Top 10 female players of all time

[NadalAgassi]

1. Navratilova
2. Graf
3. Evert
4. Lenglen
5. Connolly
6. Serena
7. King/Wills Moody
9. Henin
10. Seles/Goolagong

How dare you rate a hack like Henin above the great Seles. Henin wasnt stabbed and still doesnt yet have as many slams as Seles. And she too has failed to win Wimbledon so far. And Henin the hack has a losing head to head with a nearly retired Seles who was 8-10 years past her prime.

Henin in her 2nd best year ever lost 3 of her 4 slam finals and in her best year ever lost to Bartoli in a Wimbledon semi, LOL!

 

[John_Doe]

How dare you rate a hack like Henin above the great Seles. Henin wasnt stabbed and still doesnt yet have as many slams as Seles. And she too has failed to win Wimbledon so far. And Henin the hack has a losing head to head with a nearly retired Seles who was 8-10 years past her prime.

Henin in her 2nd best year ever lost 3 of her 4 slam finals and in her best year ever lost to Bartoli in a Wimbledon semi, LOL!

Hmm, probably for the same reasons that a "hack" like Steffi Graf is considered one of the two or three best women's players of all time. Also probably the same reason that Monica Seles isn't even in the discussion for top women's player of all time, probably not even top five.

 

[NadalAgassi]

Say what you want but there is nothing Henin has on Seles.

 

[kiki]

Even if Seles might luck a mightier and stronger champion than Henin both are equally hungry and both are overconfident.

Henin, in my opinion, has had a tougher competition , Clijsters the 2 Williams, the 4-5 rusians and even Davenport and Mauresmo.Seles, when she made an impact, had just Steffie Graf ( and Sabatini and Sanchez on clay court) as real tough competition.martina and Chris were about 35-36 years old when Seles stormed her way to the top, so she benefitted of 2-3 years where, really, Graf was the only player above her level.Sanchez and Sabatini were competitive, but had no weapons to make a real damage on Monica.

 

[kiki]

Lenglen was for so long, considerer the most gracile and enjoying woman tennis player.may be, only comparable to M.E.Bueno.

 

[Joe Pike]

Even if Seles might luck a mightier and stronger champion than Henin both are equally hungry and both are overconfident.

Henin, in my opinion, has had a tougher competition , Clijsters the 2 Williams, the 4-5 rusians and even Davenport and Mauresmo.Seles, when she made an impact, had just Steffie Graf ( and Sabatini and Sanchez on clay court) as real tough competition.martina and Chris were about 35-36 years old when Seles stormed her way to the top, so she benefitted of 2-3 years where, really, Graf was the only player above her level.Sanchez and Sabatini were competitive, but had no weapons to make a real damage on Monica.

Er, which of Henin's russian opponents were better than Sabatini, Novotna, Sanchez, Pierce? Which of those russian opponents would have made the top 5 even for a few months in 1991/92?

And do you really want to tell us that Mauresmo (!) was better than Sabatini?

 

[Joe Pike]

How dare you rate a hack like Henin above the great Seles. Henin wasnt stabbed and still doesnt yet have as many slams as Seles. And she too has failed to win Wimbledon so far. And Henin the hack has a losing head to head with a nearly retired Seles who was 8-10 years past her prime.

Henin in her 2nd best year ever lost 3 of her 4 slam finals and in her best year ever lost to Bartoli in a Wimbledon semi, LOL!

But Seles was 10-25 H2H against Graf/Hingis.
That is worse than Henin vs. the Williams sisters, IIRC.

 

[kiki]

Er, which of Henin's russian opponents were better than Sabatini, Novotna, Sanchez, Pierce? Which of those russian opponents would have made the top 5 even for a few months in 1991/92?

And do you really want to tell us that Mauresmo (!) was better than Sabatini?

Sabatini was a fake, she was a reputed loser while Mauresmo won Wimbledon, which the South american never did.Any of today top 25 players would beat easily Sanchez,Sabatini and Martinez.Graf would be competing on equal terms with Henin,Clijsters ,Sharapova or Venus/Serena.She´d have to adjust but her physical and menthal assets would make her go.Seles, less talented than Graf, would also be really competitive and, IMO, be a top 5.But, of course, her record would not be as good as it was because today´s players - in the women side- are quite stronger than the second stringers of the early 90´s.

 

[kiki]

If that can serve as a comparison, men´s field today is as much weak as women´s field in early 90´s.Whereas, women´s field today is just as competitive, at the top, as men´s field in the 90´s.

If we trace back, women´s field in the 70´s was pretty weak, Evert had Goolagong and later Navratilova as real challengers.king and COurt were quite past their prime, even if I respect them as competitive women, but the 70´s were clearly past their prime.

On the other hand, 1980´s were very competitive for women: Chris,Martina,Tracy,Hana,Andrea and later on, emerging Steffi,Sanchez,Seles and solids Shriver,Garrison,Sukova,Khode.

In temrs of bright individual performances any era is as good as the next one.But, when you look at it globally, the most competitive arenas for women happened to be the 80´s and today´s.

If we talk about men, then it is another post to debate.I am prompt to focus on the men´s debate for mots competitive eras.

 

[Tennis Dunce]

Sabatini was a fake, she was a reputed loser while Mauresmo won Wimbledon, which the South american never did.Any of today top 25 players would beat easily Sanchez,Sabatini and Martinez.Graf would be competing on equal terms with Henin,Clijsters ,Sharapova or Venus/Serena.She´d have to adjust but her physical and menthal assets would make her go.Seles, less talented than Graf, would also be really competitive and, IMO, be a top 5.But, of course, her record would not be as good as it was because today´s players - in the women side- are quite stronger than the second stringers of the early 90´s.

I agree except for Sanchez-Vicario. She is far from a pushover and the Barcelona Bumblebee was one of the few who exemplified women's tennis during her time. She was an underrated shotmaker and her hustle and footwork were paramount. Also you can't teach a gritty, industrious game like that, it is instilled.

 

[kiki]

I agree except for Sanchez-Vicario. She is far from a pushover and the Barcelona Bumblebee was one of the few who exemplified women's tennis during her time. She was an underrated shotmaker and her hustle and footwork were paramount. Also you can't teach a gritty, industrious game like that, it is instilled.

She was very competitive.Yet, short of Conchita´s greater shotmaking talent.Both of them, in a country with no women´s tennis tradition helped raise spanish women´s tennis boom and it was great that both appeared in the same years.I agree with you,still enjoyed much more Conchita than Arancha as a tennis fan.But I respect Arancha´s winning temper which her spanish opponent just brought off during her memorable Wimbledon triumph over an aggeing Martina Navratilova.

 

[kiki]

¿What about Capriati? she looked like the next boring Bolletier´s product, still was one of the very few Bolletier´s products that really succeded (She and Agassi and Courier).

She was a reasonable good player in a transition era.Graf and Seles were the dominating players in the early 1990´s.Hingis and the 2 Williams during the change of century.I think she was better than Sabatini or Novotna or Pierce but just not as good as the former mentioned players, who really were big champions themshelves.

 

[70後]

Here are my 10 greatest female players of all time:

1. Margaret Court
2. Chris Evert
3. Martina Navratilova
4. Steffi Graf
5. Suzanne Lenglen
6. Maureen Connolly
7. Helen Wills Moody
8. Serena Williams
9. Billie Jean King
10. Monica Seles
11. Maria Bueno
12. Justine Henin
13. Evonne Goolagong
14. Alice Marble
15. Althea Gibson

This was 2010. Seven years later, Serena obviously gets a big jump upwards. I won't disagree with the relative positions of Court, Navratilova, Evert and Graf, although not in that ordinal rank.

 

[thrust]

Hmm, probably for the same reasons that a "hack" like Steffi Graf is considered one of the two or three best women's players of all time. Also probably the same reason that Monica Seles isn't even in the discussion for top women's player of all time, probably not even top five.

Henin was probably my favorite female player of all time, however, one has to rank Seles above her. Before she was attacked, Seles already had won 8 slams, having won 3 of 4 slam finals against Graf. Had Monica not been stabbed and out of the game those following years, there is little doubt she would had won more slams during that time and Steffi fewer slams. AGAIN, Open Tennis does NOT apply to women's tennis, only the Men's game because most of the top men played on the pro tour in the fifties and sixties. There was NO women's pro tour during that time so all the top women play the tour in the fifties and sixties.

 

[PDJ]

¿What about Capriati? she looked like the next boring Bolletier´s product, still was one of the very few Bolletier´s products that really succeded (She and Agassi and Courier).

She was a reasonable good player in a transition era.Graf and Seles were the dominating players in the early 1990´s.Hingis and the 2 Williams during the change of century.I think she was better than Sabatini or Novotna or Pierce but just not as good as the former mentioned players, who really were big champions themshelves.

Mr Evert has to be accorded some of the credit for Capriarti. He also had previous

 

[thrust]

If that can serve as a comparison, men´s field today is as much weak as women´s field in early 90´s.Whereas, women´s field today is just as competitive, at the top, as men´s field in the 90´s.

If we trace back, women´s field in the 70´s was pretty weak, Evert had Goolagong and later Navratilova as real challengers.king and COurt were quite past their prime, even if I respect them as competitive women, but the 70´s were clearly past their prime.

On the other hand, 1980´s were very competitive for women: Chris,Martina,Tracy,Hana,Andrea and later on, emerging Steffi,Sanchez,Seles and solids Shriver,Garrison,Sukova,Khode.

In temrs of bright individual performances any era is as good as the next one.But, when you look at it globally, the most competitive arenas for women happened to be the 80´s and today´s.

If we talk about men, then it is another post to debate.I am prompt to focus on the men´s debate for mots competitive eras.

Court won the Grand Slam in 70, was off the tour due to pregnancy for part of 71-72, then won 3 slams in 73. King won Wimbledon in 72,73,75, the USO in 71, 72,74. Tracy won a total of 2 slams, Hana who was very inconsistent did win 4 total slams. Andrea never won a slam, reaching only 1 final. Shriver, Garrison, Sukova and Khode never won a slam. As for Henin she had to deal with prime Venus, Serena, Kim, Davenport, Mauresmo and Sharapova. Between 03-08 she won 7 slams, the same as Serena at that time.

 

[PDJ]

Court won the Grand Slam in 70, was off the tour due to pregnancy for part of 71-72, then won 3 slams in 73. King won Wimbledon in 72,73,75, the USO in 71, 72,74. Tracy won a total of 2 slams, Hana who was very inconsistent did win 4 total slams. Andrea never won a slam, reaching only 1 final. Shriver, Garrison, Sukova and Khode never won a slam. As for Henin she had to deal with prime Venus, Serena, Kim, Davenport, Mauresmo and Sharapova. Between 03-08 she won 7 slams, the same as Serena at that time.

I think Andrea Jaeger reached 2 finals? Fr and Wimbledon. Losing both to Navratilova and suggested she threw one of them.

 

[thrust]

I think Andrea Jaeger reached 2 finals? Fr and Wimbledon. Losing both to Navratilova and suggested she threw one of them.

I forgot that Andrea had reached a FO final, beating Evert in the semi's. Why would she throw one of them? Anything is possible, I suppose!

 

[AM75]

1. Serena
2. Serena
3. Serena
4. Serena
5. Serena
6. Serena
7. Serena
8.Serena
9. Venus
10. Serena

 

[Steady Eddy]

1. Serena
2. Serena
3. Serena
4. Serena
5. Serena
6. Serena
7. Serena
8.Serena
9. Venus
10. Serena

No. Best of all was Lottie Dodd. She won 5 Wimbledons. Oh, how I loved watching her play on those summer afternoons!

 

[PDJ]

1. Serena
2. Serena
3. Serena
4. Serena
5. Serena
6. Serena
7. Serena
8.Serena
9. Venus
10. Serena

I'm not sure Venus is eligible for worst behaved of all time greatest players.... on either front

 

[BTURNER]

I forgot that Andrea had reached a FO final, beating Evert in the semi's. Why would she throw one of them? Anything is possible, I suppose!

While science is getting better at predicting the path and wind velocity of a hurricane, or the severity of a snow storm, it still cannot predict what will induce a good pout , rebellion or apathy in a teenage girl.

We definitely need to fund and direct more research in areas that really affects our lives.

 

[pc1]

While science is getting better at predicting the path and wind velocity of a hurricane, or the severity of a snow storm, it still cannot predict what will induce a good pout , rebellion or apathy in a teenage girl.

We definitely need to fund and direct more research in areas that really affects our lives.

Being a person who has several daughters, this post is one I identify with. Of course we can say that of any young person.

 

[Verbal Volley]

Here are my 10 greatest female players of all time:

1. Margaret Court
2. Chris Evert
3. Martina Navratilova
4. Steffi Graf
5. Suzanne Lenglen
6. Maureen Connolly
7. Helen Wills Moody
8. Serena Williams
9. Billie Jean King
10. Monica Seles
11. Maria Bueno
12. Justine Henin
13. Evonne Goolagong
14. Alice Marble
15. Althea Gibson

1. Lenglen 2. Serena 3. Navratilova 4. Graf 5. Court 6. Connolly 7. Wills-Moody 8. Evert 9. King 10. Bueno (but picking #10 was EXTREMELY difficult)

 

[Verbal Volley]

While science is getting better at predicting the path and wind velocity of a hurricane, or the severity of a snow storm, it still cannot predict what will induce a good pout , rebellion or apathy in a teenage girl.

We definitely need to fund and direct more research in areas that really affects our lives.

I remember reading that she had a tremendous row with her father the night before the Wimbledon final in 1983. She left their flat and ended up on the steps to Martina's. Martina discovered this and let her stay at her flat. If she hadn't, Andrea would have spent the night on the streets. Andrea jaegers father was one of the worst tennis parents in history.

 

[thrust]

1. Lenglen 2. Serena 3. Navratilova 4. Graf 5. Court 6. Connolly 7. Wills-Moody 8. Evert 9. King 10. Bueno (but picking #10 was EXTREMELY difficult)

Wills, considering the few slams she played and her totally dominating her competition deserves to be ranked much higher, perhaps even #1. I believe she won 19 of the 21 or 22 slams she competed in.

 

[Kiam]

Best is not neccessarily most accomplished. Despite what Graf fanboys like Mustard or Joe Pike might think Graf's greatness is a fraud. I dont mean just because of the Seles stabbing. She dominated for years against 30 something women like Martina and Chris, wannabee contenders like Sanchez Vicario, Sabatini, and Shriver, or extremely young girls like Hingis (pre dominance) and Seles (pre dominance).

Break down the years of most of her sucess:

1987-1990: 30 somethings Martina and Chris, Sabatini, Shriver, Sukova, Seles and Sanchez aged 14-17.

1993-1996: other than Seles in 96, you otherwise had Sanchez, Martinez, Novotna, Pierce, washed up Sabatini, and nearly retired Navratilova.

During years she had real competition like 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, and 1999 she won between 0-1 slams per year, and struggled to regularly reach finals.


Davenport, Serena, and Venus showed how helpless Graf could be against real power in 1999, and except for Davenport they werent even close to her best yet. Seles and Pierce also showed how helpless Graf could be against real power in the early to mid 90s.

Steffi had a record of 1-1 against Serena if I remember, despite aching knees. She was 3-2 against Venus. She was 7-6 against Davenport. So she could hold her own against the big hitters, even when she was past he prime. She beat all of them in 1999

 

[Kiam]

I remember reading that she had a tremendous row with her father the night before the Wimbledon final in 1983. She left their flat and ended up on the steps to Martina's. Martina discovered this and let her stay at her flat. If she hadn't, Andrea would have spent the night on the streets. Andrea jaegers father was one of the worst tennis parents in history.

Interesting how you blame her father without knowing the details. Maybe Andrea was the unreasonbale one, or maybe it was jsut one of those family spats that people have with their teenagers.

 

[pat200]

Steffi had a record of 1-1 against Serena if I remember, despite aching knees. She was 3-2 against Venus. She was 7-6 against Davenport. So she could hold her own against the big hitters, even when she was past he prime. She beat all of them in 1999

8-6 against Davenport

 

[pierceforehands]

I do agree with the general premise Graf lacked a great prime on prime rivalry of someone who was her equal. That isn't her fault so much, so not sure how much to fault her for that but think about it.

Graf vs Navratilova and Evert (mostly late 80s)- gigantic age gap, not really of the same era.

Graf vs Seles (early 90s onwards)- Seles got stabbed, and of note she had the big edge on Graf the 2 or little over 2 years before the stabbing.

late 90s (Williams sisters, Hingis, Davenport)- not regularly active due to injuries, which also partly led to a fairly early retirement at 30. Yes to her credit past her prime due to injuries she held her own vs these players already into their primes, apart from maybe Serena. But still was not around enough or long enough for any sustained prime to prime rivalry.

Her best prime to prime rivals long term were Sanchez and Sabatini who are not anywhere near her league as a player.

By contrast Evert and Navratilova had each other. Court had King and Bueno, Bueno is not a major ATG but significantly better than Sanchez or Sabatini. Serena had Venus and Henin, again not at Serena's level, but significantly better than Sanchez or Sabatini. Plus Hingis and Sharapova although Hingis I agree would be questionable to count as they weren't around together long enough with Hingis's early retirement, so discount her to be fair.

That doesn't mean Graf can't be GOAT, but it is something that could be marked against her for sure.

 

[Kiam]

Graf should be right at the top along with Martina. Are you insane?

I do agree a non-stab Seles would have won more slams or a better career, but we can't judge greatness base on "if", "woulda" or "shoulda".

Chris won almost 400 more matches than Steffi, and won them at a higher percentage. She also won 40 more tournaments or so. And she did it without anyone stabbing Martina. So it’s not insane to place Christie higher than Steffi