The U.S. Open is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, and it has produced some of the greatest champions in history. Here is a look at 10 of the all-time greats, based on their number of titles, longevity, and overall dominance.
Greatest Women’s U.S. Open Champions
- Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (1915-18, 1920-22, 1926)
Mallory is the greatest female champion in U.S. Open history, with eight singles titles on her record. Additionally, Mallory is the oldest woman to win a singles championship at the U.S. Open. Mallory was 42 years old when she won her final title in 1926. - Helen Wills Moody (1923-25, 1927-29, 1931)
Second on the list of most decorated women’s U.S. Open champions, Moody won the first of her seven titles at the tender age of 17. In fact, Moody defeated Molla Bjurstedt Mallory in 1923– the only woman with more titles than Moody. Additionally, Moody inexplicably refused to play another U.S. Open after losing in the 1933 finals via default. Many people believe had she continued to play at the U.S. Open, she would have surpassed Mallory for the most career singles titles. - Chris Evert (1975-78, 1980, 1982)
The Ice Maiden was the first woman in the Open era to win six U.S. Open singles titles, the most for a career (later matched by Serena Williams). Despite not being as powerful as her rival Martina Navratilova, Evert was a great defensive player who rarely made any unforced errors. - Serena Williams (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012-14)
Serena Williams’ claim to being the greatest women’s player in tennis history is bolstered by her U.S. Open accomplishments. Williams jointly hold the Open Era record for career titles (six) with Chris Evert. Also, Williams holds the record for most match wins at the U.S. Open, with 108.
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- Margaret Court (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973)
Aussie Margaret Court nabbed five Open titles, on her way to a women’s record 24 Grand Slam titles. Additionally, Court was a pioneer in the women’s game when it came to fitness training. - Steffi Graf (1988-89, 1993, 1995-96)
Fräulein Forehand, as Steffi Graf was nicknamed, earned her five championships with a with perhaps the greatest combination of speed, power, and footwork ever seen at Forest Hills. Unfortunately, injuries forced Graf to retire in 1999 at the age of 30, while ranked #3 in the world. - Several tied with four: Elisabeth Moore (1896, 1901, 1903, 1905), Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (1909-11, 1919), Helen Jacobs (1932-35), Alice Marble (1936, 1938-40), Pauline Betz (1942-44, 1946), Maria Bueno (1959, 1963-64, 1966), Billie Jean King (1967, 1971-72, 1974), Martina Navratilova (1983-84, 1986-87)