Top 10 Female Tennis Players Of All Time

The top 10 female tennis players of all time are household names around the world. Many women have donned the whites at Wimbledon and slipped on the clay at Paris, but the best tennis stars are the ones whose names stand the test of time.

1. Martina Navratilova. Born in Czechoslovakia, Martina seemed unstoppable through the 1980's and 1990's especially on the lawns at Wimbledon. She was openly lesbian when such matters were still taboo and became one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time to represent her adopted nation, the U.S.A.
2. Steffi Graf. Videos of Steffi training at the age of 3 surfaced when she first broke onto the scene as a young German teenage tennis player. The early practice obviously helped her because she soon usurped Navratilova and remains one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time.
3. Virginia Wade.  Every year at Wimbledon the home fans hope against hope that someone born in the British Isles will win the coveted trophy and every year at Wimbledon those hopes are dashed.  The last time a Brit won was when Wade did so in 1977 and that success helped her become one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time.
4. Chris Evert. The American star won no less than 18 Grand Slam singles championships on her to way to becoming one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time. Blonde haired Chris ranked among the sexier stars of her era and had admirers due to her skill and her looks.
5. Martina Hingis. The Swiss based Slovak, proved that stage-moms exist and can be damaging in Europe as well as the U.S. during her short but highly successful career. Martina wasn't just a top 10 female tennis player but for most of her career was the top tennis player. 
6. Monica Seles. The Serbian star ditched Belgrade for the U.S. and became one of the most popular players of her generation. It looked as if there would be no stopping her until a lunatic in the crowd stabbed her in the back. She did come back after a lengthy spell out of the game but was never the same as a top 10 female tennis player.
7. Aranxta Sanchez. The portly Spaniard put her country on the tennis map and came from obscurity to establish herself as one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time.  Sanchez preferred the clay and looked set to dominate until the women's power game emerged and swept her away.
8. Serena Williams. The younger but more powerful Williams sister brushes aside constant criticism of her figure and continues to hold a place in the top 10 female tennis players of all time. Powerful and stylish, Serena quickly emerged from the shadow of her older sister Venus and now outshines her.
9. Billie Jean King. A great tennis player at a time when women's lib meant no one judged tennis players by their looks. Lucky for Billie she wasn't born 20 years later but cool or uncool she is one of the best female tennis players of all time.
10. Margaret Smith Court. The most successful singles player of all time with 24 titles Margaret represented Australia for many years. The aptly named court established herself as one of the top 10 female tennis players of all time and it is unlikely that she will ever be knocked of her perch.