{"id":176988,"date":"2025-06-12T00:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176988\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T00:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:07:12","slug":"chris-evert-picks-between-serena-williams-steffi-graf-and-martina-navratilova-as-the-greatest-womens-player-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/176988\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Evert picks between Serena Williams, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova as the greatest women&#8217;s player ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Chris Evert enjoyed a legendary tennis career, reaching world number one and winning 18 Grand Slam titles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/wta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WTA<\/a> star won her first Major title at the French Open in 1974, an event she dominated throughout her career.<\/p>\n<p>Between 1974 and 1986, Evert won <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/roland-garros\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roland Garros<\/a> seven times, the most of any player in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1639424-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova hold their trophies after the 1986 French Open final\" class=\"wp-image-68822\" \/>May-Jun 1986:  Martina Navratilova (left) of the USA chats with Chris Evert also of the USA as they hold their respective trophies after the Womens Singles final during the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.  Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK \/Allsport<\/p>\n<p>Completing the Career Grand Slam, she also won titles at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/australian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian Open<\/a> (2), Wimbledon (3), and the US Open (6).<\/p>\n<p>Having enjoyed such a legendary career, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/chris-evert\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Evert<\/a> has more than earned herself a place in conversations discussing the greatest players of all time.<\/p>\n<p>Joining in those discussions herself, Evert has now ranked the top five women\u2019s players in tennis history.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Evert says Serena Williams is the \u2018best tennis player\u2019 of all time<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to TNT Sports during their coverage of the 2025 French Open, Evert picked her top five WTA players of all time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNumber five would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/billie-jean-king\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Billie Jean King<\/a>. Versatility, serving, and volleying. Could hit ground strokes, she had an all-court game as well, and had a lot of titles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNumber four would be Margaret Court. She\u2019s won more Majors than anyone, and she just had, especially on grass had a very dynamically strong game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNumber three, Steffi Graf, she won the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/olympics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Olympics<\/a> and she won all the Majors in one year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNumber two would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/martina-navratilova\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Martina Navratilova<\/a> because she\u2019s won more tournaments than any woman player, and she also was winning singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, so she had all the shots in the book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-88810639-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Martina Navratilova looks on during Wimbledon in 2009\" class=\"wp-image-84166\" \/>Photo by Paul Gilham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Evert then made her pick for the greatest of all time in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe number one greatest player of all time to me would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/serena-williams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Serena Williams<\/a> because I think she is the best tennis player and the best athlete that I have seen in the game of tennis, so those are my five,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Evert\u2019s top five WTA players of all time<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>1. Serena Williams<\/li>\n<li>2. Martina Navratilova<\/li>\n<li>3. Steffi Graf<\/li>\n<li>4. Margaret Court<\/li>\n<li>5. Billie Jean King<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s certainly an interesting list, but do the numbers back up Evert\u2019s picks?<\/p>\n<p>Comparing Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova\u2019s tennis achievements<\/p>\n<p>All three players achieved great things in the sport, but do the numbers point towards one player ranking above the rest?<\/p>\n<p>Serena Williams\u2019 tennis achievements<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>Singles Grand Slam titles \u2013 23<\/li>\n<li>Total Grand Slam titles \u2013 39<\/li>\n<li>Weeks at number one (singles) \u2013 319<\/li>\n<li>WTA titles (singles) \u2013 73<\/li>\n<li>WTA Finals titles (singles) \u2013 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Steffi Graf\u2019s tennis achievements<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>Singles Grand Slam titles \u2013 22<\/li>\n<li>Total Grand Slam titles \u2013 23<\/li>\n<li>Weeks at number one (singles) \u2013 377<\/li>\n<li>WTA titles (singles) \u2013 107<\/li>\n<li>WTA Finals titles (singles) \u2013 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Martina Navratilova\u2019s tennis achievements<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>Singles Grand Slam titles \u2013 18<\/li>\n<li>Total Grand Slam titles \u2013 59<\/li>\n<li>Weeks at number one (singles) \u2013 332<\/li>\n<li>WTA titles (singles) \u2013 167<\/li>\n<li>WTA Finals titles (singles) \u2013 8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Serena Williams leads the trio in singles Grand Slam wins, a metric widely considered to be the most important in the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) debate.<\/p>\n<p>Winning 23 to Steffi Graf\u2019s 22 and Martina Navratilova\u2019s 18, Williams sits out in front, although that doesn\u2019t necessarily tell the full story.<\/p>\n<p>As Evert mentioned, Navratilova was as prolific in doubles as she was in singles, racking up a record 59 Grand Slams across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.<\/p>\n<p>She also won a mouth-watering 167 WTA singles titles, a tally that may well never be topped.<\/p>\n<p>Graf is also worth a mention, trailing Williams by just the one Major, but holding a record of her own which the American couldn\u2019t top.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2194201375-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Steffi Graf poses with her Olympic gold medal at the 1988 Olympics\" class=\"wp-image-61484\" \/>Photo by Bongarts\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The German was ranked number one in the world for 377 total weeks, more than Navratilova (332) and Williams (319).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s tough to call which of the trio truly is the \u2018greatest of all time\u2019, as all three players have valid claims to the title.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps what we should be asking ourselves is whether any active players can work themselves into the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Can the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/coco-gauff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coco Gauff<\/a>, Aryna Sabalenka, or Iga Swiatek come close to the numbers Williams, Navratilova, and Graf put up during their careers?<\/p>\n<p>Only time will tell if they can, but it will certainly be something to look out for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Evert enjoyed a legendary tennis career, reaching world number one and winning 18 Grand Slam titles. The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[61159,11358,10095,79,16458,1068,16,15,5069],"class_list":{"0":"post-176988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-chris-evert","9":"tag-martina-navratilova","10":"tag-serena-williams","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-steffi-graf","13":"tag-tennis","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wta"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114667483637323329","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}