Who are the best female tennis players currently in the world?

Serena Williams is the legend of women’s tennis but there are a lot of players who are rising up the ranks and dominating the sport.

Ashleigh Barty in a file; Credit: Ashleigh Barty Twitter
By Karthik Raman | Mar 15, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

At the start of the 21st century, Serena Williams was dominating women’s Tennis. Her dominace was such that she managed to win the career Grand Slam in Tennis in both singles and doubles. In addition to securing Olympic gold in both doubles and singles, Serena accumulated a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, putting her second in the all-time list of players behind Margaret Court for the most number of Grand Slam wins. However, in the last couple of years, there have been some Tennis players who have chipped away the dominance of Serena and established themselves on the world stage. In fact, such has been the prominence of several women players that each year, a new Grand Slam champion has been crowned.

In the past couple of years, there have been several women players who have won the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US Open titles. The performances of all these players has meant that Serena, the 23-time Grand Slam winner is now in seventh position according to the latest WTA player rankings. These players have established themselves as the best in the business due to their consistent performances.

Ashleigh Barty

The current World No.1 has had an interesting career. After achieving success in the doubles section, the Australian suddenly took a hiatus from Tennis and switched to cricket where she played for the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. However, she returned and in 2019, she won the French Open singles championship for her first major success. In addition to continued success in the doubles, Barty is one of the players who can achieve even more success in the coming years.

Naomi Osaka

Perhaps, the first female player to truly dent the dominance of Serena in the modern era. Naomi Osaks created history when she won the 2018 US Open and followed it up with success in the 2019 Australian Open. Osaka also became the first Asian to hold the No.1 ranking in the WTA List and with four Grand Slam titles to her name at just the age of 23, Osaka is the next big thing in women’s Tennis.

Simona Halep

Simona Halep made some big strides in 2012 and 2013, winning six WTA titles and breaking into the top 50. In 2014, she had a chance to win the French Open but lost out to Maria Sharapova. Halep continued to make it to the semi-finals and the finals of the Australian, French and Wimbledon tournaments but she stumbled. However, that jinx was broken in 2018 when she finally won the French Open. She followed it up with more success in 2019 when she clinched the Australian Open. Having also been the No.1 player for the entire year, Halep’s success is just the beginning. 

Sofia Kenin

In the year 2020, one American teenager made rapid strides at the age of 22 as she won the Australian Open and managed to reach the final of the French Open in the same year. Her mental toughness and determination will help her going a long way in the sport.

Elina Svitolina

She may not have had Grand Slam success, but she has regularly made it to the quarterfinals and semi-finals of all the four Grand Slams. It is only a matter of time that Elina Svitolina breaks the jinx and wins a Grand Slam title.

Karolina Pliskova

In 2016, Karolina Pliskova came close to winning the US Open title but stumbled in the final. She has reached a career high ranking of No.3 and in the coming years, she has the potential to win a Grand Slam.

Petra Kvitova

The Czech player made unbelievable strides in the world of Tennis when she won the Wimbledon championship twice in 2011 and 2014. In 2019, her world was turned upside down when she was robbed in her home and she suffered serious injuries. Overcoming the mental and physical trauma, Kvitova showed her steely determination as she reached the 2019 Australian Open final. Despite losing the game, she emerged as the ultimate winner. 

Bianca Andreescu

With her inconsistent performances in 2019, it felt that Bianca Andreescu would struggle in her quest to be recognized in the world of Tennis. However, in that same year, during the final of the US Open, she defeated Serena Williams in straight sets to become the first Canadian player to win a Grand Slam title. It was indeed a magnificent way to turn around a career.

Garbine Muguruza

In 2016 and 2017, Garbine Muguruza of Spain went on to win the French Open and Wimbledon title to etch her name in the history books. Thr fact that she achieved both titles by beating Serena and Venus Williams underlined her brilliance and despite some injury concerns, Muguruza is still one of the best in the business currently in women’s Tennis.





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