G R E AT WO M E N
5 LEGENDARY LADIES
Women’s tennis has produced a great many extraordinary players over the years. Here are five who thoroughly deserve their legendary status… 4. STEFFI GRAF From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, there was no one better than Germany’s Steffi Graf. Ranked as World No.1 for 377 weeks of her career, in 1988 Graf became the first player to achieve a calendar year Golden Slam by winning all four majors plus the Olympic Gold Medal. Graf was still ranked at No.3 in the world when she retired in 1999.
1. MARGARET COURT Dominant throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Australian Margaret Court’s record for the most number of Grand Slam singles titles – 24 – stands to this very day. In all, Court won 192 titles during her career.
2. BILLIE JEAN KING With 39 Grand Slam titles, including 20 titles at Wimbledon, Billie Jean King is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. The American held the World No.1 ranking in women’s tennis for six of the 10 years from 1966 – 1975.
5. SERENA WILLIAMS Dominating the game for over 20 years and named “the greatest female tennis player of all time” by Billie Jean King, Serena Williams is an icon of the sport with 23 Grand Slam singles titles. In 2012, Williams became the second woman in tennis history to achieve a Golden Slam. Can she match or beat Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record before retiring?
3. MARTINA NAVRATILOVA Born in Prague, Navratilova dominated women’s tennis from the late 1970s through a good portion of the 1980s with her big serve and volley, chalking up 167 career titles and 59 Grand Slam titles including singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She won Wimbledon nine times.
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