We already met the best men’s tennis players for every letter of the alphabet. Now let’s meet the most accomplished women’s players of all time, from A to Z.
You’ll hear some familiar names like Serena Williams and Steffi Graf. You’ll be introduced to players who starred almost a century ago. A handful of active players already are the top performers at their respective letters. We even found some accomplished players for uncommon letters such as “Q," “X,” and “Y.”
A few ground rules. This list is based on last names only, and we’re using last names as shown on WTA player profiles (this matters for the letter “X.”) Players known by their maiden and married names were considered based on last names used in Hall of Fame biographies (this matters often).
Meet the greatest women’s tennis players ever from A to Z
A - Daphne Akhurst
Akhurst won five Australian championships before her tragic death due to pregnancy complications at age 29. The trophy given each year to the Australian Open women’s champion? It’s the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
B – Pauline Betz
Betz would have won more than five majors had her eligibility to compete in Grand Slams not been “ripped away” (International Tennis Hall of Fame’s words, not mine), in 1947 for the high crime of thinking about turning pro. The least we can do is declare Betz the best player whose last name starts with “B,” though 1960s Brazilian great Maria Bueno and Betz’s peer Louise Brough won more majors.
C – Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly
Want your daughter to win a calendar-year Grand Slam? Make sure they have the initials “MC.” This letter is a coin flip between Court (record 24 majors, calendar-year Grand Slam in 1970) and Connolly (calendar-year Grand Slam in 1953, won the last nine majors she played before a horseback riding accident ended her career at age 19).
D - Margaret Osborne duPont
DuPont won six majors between 1946 and 1950, saving match points in the final match of two of those tournaments. Lottie Dod (Wimbledon champion at age 15 in the 1880s) and four-time year-end No. 1 Lindsay Davenport also have a case.
E - Chris Evert
Chrissie claimed 18 majors across the 1970s and 1980s and once won a whopping 125 consecutive matches on clay. (After that streak ended, Evert reeled off another 64 clay-court wins in a row!)
F - Shirley Fry
Fry won each of the four majors exactly once in the 1950s – three after a brief “retirement” due to tennis elbow.
G – Steffi Graf
Fraulein Forehand, a 22-time major champion, is still the only player to complete a calendar-year Golden Slam with all four majors plus the Olympic title in 1988. Evonne Goolagong, an Australian favorite through the 1970s, and pioneering 1950s legend Althea Gibson, the first Black woman to win a major title, would be the choice at most other letters.
H – Justine Henin
Belgium’s best, Henin, is owner of seven majors and perhaps the best one-handed backhand ever seen in women’s tennis. No argument if you prefer Doris Hart (six-Slam winner in the 1940s and 1950s) or Martina Hingis (five majors, 209 weeks at No. 1 in the late 1990s).
I – Ana Ivanovic
You’ll win some bets if you know Ivanovic, not Novak Djokovic, was the first player from Serbia to be ranked world No. 1. Ivanovic won the French title and rose to No. 1 in 2008.
J - Helen Jacobs
The “other” Helen of the 1930s claimed five majors and would have won more if not for the existence of Helen Wills Moody, who we’ll meet later in the alphabet. Jacobs lost six major finals against Wills Moody.
K – Billie Jean King
Besides winning 12 majors, BJK is the most significant player in women’s tennis history due to her efforts to legitimize the women’s pro tour and help its players earn equitable prize money.
L – Suzanne Lenglen
The French megastar of the 1920s lost just one match in the last eight years of her career while collecting eight majors. As late as 1974, Lenglen won sportswriter votes for greatest women’s player of all time.
M – Alice Marble
Marble won five majors in the late 1930s and didn’t lose a match in the last two years of her amateur career. High honorable mention to seven-time U.S. champion Molla Mallory, who won her final U.S. title at age 42.
N - Martina Navratilova
Navratilova accumulated 18 major titles between 1978 and 1990, highlighted by nine Wimbledon singles titles, the most for any player at the All-England Club.
O – Naomi Osaka
Osaka, a four-time major champion, is the first player to win a Grand Slam tournament and reach No. 1 in the world rankings while representing Japan.
P – Mary Pierce
Pierce could beat anyone on any given day, as she proved by winning the Australian Open in 1995 and the French Open in 2000.
Q - Jean Quertier
This British player appears in the top 10 in some unofficial world rankings in the early 1950s, which is more than we can find for any other player whose last name starts with “Q”.
R – Dorothy Round
Round won three majors in the 1930s representing Great Britain. A doubles-focused version of this list would honor Elizabeth Ryan, who won 26 doubles majors between 1914 and 1934.
S - Monica Seles
Seles used a two-handed forehand and backhand to win nine majors in the early 1990s, despite having her career interrupted for more than two years after she was stabbed on-court by a knife-wielding spectator. Iga Swiatek might claim this spot sometime in the 2030s.
T – Christine Truman Janes
There are surprisingly few major champions for such a common letter. The most accomplished of the bunch is British player Truman Janes, the consensus No. 2 in the world in 1959 when she won the French championship.
U - Annelis Ullstein Bossi Bellani
Ullstein Bossi Bellani was a Top 10 player in 1949 and 1950 and won an Italian title.
V - Markéta Vondroušová
Vondroušová represents this letter on the strength of her 2023 Wimbledon title.
W – Serena Williams
As you would expect, the pick at “W” is 23-time major champion Williams, but it’s a closer call than you might realize. Helen Wills Moody won an unfathomable 19 of the 22 majors she played in the 1920s and 1930s (okay, 19 of 24 if you want to hold two defaults due to appendicitis against her).
X – Yifan Xu
Xu reached No. 7 in the world in doubles in early 2020.
Y - Billie Yorke
Yourke won four women’s doubles majors and a mixed doubles French title in the 1930s.
Z – Natasha Zvereva
Zvereva reached the 1988 French final. She earns bonus points for standing up to the government of the then-U.S.S.R. for the right to travel freely to tournaments and keep a fair portion of her prize money.