Women's Tennis: 5 Players with Most Singles Titles in Open Era

Since the dawn of the Open Era of tennis in 1968, many women have graced and aced the tennis courts and have rose to become legends. In the early days, women used to peak early probably in their late teens and would lose form or retire by the age of 30. However, that is no longer the case in the Modern Era as women just like their male counterparts continue to push well into their 30's and give the younger players a run for their money. One doesn't have to look further back to validate this point.

Angelique Kerber became the oldest World Number 1 in 2016 at the age of 28 and Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open at the age of 35. Currently, there are 8 players in the WTA Top 30 who are 30 or older. Although Grand Slams offer the same prize money to both men and women, there is a considerable difference in prize money between ATP organized tournaments for men and WTA tournaments conducted for women. We take a look at 5 women who have tasted most success in the Open Era :

#5 Serena Williams

Serena Williams

The only active player in the list is American Serena Williams. Serena rose to prominence as a teenager in the late 1990's and is the only woman in tennis history to win Grand Slam singles titles in 3 different decades (the 1990's 2000's and 2010's). Her tally of 23 Grand Slam titles till date is second to none in the Open Era. The only woman with over 80 Million in prize money earnings, Serena has inspired women all over the world and continues to defy age and time as she looks to break Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles.

Serena has also won the Olympic Gold in doubles 3 times and also the Olympic Singles Gold in 2012. Apart from helping USA win the Fed Cup in 1999 and the Hopman Cup twice, Serena also has won every single Grand Slam doubles final that she has featured in along with her sister Venus as partner giving her a total of 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles. Bestowed recently with 'The WTA Comeback Player of the Year in 2018 Award', Serena Williams has won 72 Singles titles till date.

#4 Margaret Court

Margaret Court

Australian Margaret Court has won more Grand Slam Singles titles than any other athlete - male or female. Her tally of 24 Grand Slam Singles titles continues to stand till date. She is one of 3 women along with Doris Hart and Martina Navratilova to have won all 4 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions.

Margaret Court is the only tennis athlete to win a Calendar Slam in mixed doubles. She did this twice in 1963 and 1965. The 4-time Fed Cup winner with Australia, Court won a total of 192 Singles titles with 92 of those coming in the Open Era. Post-retirement, Court has been an active participant in religious activities. The famous Margaret Court Arena which is a common fixture of Australian Open matches is named after her.

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#3 Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf

The German Steffi Graf who prefers to be called Stefanie was the most popular face of tennis in the late 1980's and 1990's. Her crowning achievement of winning the Career Golden Slam in 1988 -winning all 4 Grand Slam Majors and the Olympic Gold Medal, looks unlikely to ever be broken. In that year she double bageled her opponent 6-0,6-0 at the French Open final to win the final in just 32 minutes - the record for the shortest final in any Grand Slam tournament.

The holder of the World Number 1 ranking for a record 377 weeks, Graf won an astounding 22 Grand Slam titles only behind Serena Williams and Margaret Court. Steffi and fellow German Boris Becker are widely credited in popularizing the sport of tennis in the football crazy Germany. Steffi is widely respected among the game's greatest and in the opinion of fellow tennis great Billie-Jean King, she is the greatest woman tennis player of all-time. She won a total of 107 Singles titles.

#2 Chris Evert

Chris Evert

American Chris Evert holds the record for the most Grand Slam final appearances with 31 appearances. In a glittering career, she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles including winning at least one in 13 consecutive years - an all-time record. Her singles winning percentage of 89.97% is the highest among both men and women.

She is widely considered to be the most dominant clay court player in the Women's field with 7 French Open crowns and a clay-court win percentage of 94.55%. Evert won an impressive 157 Singles titles. Post-retirement she has had two stints as President of the WTA and is presently serving as a tennis analyst for ESPN.

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#1 Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova

Widely considered by pundits and fans alike to be the 'Most complete' player of all-time, Czech-American Martina Navratilova achieved unprecedented success across all three formats of the game. In a career-spanning 31 years, Navratilova captured 18 Grand Slam singles titles, an all-time record of 31 doubles titles and 10 mixed doubles titles. Her combined tally across all three formats is second to none in tennis history.

Martina won an all-time record of 9 Wimbledon Championships and is one of three women along with Doris Hart and Margaret Court to have won the 'Boxed Set' in tennis - winning all 4 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

She is the only player to have been ranked World Number 1 in singles and doubles for over 4 years each. In 1983, Martina Navratilova had a jaw-dropping win-loss record in Singles of 86-1 (the best till date). Her streak of 74 consecutive match wins is second to none in the sport. She holds the record for the most Singles titles in the Open Era with 167 and also the most doubles titles in the Open Era with 177.