As the year of America’s 250th birthday winds to an end, meet the most accomplished women’s tennis players from all 50 states.
Some states, most notably California, had too many legends to choose from. In other states, we learned fascinating facts about players you might be meeting for the first time.
The ground rules: Many players had ties to multiple states. We mixed and matched states of birth and states of residence to create the strongest possible overall list. Accomplishments mattered more than ability. Yes, a modern pro ranked 1800 in the world today would double-bagel a U.S. champion from the 1800s, but we’re evaluating the players’ performances in their own era.
Let’s get to the list!
Who are the top women’s tennis players from all 50 states?
Alabama – Jamie Hampton
Hampton reached the fourth round at the 2013 French Open and climbed as high as No. 24 in the world.
Alaska – Cathy Tracy
Tracy reached the finals of the U.S. Open over-35 women’s doubles division in 1984. She is credited with introducing thousands of Alaskans to tennis over her 30 years in The Last Frontier.
Arizona – Helen Jacobs
The “other” Helen in the 1930s world tennis scene, who spent her first six years in the Grand Canyon State, won four U.S. championships plus the 1936 Wimbledon crown. Victoria Palmer, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the semifinals at Forest Hills in 1962, is tops among players who were both born and raised in Arizona.
Arkansas – Paula Juels
Juels was unbeaten with four state championships in high school in the Natural State and then played at the University of Tennessee. She is credited with playing in various WTA- and ITF-recognized events.
California – Serena Williams
California has easily produced more top players than any other state. If the Golden State was its own country, it would have a strong case as the greatest tennis-playing nation in the sport’s history. Williams, who famously grew up in Compton, gets the nod on the strength of her 23 Grand Slam titles. Helen Wills Moody and Maureen Connolly have a case - not just as best from the state, but as the best ever. Yet another Californian, Billie Jean King, is undisputably the most influential women’s tennis player of all time.
Colorado - Carol Bailey
Bailey played in the U.S. Open main draw in 1977 and 1981, and also has a WTA-level doubles title to her credit.
Connecticut – Barbara Potter
Potter chose professional tennis over Princeton after finishing high school. She reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 1981 and later made three appearances in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. She reached No. 7 in the world in 1982.
Delaware – Madison Brengle
Brengle advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open and got to No. 35 in the world in 2015.
Florida – Chris Evert
Evert, a lifelong Florida resident, would be the choice even if we counted as Floridians all the players who relocated to the Sunshine State for development and training. Evert won 18 Grand Slams and was dominant on clay through the 1970s and 1980s.
Georgia – Coco Gauff
Gauff, a two-time major champion and current world No. 5, spent her first seven years in the Peach State. If we adjust the criteria to only players who spent most of their life in Georgia, the choice is Melanie Oudin, a surprise U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2009.
Hawaii – Jean Okada
Okada played in the main draw at the 1998 U.S. Open and reached No. 204 in the world rankings a few weeks later.
Idaho – Barb Chandler
Though born and raised in San Francisco, Chandler was known as the “First Lady of Idaho tennis” for her contributions to the sport over more than six decades in the Gem State. Chandler twice reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. championship and was ranked No. 8 in the world in 1947.
Illinois – Madison Keys
The 2025 Australian Open champion called the Land of Lincoln home for her first 10 years. Honorable mention to Andrea Jaeger, who made the French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teen in the early 1980s with Chicago as her home base.
Indiana – Mary Lou Piatek-Daniels
Piatek-Daniels reached the third round at all four majors in the early 1980s and peaked at No. 15 in the world rankings.
Iowa – Anne Guerrant
Guerrant (listed as Mona Schallau in some records) reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1974 and at the U.S. Open in 1977. She was a co-champion at the late-1977 Australian Open when the final was not played due to rain.
Kansas – Tara Snyder
Snyder played in all four majors and got to No. 33 in the world in the late 1990s.
Kentucky – Susan Sloane
Sloane won the WTA event in nearby Nashville in 1988 and earned a top 20 ranking in the summer of 1989.
Louisiana – Chanda Rubin
Rubin’s best event was the 1996 Australian Open, where she reached the singles semifinals and won the women’s doubles. Her career included round of 16 appearances at all four majors and a career-best ranking of No. 7.
Maine - Lynn Welch
Welch took part in more than a dozen Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals – as the chair umpire. She was an accomplished player in her own right, earning recognition as the Pine Tree State’s best player of the 1970s.
Maryland – Pam Shriver
Shriver’s trophy case is full of Grand Slam women’s doubles trophies. She owns 21 in all, including four from a calendar year Grand Slam in 1984. Shriver also reached the U.S. Open final in singles in 1978 and rose as high as No. 3 in the world singles rankings.
Massachusetts – Sarah Palfrey
Palfrey was ranked No. 4 in the world in 1934 and later won U.S. titles in 1941 and 1945.
Michigan – Meredith McGrath
McGrath was a Wimbledon semifinalist and No. 18 in the world in 1996, the last year of her career. (If you want to get technical, Serena Williams was born in Michigan but spent just a few months in the Great Lakes State).
Minnesota – Ginger Helgeson
Helgeson got to the fourth round at both the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 1994, which propelled her to No. 29 in the world rankings in early 1995.
Mississippi – Becky Vest
Vest competed in the main draw at the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in the late 1960s and early 1970s – the only women’s player from the Magnolia State to do so. Some might opt for Vest’s mother, Dorothy, an outstanding player in her own right.
Missouri – Doris Hart
Hart was the first player to complete the “boxed set” of major titles – singles, doubles and mixed doubles championships at all four Grand Slams.
Montana - Carolin Babcock
Babcock reached the final at the U.S. championship in 1932 and won the doubles title at Forest Hills in 1936.
Nebraska – Louise Pound
Pound beat the eventual U.S. champion to win the Western championship in 1897, so we can conclude she was one of the top players of the late 19th century. Tennis was a small part of Pound’s resume. The first line of Pound’s Wikipedia biography describes her as a folklorist and linguist with a distinguished career as a professor at the University of Nebraska.
Nevada – Marion Jones
Jones was the daughter of a Nevada senator who later founded Santa Monica, Calif. Jones won U.S. titles in 1899 and 1902 and became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal during the 1900 Paris Olympics.
New Hampshire – Kay Hubbell
Hubbell, who made multiple appearances at the Wimbledon and U.S. championships in the 1950s, spent her summers playing on the clay courts at her family’s vacation home in the Granite State.
New Jersey - Juliette Atkinson
Atkinson and her sister, Kathleen, were like a late-1800s version of the Williams sisters. Juliette won three U.S. singles titles and teamed with Kathleen to win the doubles crown twice.
New Mexico – Kathrin Keil
Keil, the daughter of a prominent geology scientist at the University of New Mexico, played in all four majors and ranked as high as No. 68 in the world in the late 1980s.
New York – Althea Gibson
Gibson in the 1950s became the first Black player to win the singles title at the French, Wimbledon and U.S. championships. She was the consensus No. 1 player in the world in 1957 and 1958.
North Carolina – Ally Baker
Baker played in the U.S. Open at age 16, but her promising career was cut short due to injury just two years later. Some might select 1971 U.S. Open quarterfinalist Laura DuPont, who relocated to the Tar Heel State as a teen.
North Dakota – Helen Gruchalla
Gruchalla competed at Forest Hills in 1938.
Ohio – Shirley Fry
Fry won the career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles in the 1950s. Pauline Betz, a five-time major champion in the 1940s who was also born in the Buckeye State, is regarded by many experts as the better player, but Fry spent more years in Ohio and gets this nod on this list.
Oklahoma – Louise Brough
Brough, who won six singles Slams in the late 1940s and early 1950s, was born in the Sooner State. She also won 21 doubles major titles – 20 of them with the next person you’ll meet on this list.
Oregon – Margaret Osborne duPoint
duPont also won six singles majors and was a prolific doubles champion. She won 25 total titles at the U.S. championship alone (three singles, 13 doubles and nine mixed doubles), more than any other player at any other single slam.
Pennsylvania – Bertha Townsend
Townsend was the first repeat women’s winner at the U.S. championship in the late 1800s, despite utilizing an underhand serve. The top modern players from the Keystone State are Barbara and Kathy Jordan, the first sisters in the Open era to each reach a Grand Slam final.
The most intriguing candidate for top player from Pennsylvania is Ora Washington, a tennis-basketball star who was the most dominant Black player of the 1930s but never had the opportunity to play in the traditional majors.
Rhode Island – Beverly Baker Fleitz
Fleitz was a top 10 player throughout the 1950s and reached the Wimbledon final in 1955. If you prefer a player who spent more years in the Ocean State, then the choice is Jill Craybas, a regular participant at majors in the first decade of the 2000s.
South Carolina – Emma Navarro
Navarro, the current No. 27 in the world who has been ranked as high as No. 8, has advanced to at least the round of 16 at all four majors.
South Dakota – Nancy Rost
Rost won five high school state titles in the Mount Rushmore State before going on to play at the University of Minnesota.
Tennessee – Candy Reynolds
Reynolds got to the round of 16 at all four majors and briefly cracked the top 50 in the world rankings in the early 1980s.
Texas – Nancy Richey
Richey’s Australian title in 1967 and French crown one year later highlight the resume for the best player born and raised in the Lone Star State. Eighteen-time major champion Martina Navratilova called Texas home after she became a U.S. citizen in the 1980s.
Utah – Jane Stratton
Stratton was the first woman to receive an athletics scholarship at the University of Utah and later reached the third round at Wimbledon three times in the late 1970s.
Vermont – Sara Hughes (or Helen Wills Moody)
Hughes is the only player from the Green Mountain State to win four high school singles state titles. You could make a case for Wills Moody, the 19-time major champion who temporarily lived and was schooled in Vermont as a teen in the 1910s.
Virginia – Meghann Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy got to No. 11 in the world in singles and reached the round of 16 or better at all four majors in the early 2000s.
Washington – Mayme McDonald
If world rankings had existed in the 1910s, there’s evidence McDonald would have been in the top 10 a couple of times. She also reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. championship in 1924. In the Open era, Trish Bostrom got to No. 37 in the world in 1977.
West Virginia – Anne White
White is best remembered for playing a 1985 Wimbledon match in a white bodysuit that technically adhered to the All-England Club’s strict “predominantly white clothing” dress code but was quickly banned. She was a solid pro who cracked the top 20 in 1986.
Wisconsin – Tami Whitlinger
One of twins from a tennis-playing family, Whitlinger got to the third round at all four majors and climbed to No. 41 in the world in the early 1990s.
Wyoming – Julia Fenn
Fenn is the only player from the Equality State to win four high school state titles. She competed at Michigan State University in the late 2010s.
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