reaching the U.S. Open semifinal.

Since then, Kerber has proved that she belongs at the top of the game, using her powerful left-handed strokes to win three majors and attain the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in 2016.

42. Anita Lizana

Country: Chile

Born: Nov. 19, 1915, Santiago, Chile

Died: Aug. 21, 1994, Sutton, United Kingdom (Age 78)

Career: 1935-1946

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 391-192 (67.1percent)

Titles: 8

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Anita Lizana’s impact on tennis has been unjustly lost to the mists of time. Before her, the game was seen as the exclusive domain of the elite, West European-American world.

But the Chilean changed all that by winning the 1937 U.S. Open. She was the first Latin-American woman to win a major title and paved the way to tennis becoming the global sport it is today.

41. Garbine Muguruza

Country: Spain

Born: Oct. 8,1993, Caracas, Venezuela

Career: 2012-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record:388-197 (66.3 percent)

Titles: 7

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $20,821,334

Bottom line: Garbine Muguruza is part of a new wave of emerging tennis champions. Her surface of choice is red clay, where her heavy groundstrokes allow her to maintain the upper hand in rallies.

But clay is not the only surface where she shines. She also beat Venus Williams to win the crown at Wimbledon.

And after beating Serena to win the French, she became the first woman to best both Williams sisters in Grand Slam finals.

40. Li Na

Country: China

Born: Feb. 26, 1982, Wuhan, China

Career: 1999-2014

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 503-188 (72.9 percent)

Titles: 9

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $16,709,074

Bottom line: Li Na completed the transformation of tennis into a global game.

In 2011, she became the first woman from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final and then win a Slam outright at the French Open, in front of a TV audience of hundreds of millions of Chinese fans.

To prove her milestone victory was not a fluke, she won the Australian Open title in 2014.

39. Tracy Austin

Country: United States

Born: Dec. 12, 1962, Palos Verdes, California

Career: 1978-1994

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 335-90 (78.82 percent)

Titles: 30

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $1,992,380

Bottom line: Tracy Austin has left her mark on and off the court.

On the court, she proved her worth by winning two Grand Slam titles over the likes of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

Off the court, she has remained a major presence in the tennis world to this day as a television commentator, calling Grand Slam matches on NBC and on the Tennis Channel.

38. Victoria Azarenka

Country: Belarus

Born: July 31, 1989, Minsk, Russia

Career: 2003-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 506-98 (71.9 percent)

Titles: 20

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $30,357,805

Bottom line: 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.

She lost some of her prime years to a combination of injuries and an ugly child custody dispute that forced her to withdraw from tournaments.

But don't rule out a return to the top of the sport’s ranks from a competitor as tough as she is.

37. Conchita Martinez

Country: Spain

Born: April 16, 1972, Monzon, Spain

Career: 1988-2006

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 739-297 (71.3 percent)

Titles: 33

Grand Slams: 1

Prize money: $11,527,977

Bottom line: Conchita Martinez played a decisive role in different Wimbledon championships more than two decades apart.

As a player, she became the first woman from Spain to take home the Wimbledon title in 1994, winning an epic three-set classic over the heavily favored Martina Navratilova.

Martinez then helped Garbine Muguruza win the title in 2017, passing on championship insights to her countrywoman as a mentor and coach.

36. Jana Novotna

Country: Czech Republic

Born: Oct. 2, 1968, Brno, Czechoslovakia

Career: 1987-1999

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand).

Record: 447-271(62.26 percent)

Titles: 14

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $11,632,199

Bottom line: Jana Novotna’s game is an example of a lost art in tennis, especially the women’s game.

She played with a serve-and-volley style, which even in her time was declining, but she found great success with it.

For years, however, the title most befitting a serve-and-volley player, Wimbledon, eluded her.

In 1998, she fulfilled her longtime dream and won that title, the last of her style to do so.

35. Simona Halep

Country: Romania

Born: Sept. 27, 1991, Constanta, Romania

Career: 2006-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 503-216 (70.0 percent)

Titles: 20

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $36,551,855

Bottom line: Simona Halep has established herself as one of the most consistent players on the women’s tour in tennis history while showing what it takes to perform on the greatest stage.

She had the consistency to remain at world No.1 for 64 consecutive weeks and the tenacity to win big individual matches, coming from behind to win her first French Open title against Sloane Stephens.

Halep figures to add to her resume as one of the greats in years to come.

34. Mary Pierce

Country: France

Born: Jan. 15, 1975, Montreal, Canada

Career: 1989-2008

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 511-237 (68.3 percent)

Titles: 18

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $9,793,119

Bottom line: Mary Pierce had to overcome incredible adversity on the tour, battling injuries and an abusive relationship with her father. But when the moment came for her to perform at the highest level, she did not disappoint.

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.

33. Amelie Mauresmo

Country: France

Born: July 5, 1979, Saint-Germain-En-Laye, France

Career: 1993-2009

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 545-227 (70.65 percent)

Titles: 25

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $15,022,476

Bottom line: Amelie Mauresmo’s game was a unique blend of power and elegance.

She mixed a powerful serve with a graceful one-handed backhand and was near unstoppable at her peak, winning two Grand Slams in 2006.

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.

32. Naomi Osaka

Country: Japan

Born: Oct. 16, 1997, Osaka, Japan

Career: 2013-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record:222-133 (62.5 percent)

Titles: 23

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $3,440,660

Bottom line: At only 22 years, Naomi Osaka has established herself as an iconic tennis star and champion.

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. Osaka showed that even at her young age her groundstrokes had the power to outmatch Serena strength for strength.

The most impressive thing about Osaka may be that, as accomplished as she is, her best likely lies ahead.

31. Petra Kvitova

Country: Czech Republic

Born: March 8, 1990, Bilovec, Czhechoslovakia

Career: 2006-present

Plays: Left-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 539-236 (69.5 percent)

Titles: 27

Grand Slams: 2

Prize money: $31,534,373

Bottom line: Petra Kvitova’s left-handed power game has helped her dominate at Wimbledon, where she won two titles in 2011 and 2014.

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.

Undeterred by this adversity, Kvitova fought to reach the 2019 Australian Open final and the top of the tennis world once again.

30. Virginia Wade

Country: United Kingdom

Born: July 10, 1945, Bournemouth, U.K.

Career: 1968-1986

Played: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 839-329 (71.8 percent)

Titles: 55

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: $1,542,278

Bottom line: The United Kingdom is regarded as the birthplace of tennis, and no one fulfilled that country’s championship hopes more than Virginia Wade.

Wade has the dual distinction of being the only British woman to win all four majors (although she only won the French in doubles). She also is the most recent British woman to win a major title.

Since Wade's success, U.K. women have experienced a major Grand Slam title drought.

29. Jennifer Capriati

Country: United States

Born: March 29, 1976, New York, New York

Career: 1990-2004

Played: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 430-176 (71.0 percent)

Titles: 14

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: $10,206,639

Bottom line: Jennifer Capriati had colossal expectations placed on her from a very young age. She was tennis’ own child star and reached the top 10 in the rankings at just 14 years old.

Like many child stars in Hollywood, she then struggled with personal demons in subsequent years, only to overcome them in the end.

By winning the Australian Open twice and the French once, she showed she was worthy of all the hopes that had been placed on her.

28. Kim Clijsters

Country: Belgium

Born: June 8, 1983, Blizen, Belgium

Career: 1997-2007 (first retirement), 2009-2012 (second retirement), 2020-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 523-128 (80.3 percent)

Titles: 41

Grand Slams: 4

Prize money: $24,442,340

Bottom line: Kim Clijsters shocked the tennis world by retiring at 24 years old, just when she had reached the top, after winning her first Grand Slam.

She then shocked the tennis world again by coming back and reaching new heights, winning three more Grand Slam titles.

In 2020, she announced yet another return to the game, hoping to add more titles to her mantle.

27. Lindsay Davenport

Country: United States

Born: June 8, 1976, Palos Verdes, California

Career: 1993-2010

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record:753-194 (79.5 percent)

Titles: 55

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: $22,166,338

Bottom line: Lindsay Davenport was a model of consistency at the top of the game. She won 55 singles titles and spent nearly 100 weeks spent at No.1, the eighth-most of all time.

While she did not reach similar numbers at the Grand Slam level, Davenport proved she could put in performances of the highest caliber on that stage, too, winning one Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open title apiece.

26. Dorothy Round

Country: United Kingdom

Born: July 13, 1909, Dudley, U.K.

Died: Nov. 12, 1982, Kidderminster, U.K. (Age 73)

Career: 1925-1950

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: If Virginia Wade was the last great British women’s champion of the 20th century, Dorothy Round was one of the first.

Entering her first tournaments as a teenager, it took Round nearly a decade to have success at the highest level of tennis.

But Grand Slam success did arrive, and she won her first Wimbledon in 1934 en route to being crowned world No.1 that year, backing it up with two more Grand Slam titles.

25. Hilde Sperling

Country: Germany/Denmark

Born: March 26, 1908, Essen, Germany

Died: March 7, 1981, Helsingborg, Sweden (Age 72)

Career: 1930-1939

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand).

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 3

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Hilde Sperling pioneered a playing style in the early 20th century that now appears to have been many decades ahead of its time.

In an era when serve and volley still predominated, she played a counterpunching baseline style that stood out for its uniqueness.

But even more importantly, it was effective, and enabled her to win three consecutive French Open titles on the red clay of Paris.

24. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

Country: Spain

Born: Dec. 18, 1971, Barcelona, Spain

Career: 1985-2002

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 759-295 (72.0 percent)

Titles: 29

Grand Slams: 4

Prize money: $16,942,640

Bottom line: Aranxta Sanchez Vicario was the women’s game’s great clay champion at the end of the 20th century.

Her defensive, retrieval-based style enabled her to win the French three times, and she could win on other surfaces, as she proved by winning the U.S. Open in 1994.

She also broke ground for Spain by leading her country to its first Fed Cup title in 1991, a title she then helped Spain win four more times.

23. Martina Hingis

Country: Switzerland

Born: Sept. 30, 1980

Career: 1994-2017

Played: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 548-135 (80.2 percent)

Titles: 43

Grand Slams: 5

Prize money: $24,749,074

Bottom line: Martina Hingis was a teenage tennis sensation. She won her first Grand Slam in doubles at age 15 and her first in singles at age 16, taking home the Australian Open.

All told, the Swiss champion won five singles Grand Slam titles before celebrating her 20th birthday.

She also found success in doubles, winning at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open into her thirties, to bring her career full circle.

22. Margaret Osborne duPont

Country: United States

Born: March 4, 1918, Joseph, Oregon

Died: Oct. 24, 2012, El Paso, Texas (Age 94)

Career: 1941-1960

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: 37

Grand Slams: 6

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Margaret Osborne won six Grand Slams, and none was more impressive than her title at the U.S. Open in 1948.

In an epic match against her frequent doubles partner Louise Brough, the battle between the two of them went to Osborne by a score of 15-13 in the third set.

The 48 games played between them remains a record for most games in a single U.S. Open finals match.

21. Louise Brough

Country: United States

Born: March 11, 1923, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Died: Feb. 3, 2014, Vista, California (Age 90)

Career: 1942-1957

Played: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 6

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Louise Brough lost the epic 1948 U.S. Open singles final against her frequent partner Margaret Osborne DuPont, but ultimately, her Grand Slam resume looked better at the end.

She won six Grand Slam titles, including a dominant stretch at Wimbledon, where she took home the championship in three consecutive years between 1948 and 1950.

This was due to a kick serve and deadly volleys that made her the best of her era on grass.

20. Althea Gibson

Country: United States

Born: Aug. 25, 1927, Silver, South Carolina

Died: Sept. 28, 2003, East Orange, New Jersey (Age 76)

Career: 1950-1959

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 5

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: What Arthur Ashe did for African-American men in tennis, Althea Gibson accomplished for African-American women.

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.

Without a doubt, her struggles and success paved a path to be followed by Venus and Serena Williams, who often have paid tribute to Gibson as an inspiration.

19. Maria Sharapova

Country: Russia

Born: April 19, 1987, Nyagan, Russia

Career: 2001-2020

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 645-171 (79.0 percent)

Titles: 36

Grand Slams: 5

Prize money: $38,777,962

Bottom line: Maria Sharapova became an international icon by winning her first Wimbledon title at 17.

Overnight, she was gracing fashion magazine covers and starring in television commercials around the world. But she was more than just marketing hype.

On the court, Sharapova dictated points with a strong serve and heavy groundstrokes and won all four majors for the career Grand Slam. She retired in 2020, bringing her storied career to a close.

18. Maria Bueno

Country: Brazil

Born: Oct. 11, 1939, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Died: June 8, 2018, Sao Paulo, Brazil (Age 78)

Career: 1950-1977

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: 63

Grand Slams: 7

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Maria Bueno compiled the best Grand Slam resume of any South American woman to ever play, winning Wimbledon three times and the U.S. Open four times.

A hero in her native Brazil, she was greeted at home by ticker-tape parades upon returning from winning her Grand Slam titles.

She also demonstrated incredible overall consistency at the majors, reaching a then-record 26 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals between 1959 and 1960.

17. Justine Henin

Country: Belgium

Born: June 1, 1982, Liege, Belgium (Age 37)

Career: 1999-2011

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 525-115 (82.03 percent)

Titles: 43

Grand Slams: 7

Prize money: $20,863,335

Bottom line: Justine Henin is one of the last great tennis champions in the women's game to use a one-handed backhand. It was an elegant but deadly stroke often compared to that of Roger Federer in the men’s game.

Although Henin won an impressive seven Grand Slams, the question of "what might have been" lingers over her career since she retired due to injuries at only 29 years old.

16. Evonne Goolagong Cawley

Country: Australia

Born: July 31, 1951, Griffith, Australia

Career: 1968-1983

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 704-165 (81.0 percent)

Titles: 86

Grand Slams: 7

Prize money: $1,399,431

Bottom line: Evonne Goolagong Cawley was one of two Australians to dominate the game early in the Open Era, along with her countrywoman Margaret Court.

Coming from an Aboriginal Australian background, she overcame an environment of discrimination much similar to that faced by Althea Gibson in the United States.

But overcome it Gooolagong did. 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.

15. Molla Mallory

Country: Norway

Born: March 6, 1884, Mosvik, Norway

Died: Nov. 22, 1959, Stockholm, Sweden (Age 75)

Career: 1912-1929

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 8

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: The daughter of a Norwegian Army officer, Molla Mallory won matches with a power game atypical of her era.

She went on to establish herself as the undisputed queen of the U.S. Open, winning the event eight times.

That record still stands today as the most ever won by a woman. Chris Evert and Serena Williams each have won six titles in New York.

14. Pauline Betz

Country: United States

Born: August 6, 1919, Dayton, Ohio

Died: May 31, 2011, Potomac, Maryland (Age 91)

Career: 1947-1960

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 5

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Pauline Betz played Grand Slams selectively during her career, but when she did, she tended to win, and in historically dominant fashion.

Not only did she win the Wimbledon championship in 1946 without losing a single set, but at a tournament in Cincinnati in 1943, she recorded an extremely rare "golden set"

This feat, winning an entire set while losing zero points, has only been recorded 14 known times across the entire history of men’s or women’s tennis.

13. Helen Jacobs

Country: United States

Born: August 6, 1908, Globe, Arizona

Died: June 2, 1997, East Hampton, New York (Age 88)

Career: 1927-1947

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 5

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: One of the defining rivalries of tennis’ early era was between Helen Jacobs and Helen Wills, with the two meeting seven times in Grand Slam play.

Wills got the better of Jacobs six times, but the seventh time, at the 1933 U.S. Open, Jacobs came away the victor.

Jacobs amassed five titles of her own over the course of her career and brought a Jazz Age flapper’s sensibility to the stuffy world of 1920s tennis.

12. Doris Hart

Country: United States

Born: June 20, 1925, St. Louis, Missouri

Died: May 29, 2015, Coral Gables, Florida (Age 89)

Career: 1946-1955

Played: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: 6

Grand Slams: 6

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Doris Hart achieved things that few others have matched even in the many decades since her playing career ended.

She won all four majors for the career Grand Slam, only the second woman to achieve that feat. Furthermore, she achieved the "Box Set" of winning all four Grand Slams in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Only she and one other woman have ever done that in tennis history.

11. Venus Williams

Country: United States

Born: June 17, 1980 (Age 39)

Career: 1994-present

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 811-251 (76.4 percent)

Titles: 49

Grand Slams: 7

Prize money: $41,805,656

Bottom line: Venus and Serena Williams form arguably the most iconic pairing of siblings in sports history. Without question, they are the greatest pair in tennis history.

Venus is often overshadowed by her younger sister’s achievements, but her career is worthy of tremendous recognition in its own right.

In particular, Venus used a powerful serve and crisp volleys to dominate at Wimbledon, which she has won five times.

10. Suzanne Lenglen

Country: France

Born: May 24, 1899, Paris, France

Died: July 4, 1938, Paris, France (Age 39)

Career: 1912-1927

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record:332-7 (97.9 percent)

Titles: 83

Grand Slams: 8

Bottom line: Suzanne Lenglen is the greatest tennis champion that France has ever produced.

Although she did well on home soil, winning the French Open twice, she found her greatest success at Wimbledon, winning that event six times.

The French Open paid tribute to Lenglen's legacy by naming one of its show courts after her, and it stands to this day in memory of what she achieved.

9. Maureen Connolly

Country: United States

Born: September 17, 1934, San Diego, California

Died: June 21, 1969, Dallas, Texas (Age 34)

Career: 1951-1954

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 9

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Maureen Connolly’s career was cut short at just 20 years old by a horseback riding injury, but what she achieved in a short period of time still ranks her as one of the best to ever play the sport.

She burst onto the scene by winning the U.S. Open at 17 in 1951, and over the next three years, Connolly won nine Grand Slams, including all four in a single year, the first woman to win the "Calendar Slam."

8. Monica Seles

Country: Yugoslavia/USA

Born: Dec. 2, 1973, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

Career: 1989-2008

Plays: Left-handed (two-handed both sides)

Record: 595-122 (82.98 percent)

Titles: 53

Grand Slams: 9

Prize money: $14,891,762

Bottom line: Monica Seles took the tennis world by storm with a unique playing style — two-handed groundstrokes on both sides — that she used to devastating effect.

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.

In 1993, she was stabbed by a deranged fan. Her career never really recovered, but she added one more Grand Slam to her mantle at the 1996 Australian Open.

7. Helen Wills

Country: United States

Born: October 6, 1905, Centreville, California

Died: January 1, 1998, Carmel, California (Age 92)

Career: 1921-1938

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: N/A

Grand Slams: 19

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: Helen Wills was the undisputed greatest player of her era. And she went to any lengths to make sure she stayed at the top, including practicing with men when that was frowned upon by the tennis establishment.

But she was not content to only practice against men. In 1933, Wills won a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match, decades before Billie Jean King.

Wills finished her career with 19 Grand Slam titles.

6. Billie Jean King

Country: United States

Born: Nov. 22, 1943, Long Beach, California

Career: 1959-1983

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: 129 (67 during the Open Era)

Grand Slams: 12

Prize money: $1,966,487

Bottom line: Billie Jean King has come to personify women’s equality in sports thanks to her famous "Battle of the Sexes" win against Bobby Riggs in 1973, immortalized in countless retrospectives, books and a Hollywood film adaptation.

Her track record outside of that match more than stands on its own. Not only did she win 12 Grand Slam titles in singles, but she took home the career Grand Slam, winning all four majors.

5. Chris Evert

Country: United States

Born: Dec. 21, 1954, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Career: 1972-1989

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 1309-146 (89.97 percent)

Titles: 157

Grand Slams: 18

Prize money: $8,895,195

Bottom line: "Chrissie" was the signature star of 1970s tennis, a time when the game was exploding in popularity in the United States.

Evert gave American fans an incredible champion to cheer for as she won 157 titles and 18 Grand Slams.

Many of her records remain unbroken. Most impressive is her feat of reaching 34 Grand Slam finals, a record no woman or man has equaled since.

4. Margaret Court

Country: Australia

Born: July 16, 1942, Perth, Australia

Career: 1960-1977

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: N/A

Titles: 192 (92 during the Open Era)

Grand Slams: 24

Prize money: N/A

Bottom line: The 1960s and 1970s saw the peak of Australian tennis with Margaret Court and Rod Laver, whose names are commemorated on two of the Australian Open show courts today.

By the numbers, however, Court surpassed even Laver’s achievements, winning a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, a whopping 11 of which came on home ground in Australia.

3. Steffi Graf

Country: Germany

Born: June 14, 1969, Mannheim, West Germany

Career: 1982-1999

Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand

Record: 900-115 (88.7 percent)

Titles: 107

Grand Slams: 22

Prize money: $21,895,277

Bottom line: Steffi Graf’s dominance transcended all surfaces more than any other player in the modern era.

She was the only woman to win each Grand Slam at least four times, and in perhaps an even more unique achievement, she collected the "Golden Slam" in 1988, winning each of the four majors and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.

Graf finished her career with 22 Grand Slams and 107 total singles titles, and her accomplishments may never be equaled again.

2. Martina Navratilova

Country: Czechoslovakia/United States

Born: Oct. 18, 1956, Prague, Czechoslovakia

Career: 1975-2006

Plays: Left-handed (one-handed backhand)

Record: 1,442-219 (86.8 percent)

Titles: 167

Grand Slams: 18

Prize money: $21,626,089

Bottom line: Martina Navratilova boasted perhaps the greatest serve-and-volley game that women’s tennis has ever seen.

It helped her win a record nine Wimbledon singles titles and helped her to the record for both total singles and doubles titles in the Open Era.

An incredible athlete with unparalleled longevity, Navratilova won the U.S. Open in mixed doubles in 2006, just a month shy of her 50th birthday.

1. Serena Williams

Country: United States

Born: Sept. 26, 1981, Saginaw, Michigan

Career: 19950

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Record: 834-144 (85.3 percent)

Titles: 73

Grand Slams: 23

Prize money: $92,715,122

Bottom line: When Venus Williams first came onto the scene, her father, Richard, warned the tennis world that her younger sister, Serena, was even better. He was right.

Serena's power game, anchored by a devastating serve, is without equal in the history of the women’s game. No one could put away matches in as dominant a fashion, and her 23 Grand Slam titles are an Open Era record.

She deserves her status as a global icon. And the greatest women's tennis player of all time.

Read more: Greatest Men's Tennis Players