5 female tennis players with the most number of Grand Slam singles titles ft. Serena Williams & Steffi Graf
Serena Williams and Steffi Graf are among the most successful female players to have won plenty of Grand Slam singles titles during their respective careers.
Winning a Grand Slam is the dream of all tennis players. Anyone who aspires to excel in the sport yearns to lift a Major trophy at some point in their careers. It is the ultimate goal for anyone who wishes to pursue a career in tennis.
Ashleigh Barty won the Australian Open this year, beating Danielle Collins in the final. The 26-year-old became the first player from her nation to win the singles title at the Asia-Pacific Major since 1978.
Iga Swiatek won the French Open by defeating Coco Gauff in the final while Elena Rybakina triumphed at Wimbledon, beating Ons Jabeur in the title clash this year. Over the years, several women have won Majors but there are some who are more prolific than the others.
So without any further ado, let us take a look at 5 female tennis players with the most number of Grand Slam singles titles.
#1 Margaret Court - 24
Margaret Court holds the record for the highest number of Grand Slam singles titles won in the history of women's tennis with 24 to her name. The Australian dominated the women's game during the 1960s but also excelled during the Open Era, winning 11 Majors since 1969.
Court won all four Grand Slams, becoming the first woman to complete the calendar Slam in the Open Era. She won the Australian Open a whopping 11 times, the French Open on five occasions, Wimbledon thrice and the US Open five times.
Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles is yet to be broken and it looks like it will be a while before someone surpasses her tally.
#2 Serena Williams - 23
Arguably the greatest female tennis player of all-time, Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the highest won by any player, male or female, during the Open Era. Only Margaret Court has more Majors than the American.
Serena Williams won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 1999, when she was just 17 years old. She started dominating the WTA Tour in the early 2000s and continued to win Majors into the 2010s.
Serena Williams came close to winning the Calendar Slam on a couple of occasions but failed to do so. She won three out of four Majors in 2002 and 2015. In the latter year, the American won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon but lost in the semifinals of the US Open.
Serena Williams' last Grand Slam singles title came at the 2017 Australian Open, where she defeated her sister Venus in the final. She has reached another four Major finals since then but was unable to go all the way.
January 2017: Win Australian Open while 2 months pregnant
September 2017: Give birth to daughter Alexis Jr.
July 2018: Reach Wimbledon final with chance to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Serena Williams = 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 https://t.co/UaGWkW1gvJ
Serena Williams needs one more Grand Slam singles title to equal Margaret Court's record, but given her age, fitness and injury issues, it could be unlikely.
#3 Steffi Graf - 22
Steffi Graf was the greatest player of her generation and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The German is the only player in tennis history to have won all four Majors at least four times.
She triumphed at the Australian Open on four occasions while winning the French Open six times. She won Wimbledon seven times and the US Open five times.
1988 was undoubtedly the best year of Graf's illustrious career, as she won all four Majors along with Olympic gold, thus completing the Golden Slam.
She won three out of four Grand Slams in 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996.
#4 Helen Wills - 19
Many won't have heard about Helen Wills, but she was one of the finest players during the 1920s and 1930s. The American won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, which is quite a remarkable feat considering she never competed at the Australian Open (then known as the Australian Championships).
Mills won the French Open four times, Wimbledon on eight occasions and the US Open seven times. Her first Grand Slam singles title came at the latter in 1923, when she was only 17 years old.
Wills won her final Major at Wimbledon in 1938, the year she retired. In fact, SW 19 was the only Grand Slam she competed in that year.
#5 Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova - 18
Two of the best players of their time, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova were fierce rivals on the court and close friends off it. The duo, who played doubles together, won 18 Grand Slam singles titles each.
Evert won the Australian Open twice, the French Open a record seven times, Wimbledon thrice and the US Open on six occasions. The American won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros in 1974 and her last came at the Australian Open in 1984.
Navratilova holds the record for the highest number of titles by any player, male or female at Wimbledon, winning the grasscourt Major nine times. The Czech-American won the Australian Open thrice, the French Open twice and the US Open four times.
A champion unmatched by any other.
@Martina Navratilova, winner of a record nine #Wimbledon singles titles. https://t.co/JAjk6cyf88