Serena Williams, one of the greatest - if not the greatest - female tennis players in history, recently announced that she would be ending her career this year. There are always new and interesting players coming in the arena of this great sport, always someone to cheer and follow. But Serena will be greatly missed.
in honor of her, and all the other sporting women out there, here is a another Journey of Life list for you! A list of some of the most well-known female tennis players throughout history.
You can see the best WTA ranking in brackets, shown for those with their tennis career behind them - unless they already achieved #1 in both singles and doubles. Only the date of birth given here, and this list is naturally updated off and on.
1870-0922 Charlotte Cooper* tennis player - Ealing, England
1871-0924 Lottie Dod* tennis player/the youngest ladies’ singles champion – Bebington, Cheshire, England
1892-0205 Elizabeth Ryan* tennis player/credited for inventing the volleying style for women – Anaheim, CA USA
1934-0816 Angela Buxton* tennis player – Liverpool, England
1934-0917 Maureen Connolly* tennis player – San Diego, CA USA
1942-0716 Margaret Court* (b Smith) tennis player – Albury, NSW Australia (S1-D1)
1942-1225 Françoise Dürr* French tennis player – Algiers, French Algeria (S3-D1)
1943-1122 Billlie Jean King* tennis player – Long Beach, CA USA (S1-D1)
1945-0710 Virginia Wade* tennis player – Bournemouth, Dorset, England (S2-D1)
1948-0408 Ada Bakker* tennis player – Netherlands
1954-1221 Chris Evert* tennis player – Fort Lauderdale, FL USA (S1-D13)
1956-1018 Martina Navratilova* Czech American tennis player – Prague, Czechoslovakia (S1-D1)
1962-0704 **Pam Shrive**r* tennis player/tennis broadcaster – Baltimore, MD USA (S3-D1)
1968-1002 Jana Novotná* tennis player/coach/commentator – Brno, Czechoslovakia (S2-D1)
1969-0614 Steffi Graf* tennis player/OG – Mannheim, West Germany (S1-D3)
1970-0516 Gabriela Sabatini* tennis player/entrepreneur – Buenos Aires, Argentina (S3-D3)
1971-0416 Natasha Zvereva* tennis player – Minsk, Belarus, Soviet Union (S5-D1)
1971-1218 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario* tennis player/coach – Barcelona, Spain (S1-D1)
1971-0819 Mary Joe Fernández* American tennis player/OG- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (S4-D4)
1972-0403 Sandrine Testud* tennis player – Lyon, France (S9-D8)
1973-1202 Monica Seles* Serbian-American tennis player – Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia (S1-D16)
1975-0115 Mary Pierce* tennis player – Montreal, QC Canada (S3-D3)
1976-0218 Chanda Rubin* tennis player/commentator – Lafayette, LA USA (S6-D9)
1976-0310 Barbara Schett* tennis player/commentator/presenter – Innsbruck, Austria (S7-D8)
1976-0329 Jennifer Capriati* tennis player – Wesley Chapel, FL USA (S1-D28)
1976-0608 Lindsay Davenport* tennis player/OG/coach – Palos Verdes, CA USA (S1-D1)
1980-0617 Venus Williams* tennis player – Lynwood, CA USA (S1-D1)
1980-0623 Francesca Schiavone* tennis player/coach – Milan, Lombardy, Italy (S4-D8)
1980-0930 Martina Hingis* Swiss tennis player/coach – Kosice, Czechoslovakia (S1-D1)
1981-0607 Anna Kournikova* tennis player – Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union (S8-D1)
1981-0712 Abigail Spears* tennis player – San Diego, CA USA (S66-D10)
1981-0926 Serena Williams* tennis player – Saginaw, MI USA (S1-D1)
1982-0225 Flavia Pennetta* tennis player – Brindisi, Italy (S6-D1)
1983-0423 Daniela Hantuchová* Slovak tennis player/commentator – Poprad, Czechoslovakia (S5-D5)
1983-0608 Kim Clijsters* tennis player – Bilzen, Belgium (S1-D1)
1984-0330 Samantha Stosur* tennis player – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (S4-D1)
1985-0521 Lucie Hradecká* tennis player – Prague, Czechoslovakia
1985-0610 Kaia Kanepi* tennis player – Haapsalu, Estonia, Soviet Union
1985-0627 Svetlana Kuznetsova* tennis player – Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union (S2-D3)
1986-1115 Sania Mirza* tennis player – Mumbai, India (S27-D1)
1987-0419 Maria Sharapova* tennis player – Nyagan, Soviet Union (S1-D41)
1987-0429 Sara Errani* tennis player – Bologna, Italy
1987-0808 Tatjana Maria* (b Malek) tennis player – Bad Saulgau, West Germany
1987-0909 Andrea Petkovic* German tennis player – Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia (S9-D46)
1987-1106 Ana Ivanovic* tennis player – Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia (S1-D50)
1988-0118 Angelique Kerber* tennis player – Bremen, West Germany
1988-0607 Ekaterina Makarova* tennis player – Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1988-1114 Sofia Kenin* American tennis player – Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1989-0306 Agnieszka Radwanska* tennis player – Krakow, Poland (S2-D16)
1989-0731 Victoria Azarenka* tennis player – Minsk, Belorus, Soviet Union
1989-0922 Sabine Lisicki* tennis player – Troisdorf, Germany
1990-0122 Alizé Cornet* tennis player – Nice, France
1990-0308 Petra Kvitova* tennis player – Bilovec, Czechoslovakia
1990-0711 Caroline Wozniacki* tennis player – Odense, Denmark
1991-0517 Johanna Konta* British tennis player – Sydney, NSW, Australia (S4-D88)
1991-0703 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova* tennis player – Samara, Russia, Soviet Union
1991-0927 Simona Halep* tennis player – Constanta, Romania
1991-1231 Bojana Jovanovski Petrović* (b Jovanovski) Serbian tennis player – Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia (S32-D203)
1992-0321 Karolína Hrdličková (b Plíšková) tennis player – Louny, Czechoslovakia
1992-0519 Heather Watson* tennis player – Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
1993-0320 Sloane Stephens* tennis player – Plantation, FL USA
1993-0507 Ajla Tomljanović* Croatian-Australian tennis player – Zagreb, Croatia
1993-0514 Kristina Mladenovic* tennis player – Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France
1993-1008 Garbiñe Muguruza* Venezuelan-Spanish tennis player/to Spain at age 6 – Caracas, Venezuela
1993-1016 Caroline Garcia* tennis player – Lyon, France
1993-1103 Martina Trevisan* tennis player – Florence, Italy
1993-1213 Danielle Collins* tennis player – St. Petersburg, FL USA
1994-0216 Annika Beck* tennis player – Gießen, Germany
1994-0225 Eugenie Bouchard* tennis player – Montreal, QC Canada
1994-0305 Daria Gavrilova* Russian-Australian tennis player – Moscow, Russia
1994-0828 Ons Jabeur* tennis player – Ksar Hellal, Monastir Governorate, Tunisia
1994-0912 Elina Svitolina* tennis player/OB – Odessa, Ukraine
1995-0217 Madison Keys* tennis player – Rock Island, IL USA
1995-1117 Elise Mertens* tennis player – Leuven, Belgium
1995-1218 Barbora Krejčíková* tennis player – Brno, Czechia
1995-1224 Anett Kontaveit* tennis player – Tallinn, Estonia
1996-0416 Taylor Townsend* tennis player – Smyrna, GA USA
1996-0424 Ashleigh Barty* tennis player/cricketer/w indigenous background – Ipswich, QLD Australia (S1-D5)
1996-0510 Kateřina Siniaková* tennis player – Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
1997-0310 Belinda Bencic* tennis player/OG – Flawil, Switzerland
1997-0507 Daria Kasatkina* tennis player – Tolyatti, Russia
1997-1016 Naomi Osaka* 大坂 なおみ tennis player – Osaka, Japan
1999-0324 Katie Swan* tennis player – Bristol, England
1999-0628 Markéta Vondroušová* tennis player/OS – Prague, Czechia
2000-0215 Anastasia Kulikova* Russian-Finnish tennis player – Rjazan, Russia
2000-0510 Destanee Aiava* tennis player/of Samoan origin – Melbourne, Australia
2000-0515 Dayana Yastremska* tennis player – Odessa, Ukraine
2000-0616 Bianca Andreescu* tennis player – Mississauga, ON Canada
2001-0531 Iga Świątek* tennis player – Warsaw, Poland
2001-0926 Wang Xinyu* tennis player – Shenzhen, China
2001-1120 Caty McNally* tennis player – Cincinnati, OH USA
2002-0906 Leylah Fernandez* tennis player – Montreal, QC Canada
2002-1113 Emma Raducanu* British tennis player – Toronto, ON Canada
2002-1221 Clara Tauson* tennis player – Copenhagen, Denmark
2004-0313 Cori Gauff* tennis player – Delray Beach, FL USA
2004-1117 Linda Nosková* tennis player – Czechia
BY MONTH
The place after from indicates place of birth, not which country the athlete plays for. Also shown players ranked as world No. 1 in singes at some point of their career.
1975-0115 Mary Pierce from Montreal, QC Canada
1988-0118 Angelique Kerber from Bremen, West Germany
1990-0122 Alizé Cornet from Nice, France
1892-0205 Elizabeth Ryan from Anaheim, CA USA
2000-0215 Anastasia Kulikova from Rjazan, Russia
1994-0216 Annika Beck from Gießen, Germany
1995-0217 Madison Keys from Rock Island, IL USA
1976-0218 Chanda Rubin from Lafayette, LA USA
1982-0225 Flavia Pennetta from Brindisi, Italy
1994-0225 Eugenie Bouchard from Montreal, QC Canada
1994-0305 Daria Gavrilova from Moscow, Russia
1989-0306 Agnieszka Radwanska from Krakow, Poland
1990-0308 Petra Kvitova from Bilovec, Czechoslovakia
1976-0310 Barbara Schett from Innsbruck, Austria
1997-0310 Belinda Bencic from Flawil, Switzerland
2004-0313 Cori Gauff from Delray Beach, FL USA
1993-0320 Sloane Stephens from Plantation, FL USA
1992-0321 Karolína Hrdličková (b Plíškova) from Louny, Czechoslovakia
1999-0324 Katie Swan from Bristol, England
1976-0329 Jennifer Capriati from Wesley Chapel, FL USA (S1-D28)
1984-0330 Samantha Stosur from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1972-0403 Sandrine Testud from Lyon, France
1948-0408 Ada Bakker from Netherlands
1971-0416 Natasha Zvereva from Minsk, Belarus, Soviet Union
1996-0416 Taylor Townsend from Smyrna, GA, USA
1987-0419 Maria Sharapova from Nyagan, Soviet Union (S1-D41)
1983-0423 Daniela Hantuchová from Poprad, Czechoslovakia
1996-0424 Ashleigh Barty from Ipswich, QLD Australia (S1-D5)
1987-0429 Sara Errani from Bologna, Italy
1993-0507 Ajla Tomljanović from Zagreb, Croatia
1997-0507 Daria Kasatkina from Tolyatti, Russia
1996-0510 Kateřina Siniaková from Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
2000-0510 Destanee Aiava from Melbourne, Australia
1993-0514 Kristina Mladenovic from Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France
2000-0515 Dayana Yastremska from Odessa, Ukraine
1970-0516 Gabriela Sabatini* from Buenos Aires, Argentina
1991-0517 Johanna Konta from Sydney, NSW, Australia
1992-0519 Heather Watson from Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
1985-0521 Lucie Hradecká from Prague, Czechoslovakia
2001-0531 Iga Świątek from Warsaw, Poland
1981-0607 Anna Kournikova from Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1988-0607 Ekaterina Makarova from Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1976-0608 Lindsay Davenport from Palos Verdes, CA USA (S1-D1)
1983-0608 Kim Clijsters from Bilzen, Belgium (S1-D1)
1985-0610 Kaia Kanepi from Haapsalu, Estonia, Soviet Union
1969-0614 Steffi Graf from Mannheim, West Germany (S1-D3)
2000-0616 Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, ON Canada
1980-0617 Venus Williams from Lynwood, CA USA (S1-D1)
1980-0623 Francesca Schiavone from Milan, Lombardy, Italy
1985-0627 Svetlana Kuznetsova from Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1999-0628 Markéta Vondroušová from Prague, Czechia
1991-0703 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Samara, Russia, Soviet Union
1962-0704 **Pam Shrive**r from Baltimore, MD USA
1945-0710 Virginia Wade from Bournemouth, Dorset, England
1990-0711 Caroline Wozniacki from Odense, Denmark
1981-0712 Abigail Spears from San Diego, CA USA
1942-0716 Margaret Court* (b Smith) from Albury, NSW Australia (S1-D1)
1989-0731 Victoria Azarenka from Minsk, Belorus, Soviet Union
1987-0808 Tatjana Maria from Bad Saulgau, West Germany
1934-0816 Angela Buxton from Liverpool, England
1971-0819 Mary Joe Fernández from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1994-0828 Ons Jabeur from Ksar Hellal, Tunisia
2002-0906 Leylah Fernandez from Montreal, QC Canada
1987-0909 Andrea Petkovic from Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
1994-0912 Elina Svitolina from Odessa, Ukraine
1934-0917 Maureen Connolly from San Diego, CA USA
1870-0922 Charlotte Cooper from Ealing, England
1989-0922 Sabine Lisicki from Troisdorf, Germany
1871-0924 Lottie Dod from Bebington, Cheshire, England
1981-0926 Serena Williams from Saginaw, MI USA (S1-D1)
2001-0926 Wang Xinyu from Shenzhen, China
1991-0927 Simona Halep from Constanta, Romania
1980-0930 Martina Hingis from Kosice, Czechoslovakia (S1-D1)
1968-1002 Jana Novotná from Brno, Czechoslovakia
1993-1008 Garbiñe Muguruza from Caracas, Venezuela
1993-1016 Caroline Garcia from Lyon, France
1997-1016 Naomi Osaka 大坂 なおみ from Osaka, Japan
1956-1018 Martina Navratilova from Prague, Czechoslovakia (S1-D1)
1993-1103 Martina Trevisan from Florence, Italy
1987-1106 Ana Ivanovic from Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia (S1-D50)
2002-1113 Emma Raducanu from Toronto, ON Canada
1988-1114 Sofia Kenin from Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1986-1115 Sania Mirza from Mumbai, India
1995-1117 Elise Mertens from Leuven, Belgium
2004-1117 Linda Nosková from Czechia
2001-1120 Caty McNally from Cincinnati, OH USA
1943-1122 Billlie Jean King from Long Beach, CA USA (S1-D1)
1973-1202 Monica Seles from Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia (S1-D16)
1993-1213 Danielle Collins from St. Petersburg, FL USA
1978-1214 Patty Schnyder from Basel, Switzerland
1971-1218 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario from Barcelona, Spain (S1-D1)
1995-1218 Barbora Krejčíková from Brno, Czechia
1954-1221 Chris Evert from Fort Lauderdale, FL USA (S1-D13)
2002-1221 Clara Tauson from Copenhagen, Denmark
1995-1224 Anett Kontaveit fromTallinn, Estonia
1942-1225 Françoise Dürr from Algiers, French Algeria
1991-1231 Bojana Jovanovski Petrović (b Jovanovski) from Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Updated 7.9.2022