female tennis stars

Tennis is a sport that from the beginning has given pride of place to women. To ensure that you know them all, we suggest that you profile the tennis players who have revolutionized the history of the sport. From yesterday to today, which champions have been able to upset the codes by handling the racket?

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Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is the highest paid player in the world since 2019 ahead of Serena Williams, according to the magazine Forbes. She is the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam tournament and reach the top of the world rankings. His numerous titles won on the court, his asserted social positions and his Japanese look have contributed to giving birth to his legend. A manga was also created last year entirely in his likeness.

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First to withdraw from Roland Garros

After her victory at Roland-Garros on May 30, 2021, Naomi Osaka refused to answer the tournament press conference and was fined $15,000. The world number 2 then decided to forfeit this week, an unprecedented choice in the history of tennis which she explained by the need to “preserve her mental health”.

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Billie Jean King

American Billie Jean King was the world’s No. 1 in women’s tennis five times. The mistress of the court has won 12 Grand Slam tournaments including 6 times Wimbledon. Challenged in front of such a record by former world number 1 Bobby Riggs, the two champions fought a historic match called The sex war which she won. A mythical victory adapted to the cinema in 2017 where her role is embodied by Emma Stone.

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Champion and activist

In addition, Billie Jean King has played a vital role for women’s rights. By threatening not to participate in the 1973 US Open tournament, she obtained equal pay for men and women. The ex-athlete is also one of the first sportswomen to make her coming out in the media. In 2009, Barack Obama awarded him the Peace Medal. Today, the former tennis player has teamed up with her friend Elton John, who also wrote the song for her. Philadelphia Freedomin the fight once morest AIDS.

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Maria Sharapova

In 2004, the tenniswoman was the first Russian to win the Wimbledon final, at just 17 years old. Maria Sharapova is the youngest player in history to have won it following Martina Hingis who won at 15. She is also the only Russian to have reached the world number 1 spot and won all four Grand Slam tournaments. It-girl, rich and triumphant, the tennis pro has multiplied the front pages of magazines and was in 2015 the highest paid player in the world.

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The doping scandal

In 2016, during the opening of the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, the favorite doping product of Russian athletes. This incident led to his suspension for 15 months and hastened the end of his tennis career.

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Althea Gibson

In 1950, she was the first black player authorized to participate in the US National Championships (note: today called US Open) and the first also at the Wimbledon tournament the following year. His participation was already a feat at a time when racial segregation was very strong in the United States.

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The pioneer of Harlem

Coming from the infamous neighborhoods of the New York suburb of Harlem, nothing doomed her to such a destiny. She was the first black sportswoman to win Grand Slam tournaments including Roland Garros (1956), US National (1957) and Wimbledon (1957). On the other hand, Althea Gibson was the first black woman to receive a trophy from the hands of Queen Elizabeth II and to make the cover of the magazine Times.

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Justine Henin

Belgian player Justine Henin won seven Grand Slam titles and a gold medal once morest Amélie Mauresmo at the Athens Olympics in 2004. According to a list compiled by the American channel Channel Tennis of the 10 best tennis players in the world, Justine Henin is ranked 9th. Tennis champion John McEnroe called it the “best backhand in the world”.

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The duel of champions

Justine Henin’s career has been strongly marked by her rivalry with another great Belgian player, Kim Clijsters. Coming from the same country, the same generation and having reached the roof of world tennis, the two adversaries fought throughout the 2000s. A fight that Justine Henin won by wearing today the title of the best player Belgian in the history of tennis.

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Suzanne Lenglen

Nicknamed “La Divine”, the French competitor Suzanne Lenglen is the first international star of women’s tennis. In 1915, at the age of 15, she was already world champion. The formidable Suzanne Lenglen won 341 of the 348 matches she played. As a sign of homage, the second large court at the Roland-Garros stadium, which each year hosts the ladies’ tennis final, bears her name.

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Queen of the courts and avant-garde of fashion

Suzanne Lenglen was also a fashion priestess who contributed to the modernization of the status of women. Her bare forearms during matches, her well-groomed look, her colorful scarves and her made-up skin clashed with a pre-war period when habits and customs were austere.

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Amelie Mauresmo

Junior world champion at 17 and Australian Open finalist at 19, she is the only Frenchwoman to have been world number 1, men and women alike. Amélie Mauresmo is also the first female captain of the French Davis Cup team.

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Muscles and femininity

Amélie Mauresmo’s body has been the subject of much criticism during her rise in tennis. Her bulging muscles and strong face were enough to cast doubt on her femininity. Criticisms that raised an important point: women are not equally represented in the world of sport and are still very often masculinized.

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Margaret Court

Former Australian champion Margaret Court holds the historic record for titles won at Grand Slam tournaments by both women and men with 24 trophies. Results that might possibly be matched in a future victory for Serena Williams who holds 23 titles.

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A scandalous ex-champion

Margaret Court is not only known for her tennis game. Converted Pentecostal pastor, she held on an Australian Christian radio in 2017 a speech in favor of apartheid accompanied by homophobic remarks. An opinion that triggered the fury of several tennis personalities including Martina Navratilova who campaigned in January 2020 for the Australian stadium Margaret Court Arena to be renamed.

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Serena Williams

The one who needs no introduction was a four-time Olympic gold medallist. Serena Williams has won 23 out of 28 Grand Slam titles. She reached the world number 1 spot for 319 weeks or more than six years.

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A criticized physique

The African-American tennis player has often made headlines for her tennis prowess as she holds more titles than Roger Federer but also for her oft-criticized muscular physique.

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A feminist icon

Throughout her career, Serena Williams has chanted her convictions and taken a stand once morest racism, domestic violence and firearms. She also embodies diversity in competitive sports and the emancipation of the Women’s Olympic Games.

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Martina Navratilova

Exiled to the United States at 18, the Czechoslovakian won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1978, three years following arriving on American soil. Martina Navratilova is the third player in history to have achieved a “total Grand Slam” by winning all four tournaments (singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles).

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An Olympic form

In 2003, 46-year-old Martina Navratilova won the Australian Open and Wimbledon mixed doubles with Leander Paes, making her the most successful tennis star of the Open era. The following year, she became the oldest player to win a singles match at Wimbledon. She thus proved that sport is neither a matter of gender nor a matter of age.

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