Ranking the 10 greatest Australian women’s tennis players of the Open Era – ft. Court, Barty, Goolagong
The Australian summer is always one of the most special parts of the tennis calendar, and the nation has undoubtedly made an invaluable contribution to the sport.
Australia has produced some of the greatest tennis players of recent decades, but who are the very best of them all?
Here, look at a range of factors — including consistency, Grand Slam success, and ranking — we rank the 10 greatest Australian female singles tennis players of the Open Era; while our primary focus is the Open Era, we will also factor in the amateur success of players who spanned both eras.
10) Alicia Molik
One of Australia’s leading players of the 21st Century, Molik reached a career-high of world No 8 during her impressive career.
Molik won five WTA singles titles and an Olympic bronze medal during her career, also reaching the quarter-final of the Australian Open in 2005.
9) Jelena Dokic
Now one of the most respected broadcasters in the sport, Dokic reached a Wimbledon semi-final and won six WTA Tour singles titles across a career that spanned the late 1990s and early 2000s.
She reached a career-high of fourth in the WTA Rankings in 2002 and was also a French Open and Australian Open quarter-finalist during her career.
8) Dianne Fromholtz
One of a string of great Australians competing in the 1970s, the peak of Fromholtz’s career came when she reached the final of the Australian Open in (Jan) 1977.
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However, she was also a two-time French Open and a former US Open semi-finalist during her playing days, reaching fourth in the WTA Rankings and winning a total of eight WTA singles titles.
7) Judy Tegart-Dalton
A player whose career spanned across the amateur and professional eras, Dalton reached her sole Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon in 1968.
During the Open Era, she was also a two-time US Open and three-time Australian Open quarter-finalist, while also being part of the pioneering ‘Original 9’ during the early 1970s.
6) Sam Stosur
One of Australia’s most successful WTA players of recent times, Stosur ended a 31-year wait for an Australian Grand Slam women’s singles champion with victory at the 2011 US Open.
That came after Stosur had finished runner-up at the 2010 French Open, with the Australian reaching a further three semi-finals at Roland Garros.
She won a total of nine WTA Tour singles titles, reaching a career-high of world No 4 in February 2011.
5) Wendy Turnbull
One of the greatest singles players to never win a Grand Slam singles title, Turnbull reached three major singles finals during her career.
She finished as the runner-up to Chris Evert at the 1977 US Open and 1979 French Open, while she reached the 1980 Australian Open final before defeat to Hana Mandlikova.
Also a three-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Turnbull won 11 WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career-high of world No 3.
4) Kerry Melville Reid
One of the most consistent players of the late 1960s and 1970s, Melville Reid was towards the very top of the women’s game for a number of years.
Runner-up at the 1970 Australian Open and 1972 US Open, Melville Reid ended her wait for a Grand Slam singles title at the (Jan) 1977 Australian Open — beating Fromholtz in the final.
She reached a career-high of seventh in the official WTA Rankings but was unofficially ranked as high as fifth in 1971, and was also a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1974.
3) Ash Barty
One of the few players in tennis history to have completed the ‘Surface Slam’, Barty is undoubtedly one of the most successful players of recent times.
Barty memorably won the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon titles, before ending a 44-year wait for a home women’s singles champion at the 2022 Australian Open — and then retiring just weeks later.
She won 15 WTA singles titles and spent a staggering 121 weeks as the world No 1 during her short but legendary career, all achieved by the age of 25.
2) Evonne Goolagong
A true icon of tennis and one of the most popular players of all time, Goolagong is undeniably an all-time great of the sport.
Goolagong won her home Grand Slam four times during her career and was also a one-time French Open and two-time Wimbledon champion, memorably winning the latter title as a mother in 1980.
The Australian was also a four-time US Open runner-up and won a staggering 84 singles titles during the era, reaching a high of world No 1 in the official WTA Rankings in 1976.
1) Margaret Court
Court won 11 of her 24 Grand Slam singles titles during the Open Era, and remains one of the most successful tennis players of all time.
The Australian won three Grand Slam singles titles in 1969 but then memorably completed the Calendar Grand Slam with four victories from four in 1970, a feat only since matched by Steffi Graf.
In total, Court won four Australian Open titles, three French Open titles, three US Open titles, and a Wimbledon title from 1969-1973 — one of the most dominant spells of modern tennis history.
The winner of 92 singles titles in the Open Era, Court was the obvious pick for No 1 on our countdown.
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