Female tennis players with the most grand slams

by Andy Schooler, 11 January 2024

Who is the greatest player of all time? The GOAT debate is one which often rears its head in tennis. Of course, the answer will always be subjective but what counts as fact is the number of Grand Slam titles won.

Here, we take a look at the most-successful players in terms of Slam singles titles won.

24 – Margaret Court

Australian Court stands alone when it comes to Grand Slam singles titles won – she claimed a remarkable 24 between 1960 and 1973.

Her tally includes a fabled calendar-year Grand Slam – winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – in 1970, the season she won a record 21 singles titles.

During that 1970 run, Court – known as Margaret Smith prior to her marriage to Barry in 1967 – famously fought back from 6-3 5-2 down to Olga Morozova in the second round at Roland Garros, while she then overcame an ankle injury in the Wimbledon final to beat Billie Jean King.

There are two main problems some people find with her record of 24.

The first is that it was compiled across both the Amateur and Open eras of the sport, while the second is that many of the top players didn’t play in the Australian Open during Court’s playing days – she won a record 11 titles at her home Slam.

Still, her attacking, serve-volley style – helped by a long reach – helped her set many long-standing records. Her pioneering training regime is also credited as a major reason for setting her apart from her peers.

Court also holds the overall, multi-format record for Grand Slam titles, winning 64 across singles, doubles and mixed doubles play.

You may see this record down as 62 as two of her Australian Open mixed doubles titles were shared with the final not played. Whether you count her mixed doubles titles as 19 or 21, either is a record for that format.

Court is the only player to win a Grand Slam in both singles and mixed – she achieved the latter alongside Ken Fletcher in 1963.

She is also one of only three to win a ‘Triple Crown’, winning all three draws at the US Open of 1970 and also one of three to claim all 12 Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed at the four tournaments) – a ‘boxed set’ – in her career.

In the Open era, Court’s match winning percentage of 91.02% is another record.

Court’s achievements saw her awarded the honour of having a showcourt named after her at Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open. The Margaret Court Arena was so named in 2003, although in more recent years there have been calls for the name to be changed given Court’s public opposition to same-sex marriage.

23 – Serena Williams

For many, Williams is the greatest player of all time, despite the fact she doesn’t hold the overall record for Grand Slam singles titles.

What the American does own is the record for Slam titles won in the Open era – her first coming as a teenager at the 1999 US Open and the last at the 2017 Australian Open.

Williams, along with her elder sister Venus, is credited with taking the game to new levels in terms of both power and, in particular, athleticism.

Her speed gave her great court coverage and when she got to the ball, few could hit the ball harder, certainly when she first came onto the scene. A key shot was the serve, widely regarded as the best of all time.

Williams first dominated the game in the 2002-03 period, one which saw her win the ‘Serena Slam’ of holding all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. She would later repeat this achievement in 2014-15, although she would miss out on the calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015, suffering a shock loss to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals.

In between, Williams arguably missed out on more Slam titles, either due to injury or, as believed in some quarters, a lack of focus. Interests outside of tennis were many, with fashion drawing attention away from the court, as well as acting – Williams famously appeared in an episode of acclaimed TV drama, ER.

By the mid-2010s, Williams’ focus was very much back on tennis and she was the dominant force, holding the world no 1 ranking for a record-equalling 186 consecutive weeks.

She broke the Open Era Slams record while pregnant at the 2017 Australian Open but while she returned to the court after giving birth, Margaret Court’s outright record of 24 proved elusive, Williams losing four finals as a mother.

As well as her 23 singles Slams, Williams also won 14 in women’s doubles (all alongside Venus) and two in mixed doubles.

She is the only player to win a Career Golden Slam – the four Slams, plus Olympic gold – in both singles and doubles.

Her success is all the more remarkable given her upbringing on the public courts of Compton, California, where her game was honed by father Richard, a self-taught coach who helped two of his daughters ascend to world number one.

22 – Steffi Graf

‘Fraulein Forehand’ is another who pushed the sport to the next level.

Her superb footwork helped her get around the ball in order to play her trademark shot, one whose ferocity took down opponent after opponent during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

The German is the only player in history (male or female) to win the Golden Grand Slam – all four majors plus Olympic gold in the same year – which she did in 1988.

The emergence of Monica Seles in the early 90s saw Graf replaced as the game’s best player but after her rival was stabbed on court in Hamburg in 1993, the German dominated once more, holding all four Slam titles again in 1994-95.

She retired at the age of 30 in 1999, just a couple of months after winning her 22nd Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros.

After leaving the court, Graf married men’s tennis star Andre Agassi with the pair having two children.

Graf spent a record 377 weeks on top of the world rankings during her career, 186 of which were consecutive (a joint record).

19 – Helen Wills Moody

Wills Moody’s claim to be the greatest comes in the fact she won 19 Grand Slam singles tournaments without ever playing in Australia.

She also won nine doubles and three mixed titles at Grand Slam level.

The American shone in the 1920s and 30s, essentially replacing France’s Suzanne Lenglen as the world’s best player.

Wills Moody never lost a match at Roland Garros, was beaten only once at Wimbledon – where she won eight times – and compiled an incredible career record of 126-3 at the Grand Slams.

Whether that or the fact she won 180 consecutive matches between 1927 and 1933 is the better achievement is open to question.

Wills Moody only faced Lenglen once, their 1926 contest in Cannes being dubbed the ‘Match of the Century’.

Lenglen, considered to have the more classical game with greater variety, prevailed in straight sets.

It had been expected to be the first of many meetings between the two greats but Wills required an appendectomy shortly after her defeat, while Lenglen turned professional later in the year.

18 – Chris Evert

Unquestionably one of the all-time greats, Evert’s career was defined by her rivalry with Martina Navratilova.

The pair met 80 times in total – 14 were Grand Slam finals – and you have to wonder how many more Slams either player would have won had the other not been around at the same time.

Evert ended her career with 18 Grand Slam singles crowns having played in a record 34 finals.

While Navratilova’s serve-and-volley style saw her dominate on grass, Evert’s baseline game was perfect for the claycourts on which she ruled for years.

Between 1973 and 1979, the American won 125 consecutive matches on the surface, losing just eight sets in that run. She finished her career with a 94.55% win percentage on clay, triumphant in 382 of her 404 matches.

Evert would win the French Open on a record seven occasions, the same number of times she finished as the WTA’s year-end number one.

Evert also won the US Open six times – putting her alongside Serena Williams at the top of that Open-era list.

However, perhaps her most impressive statistic relates to her remarkable consistency. Evert played in 56 Grand Slam singles draws and reached the semi-finals or better in 52 of them.

18 – Martina Navratilova

There is something apt about the fact that Navratilova has the same number of Grand Slam singles titles as Evert, given their rivalry is arguably the greatest of all time.

For the record, Navratilova edged the head-to-head, 43-37.

The pair sit joint-fifth in this all-time list, although what sets Navratilova apart in many eyes is her doubles record.

She won 31 women’s doubles Slams and 10 in mixed – the last in 2006 at the age of 49 – for combined total of 59 major titles. That number is an Open-era record, while she is one of only three players to claim a ‘boxed set’ of all 12 major titles (singles, doubles and mixed at all four Slam tournaments).

Her aggressive, serve-volley tactics set her apart from her peers, especially on grass. She won nine Wimbledon titles, making nine successive finals at the All England Club at one point.

Her most dominant period was around 1983-84, one which saw her complete the non-calendar year Grand Slam of holding all four major trophies.

The 1983 season saw her lose just one match, setting a record winning percentage of 98.8% by going 86-1. The following year brought a Grand Slam in doubles, alongside Pam Shriver.

A major reason attributed to her success was her training regime which saw her take athleticism in the game to new heights – few players could cover the court as well as the Czech-born star, who would later claim US citizenship.

Navratilova is the only player to spend 200+ weeks as world number one in both singles and doubles, while 167 singles and 177 doubles titles are also Open-era records.

Off the court, Navratilova is a champion of LGBT rights having been openly gay since 1981.

Other notables:

• 12 – Billie Jean King
• 9 – Maureen Connolly
• 9 – Monica Seles
• 8 – Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
• 8 – Suzanne Lenglen

It’s also worth taking a look at some of the other records, associated with the Grand Slam tournaments, with the aforementioned Open-era list given plenty of weight in many quarters…

Most Grand Slam women’s singles titles (Open era):

• 23 – Serena Williams
• 22 – Steffi Graf
• 18 – Chris Evert
• 18 – Martina Navratilova
• 11 – Margaret Court
• 9 – Monica Seles
• 8 – Billie Jean King
• 7 – Evonne Goolagong
• 7 – Venus Williams
• 7 – Justine Henin

Most women’s Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed):

• 64 – Margaret Court
• 59 – Martina Navratilova
• 39 – Billie Jean King
• 39 – Serena Williams
• 37 – Margaret Osborne DuPont

Most Grand Slam women’s singles titles (active players):

• 7 – Venus Williams
• 4 – Naomi Oaska
• 4 – Iga Swiatek
• 3 – Angelique Kerber

Women’s calendar-year Grand Slam winners (singles):

• Maureen Connolly – 1953
• Margaret Court – 1970
• Steffi Graf – 1988

Women’s calendar-year Golden Slam winners (singles):

• Steffi Graf – 1988

Women’s non-calendar year Grand Slam winners (singles):

• Martina Navratilova – 1983-84
• Steffi Graf – 1993-94
• Serena Williams – 2002-03 and 2014-15

Women’s career Golden Slam winners (singles):

• Steffi Graf
• Serena Williams

Women’s career Grand Slam winners (singles):

• Maureen Connolly
• Doris Hart
• Shirley Fry Irvin
• Margaret Court
• Billie Jean King
• Chris Evert
• Martina Navratilova
• Steffi Graf
• Serena Williams
• Maria Sharapova

Most Australian Open women’s singles titles (all time):

• 11 – Margaret Court
• 7 – Serena Williams
• 6 – Nancye Wynne Bolton

Most Australian Open women’s singles titles (Open era):

• 7 – Serena Williams
• 4 – Margaret Court
• 4 – Evonne Goolagong
• 4 – Steffi Graf
• 4 – Monica Seles

Most French Open women’s singles titles (all time):

• 7 – Chris Evert
• 6 – Suzanne Lenglen
• 6 – Steffi Graf

Most French Open women’s singles titles (Open era):

• 7 – Chris Evert
• 6 – Steffi Graf
• 4 – Justine Henin

Most Wimbledon ladies’ singles titles (all time):

• 9 – Martina Navratilova
• 8 – Helen Wills Moody
• 7 – Dorothea Lambert Chambers
• 7 – Steffi Graf
• 7 – Serena Williams

Most Wimbledon ladies’ singles titles (Open era):

• 9 – Martina Navratilova
• 7 – Steffi Graf
• 7 – Serena Williams

Most US Open women’s singles titles (all time):

• 8 – Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
• 7 – Helen Wills Moody
• 6 – Chris Evert
• 6 – Serena Williams

Most US Open women’s singles titles (Open era):

• 6 – Chris Evert
• 6 – Serena Williams
• 5 – Steffi Graf