The final Grand Slam of the calendar year – The US Open – is once again upon us. To get the Tennis aficionados ruminating on the past triumphs and spectacular moments at Flushing Meadows before the action from this year’s tournament captivates the fans, we take a look at some of the greatest female players to have tasted success at Queens, New York.
Played on outdoor hard courts, the US Open offers a different challenge from the French Open and Wimbledon. But the greatest names in Women’s tennis have all prevailed at the US Open multiple times. Flushing Meadows has seen stars like Billie Jean King, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport among other luminaries in women’s tennis lift the trophy. But who among them is the greatest champion at the US Open in the Open era?
We have considered factors like period of dominance, the nature of wins etc apart from of course the trophies won.
5) Billie Jean King
There’s a reason the US Open venue is named The Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. A 12-time Grand Slam singles winner, Billie Jean King won 4 of her titles at Flushing Meadows. One of the leading figures in women’s Tennis during her career, BJK also fought for the rights of women in the sport and was also the first tennis player and female athlete ever to be named Sports Illustrated’s ‘Sportsman of the Year’.
Though she won only 3 US Opens during the Open era (1971, 1972 & 1974), her achievement cannot be overlooked. Her first success at New York was in 1967, the last tournament in the Amateur era. BJK is one of only 4 women to win the US Open without dropping a set 2 or more times in the Open era (Obviously, all of them feature in this list). She did so in ‘71 & ‘72, a period of 2 years when she was almost invincible on grass (US Open was played on grass till 1974).
Commendably, her win in ‘72 also featured a straight-set semifinal defeat of her arch-rival Margaret Court. The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ winner also reached the final of the US Open twice, in 1965 and 1968 (defeated by Court and Virginia Wade respectively).
4) Martina Navratilova
The left-handed Czech-American had an enviable record at Flushing Meadows during a 5 year period between 1983 and 1987 which saw her win 4 US Open titles, 2 of them (’83 & ‘87) without losing a single set.
The only year she missed out during the period was in 1985, when she was defeated by Czech Republic’s Hana Mandlikova in 3 sets. Quite an astonishing period of dominance in a tournament. In fact, Navratilova was at the top of her game during the period, winning 6 consecutive majors – a feat that has been unmatched still.
Needless to say, the sight of a bespectacled Martina unleashing her ripping forehands and one-handed backhands was too common a sight at the US Open. To add to it, the calibre of opponents she defeated only ramped up the wow factor in her victories – Chris Evert (twice), Steffi Graf and Helena Sukova were the losing finalists on the four occasions.
She also ended up as the runner-up 4 times either side of her period of dominance. Her 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Chris Evert in the 1984 final was one of the classics at US Open.
3) Steffi Graf
With a record 22 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, it would be criminal not to have the great Steffi Graf’s name in any list pertaining to women’s tennis that begins with the term – ‘Greatest’.
She triumphed at the US Open 5 times (’88, ‘89, ‘93, ‘95, ‘96) in a period of 8 years with the win in 1996 achieved without losing a set. She also reached the finals thrice during the period, only to be beaten by Navratilova (1987), Gabriela Sabatini (1990) and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1994).
The German is the only player to achieve the Golden Slam (all 4 Grand Slams plus the Olympic gold) in a calendar year. Fittingly, she defeated Navratilova in the final in 1989 and then defeating her arch-rival Monica Seles twice in 2 years in the final (’95 & ‘96). The 1995 final was also one of the best finals ever witnessed at the Flushing Meadows, with Graf overcoming a 6-0 blanking in the 2nd set to win it 7-6, 0-6, 6-3.
One of the few players comfortable on all surfaces, Steffi’s powerful forehand and impeccable footwork were a sight to behold. A great champion!
2) Serena Williams
The American is one player who can compete with Steffi Graf for the title of the greatest woman tennis player ever with an identical haul of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena’s dominance and longevity in the sport is unparalleled. Having won her first US Open title way back in 1999 (some 17 years back), she is trying to land a record 7th title at Flushing Meadows this year.
A record joint 6-time champion at US Open (’99, ‘02, ‘08, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14), she only comes 2nd on this list because her 6 wins came over a 15-year period. The supreme athlete that Serena is, she has no clear rival even in her thirties where she has found a new gust of wind, that is fast propelling her into immortality. In fact, she enjoys a superior record against all her major rivals.
Serena won her first US Open title in 1999 after defeating Martina Hingis before winning her 2nd US Open in 2002 without losing a set. She would go on to achieve that feat in 2008 & 2014. Serena’s power-packed game still dominates women’s tennis at the age of 34 and few would bet against her winning the 7th US Open title and leaving Steffi Graf in her wake.
1) Chris Evert
The 18-time Grand Slam singles winner Chris Evert has a joint-highest 6 US Open wins to her credit along with Serena but she won her 6 titles in a 7-year period between 1975 and 1982 (’75, ‘76, ‘77, ‘78, ‘80, ‘82). If that wasn’t amazing enough, the latter 3 of Evert’s 4 consecutive wins in 1975, ‘76, 77 and 78 were achieved without a set being dropped. Chew on that for a bit! Such was Evert’s presence in the women’s circuit, she won at least a Grand Slam for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 to 1986.
The US Open was held on clay between 1974 and 1977, after which it was switched to hard courts. Therefore, Evert became the only woman to win the tournament on 2 different surfaces.
She was also the losing finalist in 1979, ‘83 & ‘84 in which she lost to her longtime rival Martina Navratilova. Regardless, Evert, known as the ‘Ice Maiden’ for her cool and calm demeanour on court, is perhaps the greatest women’s US Open champion. Or rather, the ‘Queen of Flushing Meadows’.
