On May 14 2008, ESPN analyst Joel Drucker released the "Greats of the Open era" list.
1. Steffi Graf: Her 22 Grand Slam singles titles say it all. She's the only player to have won at least four times at every major, as well as the "Golden Slam" in 1988, when she won all of them and added an Olympic gold medal. Graf also was Henin's idol, a player Henin watched in person playing in the 1992 French Open final. Sitting in Paris that afternoon with her mother, Francoise, Henin declared she too would one day compete on that court.
2. Martina Navratilova: Her 18 Grand Slam singles victories make her the most complete all-court player in tennis history. Navratilova also won a staggering 41 doubles Slams and brought dominance to new heights for much of the '80s.
3. Chris Evert: She won 18 Grand Slam titles, highlighted by a record 13 straight years of winning at least one Slam singles title.
4. Billie Jean King: It's easy to overlook this activist's massive on-court accomplishments, which include 12 singles Slams, 27 doubles majors and the distinctive achievement of becoming the first female athlete to earn $100,000 in a calendar year.
5. Margaret Court: She won a record 24 Slam singles and 62 overall. Though 11 of those singles victories came in a relatively shallow Australian Championships event, it's often forgotten that in 1970, Court won a calendar-year Grand Slam.
6. Monica Seles: It's not just that Seles won nine Grand Slam singles crowns, but she also took over the game from Graf in a rapid-fire way. Between June 1990 and January 1993, Seles won a staggering eight Slams, taking three apiece in '91 and '92 before her tragic stabbing in April '93.
7. Serena Williams: Besides being the first player since Graf to complete a career Slam, Williams has earned a total of eight Slams and proven herself, if not always consistent, as a big-occasion competitor. Having lost to Henin in three Slams last year, surely Williams must be viewing her possibilities in an even more positive light than ever.
8. Justine Henin: She has seven Slams, a pair of runner-up showings in the one Slam she never won (Wimbledon), 41 tournament titles, an Olympic gold medal and three years of finishing the year ranked No. 1 in the world. (For comparison's sake, Serena and Venus Williams have done this once between them.)
9. Venus Williams: Six Slams, highlighted by four victories at Wimbledon. Also twice won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year and earned an Olympic gold medal.
10. Martina Hingis, Evonne Goolagong: Each peaked as a teen. Hingis took three of her five career Slams at age 16 and won 43 singles tournaments. At 19, Goolagong won the '71 French Open over a weak field, but dazzled the world when a month later she beat King and Court at Wimbledon -- and nine years later, as a mother, earned a second Wimbledon title when she defeated Evert.
1. Steffi Graf: Her 22 Grand Slam singles titles say it all. She's the only player to have won at least four times at every major, as well as the "Golden Slam" in 1988, when she won all of them and added an Olympic gold medal. Graf also was Henin's idol, a player Henin watched in person playing in the 1992 French Open final. Sitting in Paris that afternoon with her mother, Francoise, Henin declared she too would one day compete on that court.
2. Martina Navratilova: Her 18 Grand Slam singles victories make her the most complete all-court player in tennis history. Navratilova also won a staggering 41 doubles Slams and brought dominance to new heights for much of the '80s.
3. Chris Evert: She won 18 Grand Slam titles, highlighted by a record 13 straight years of winning at least one Slam singles title.
4. Billie Jean King: It's easy to overlook this activist's massive on-court accomplishments, which include 12 singles Slams, 27 doubles majors and the distinctive achievement of becoming the first female athlete to earn $100,000 in a calendar year.
5. Margaret Court: She won a record 24 Slam singles and 62 overall. Though 11 of those singles victories came in a relatively shallow Australian Championships event, it's often forgotten that in 1970, Court won a calendar-year Grand Slam.
6. Monica Seles: It's not just that Seles won nine Grand Slam singles crowns, but she also took over the game from Graf in a rapid-fire way. Between June 1990 and January 1993, Seles won a staggering eight Slams, taking three apiece in '91 and '92 before her tragic stabbing in April '93.
7. Serena Williams: Besides being the first player since Graf to complete a career Slam, Williams has earned a total of eight Slams and proven herself, if not always consistent, as a big-occasion competitor. Having lost to Henin in three Slams last year, surely Williams must be viewing her possibilities in an even more positive light than ever.
8. Justine Henin: She has seven Slams, a pair of runner-up showings in the one Slam she never won (Wimbledon), 41 tournament titles, an Olympic gold medal and three years of finishing the year ranked No. 1 in the world. (For comparison's sake, Serena and Venus Williams have done this once between them.)
9. Venus Williams: Six Slams, highlighted by four victories at Wimbledon. Also twice won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year and earned an Olympic gold medal.
10. Martina Hingis, Evonne Goolagong: Each peaked as a teen. Hingis took three of her five career Slams at age 16 and won 43 singles tournaments. At 19, Goolagong won the '71 French Open over a weak field, but dazzled the world when a month later she beat King and Court at Wimbledon -- and nine years later, as a mother, earned a second Wimbledon title when she defeated Evert.
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