Being World No.1 in any sport is a dream come true for any sportsperson. In tennis, there have been a number of eminent players who have been ranked World No.1 since the introduction of the ATP and WTA rankings. Many of these successful players have achieved the rare feat of a Career Slam by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments.
However, there have been a number of players who, despite being one of the best of their generation, have not been able to achieve this coveted feat. Here’s a list of five Women’s players who haven’t been able to achieve the Career Grand Slam.
#5. Lindsay Davenport
One of the most noted players of her generation, Lindsay Davenport was renowned for her powerful groundstrokes. In a highly successful Career, Davenport was World No.1 for a total of 98 weeks and is one of only five women who have been year-end World No.1 at least four times (1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005) in the last four decades; the others being Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.During her Career, Davenport won a total of 55 WTA titles including three Grand Slams; the Australian Open in 2000, Wimbledon in 1999 and the US Open in 1998. The only Grand Slam missing from Davenport’s trophy cabinet is the French Open with her best performance being reaching the semi-finals in 1998.
After a couple of brilliant performances in 1997, 1998 was expected to be a good year for Davenport. After a semi-final showing at the Australian Open followed by some good performances prior to Roland Garros, Davenport was one of the favorites heading into the French Open and was expected to win her maiden Grand Slam title. Davenport reached her first French Open semi-final after defeating defending champion Iva Majoli in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, she was up against the 1989 and 1994 champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario who beat her 6-3, 7-6. Vicario went on to win her third French Open title which remains to be the only Grand Slam she ever won. Davenport, however wasn’t able to reach another French Open singles semi-final (having won the Women’s doubles title in 1996).
#4. Justine Henin
In an era where the Williams sisters were the premier dominants of Women’s tennis, two players from Belgium gave them a tough fight, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Henin was clearly the better one. Known for all-court and offensive play and footwork, Henin was one of the finest players of her generation and had held the top position in the WTA rankings for 117 weeks.
She won 43 WTA singles titles including seven Grand Slam titles including an Australian Open title in 2004, two US Open titles in 2003 and 2007 and four French Open titles in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. However, Henin never got an opportunity to lay her hands on the coveted Wimbledon trophy, having reached the final in 2001 and 2006.2001 was Henin’s breakthrough year and having made it to the semis of the French Open, Henin was considered to be a tough competitor for the Wimbledon title. In the quarter, she battered 1994 champion Conchita Martinez 6-1, 6-0 and then stunned tournament favorite and reigning Australian and French Open champion Jennifer Capriati to set up a final encounter with reigning champion Venus Williams.
After losing the first set 1-6, Henin bounced back to take the second set 6-3 but was no match for her in the third set, losing 0-6 and subsequently the match. She made the semis in the following two tournaments, losing to the Williams sisters on both occasions (Venus in 2002 and Serena in 2003). After a disappointing first round outing in 2005, Henin reached her second Wimbledon final in 2006, beating her compatriot and rival Kim Clijsters in the semi-finals. However, she was once again beaten, this time by then-World No.1 Amelie Mauresmo despite taking the first set in a match that was characterized by powerful baseliners. She was the overwhelming favorite to complete her Career slam in the 2007 tournament but was beaten in the semi-finals by eventual runner-up and future champion Marion Bartoli despite being a set and a break-up. Despite being the first and the only Belgian player to be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Henin will surely be ruing her missed opportunities in the Wimbledon finals in 2001 and 2006 that denied her a Career slam.
#3. Evonne Goolagong Cawley
The first of two Indigenous Australian tennis players, Evonne Goolagong Cawley was one of the most acclaimed players of her generation. During her playing days, she won a total of 86 Career Singles titles including 68 in the Open Era.
During the 70s, she played in a total of seventeen Grand Slam finals which was a record for any player, man or woman, in that period. Cawley won a total of seven Grand Slam titles during her Career that included four Australian Open titles in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977, a French Open title in 1971 and two Wimbledon titles in 1971 and 1980. However, Cawley couldn’t claim a single US Open title during her Career, despite reaching four consecutive finals from 1973-1976, thus becoming the only player in the open era to have lost four consecutive US open finals. Her first final came in 1973, where she faced the legendary Margaret Court. Court took the first set 7-6 but Cawley bounced back to level the match by taking the second set 7-5.
Court proved too much for Cawley, taking the third set 6-2, subsequently winning the match and her fifth US Open title – which would be her 24th and last Grand Slam title. The following year, Cawley met Billie Jean King in the final after defeating top seed Chris Evert in the semis.
Once again, the match consisted of three sets with Cawley taking the first set this time before King bounced back to take the second and third sets to win her fourth and final US Open title. In the next two years, Cawley faced Chris Evert in the final.
While Cawley had a good start to the 1975 final by winning the first set before Evert won the next two, Evert completely got the better of her in the 1976 final by thrashing her 6-3, 6-0. She might be one of the most highly regarded players of her generation but Cawley will also be remembered for her four consecutive final losses at the US Open.
#2. Monica Seles
Had it not been for her stabbing on 30 April, 1993 then Monica Seles would have easily surpassed Steffi Graf and would have been the best player of her generation. Regarded to be one of the greatest players of all-time, Seles was World No. 1 for a total of 178 weeks, which is the sixth-highest number of weeks at the top of the WTA rankings and the tenth-highest number of weeks for any player, male or female.
Over her career, Seles won a total of 53 singles titles including nine Grand Slam titles out of which eight of them she had won before the age of 20. She won four Australian Open titles in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996, three successive French Open titles from 1990-1992 (the 1990 victory made her the youngest ever French Open champion at the age of 16) and two successive US Open titles in 1991 and 1992.However, she wasn’t able to win a single Wimbledon title in her Career with her best performance being a runner-up performance in 1992. After winning every Grand Slam she participated in 1991, 1992 was expected to be Seles’ year and many expected the then-18-year old to accomplish a Career Grand Slam. Seles was in exceptional form from the start of the year, having won both the Australian and French Opens. Seeded first at the tournament, Seles did not drop a single set in the tournament before her semi-final against Martina Navratilova which the latter had to go through a tie-break to win it.
The final was a rematch of the French Open final which Seles won. While the French Open final was an exciting one, the Wimbledon final was totally one-sided as Graf beat Seles 6-2, 6-1 to win her fourth Wimbledon title and attain her first victory over Seles in a Grand Slam final.
Seles did win the US Open later that year but that was that as she had taken a brief hiatus from tennis for more than two years and was never the same player she was. Since 1996, her best performance at Wimbledon was three quarter-final appearances in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Truly, one of the best players to have been denied a Career Slam.
#1. Martina Hingis
It may come as a real surprise that one of the greatest tennis players was denied a Career Slam but that’s the case in Martina Hingis’ case. Considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, had it not been for her ankle injuries, Hingis would definitely have won thrice the number of Grand Slam Singles titles. She is one of only few players who have reached at least the final of all four majors across Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Hingis was at the top of the WTA rankings for a total of 209 weeks. At the age of 15 years and 9 months, Hingis became the youngest-ever Grand Slam champion across all three circuits and at the age of 16 years and 117 days, Hingis became the youngest-ever Grand Slam Singles champion by winning her first Grand Slam 72 days before Monica Seles. Hingis has won five Grand Slam Singles titles that include three consecutive Australian Open titles from 1997-1999, a Wimbledon title in 1997, and a US Open title also in 1997.However, as seen with many top players like Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, the French Open eluded Hingis with her best performance being reaching the final in 1997 and 1999. 1997 was expected to be Hingis’ year and she began beautifully by winning the Australian Open title and was expected to be a prime contender for the French Open title. Seeded first, Hingis beat a couple of former champions in Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Monica Seles in the quarters and semis respectively. However, she was beaten by ninth seed Croatian Iva Majoli in the final in straight sets.
Two years later, in 1999, Hingis once again made the final as the top seed and prior to her final against Steffi Graf, she hadn’t dropped a single set throughout the tournament. She even took the first set and was three points away from victory in the second set but Graf bounced back and took the match and her first Grand Slam in three years.
She later made a couple of semi-final appearances in 2000 and 2001 before injuries forced her to retire prematurely. However, she came back but only made it to the quarter-finals in 2006. Martina Hingis is definitely the greatest female tennis player to have been denied a Career Slam in the singles.
