5 WTA greats who never lifted the Australian Open title: ft Venus Williams, Simona Halep
Winning the Australian Open remains one of the toughest challenges in tennis, and a few greats of the women’s game have missed out on the title.
Here, we look at five of the best WTA stars who never quite got their hands on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
This is not an exhaustive list and we are not including players such as Iga Swiatek, who is in active contention to win the title.
Venus Williams
Best Result: RU 2003, 2017
With 21 appearances and 54 Australian Open match wins to her name, seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams is the most successful woman of the Open Era to never win the title.
The former world No 1 was twice a finalist Down Under but both times her chances of victory were scuppered by her sister Serena.
The younger Williams beat Venus 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 in the 2003 final, and 14 years later triumphed 6-4, 6-4 in the ninth and last Grand Slam final contested between the two.
Venus was also a beaten semi-finalist in 2001 and reached nine quarter-finals at the event.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Best Result: RU 1994, 1995
A winner of three French Open titles and the 1994 US Open title, Sanchez Vicario was one of the leading WTA stars of the 1990s and one of the few who could test Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
However, while she was a three-time Australian Open champion in doubles, she never quite got her hands on the singles trophy.
Sanchez Vicario was a beaten semi-finalist in her first three tournament appearances from 1991-93 before finally reaching the final in 1994 – only to be defeated 6-0, 6-2 by Graf.
Twelve months later, the Spaniard was the top seed in Graf’s absence and made it back to the final, though this time fell 6-3, 6-2 to maiden Grand Slam winner Mary Pierce.
Simona Halep
Best Result: RU 2018
Former world No 1 Halep was one of the most consistent players of the late 2010s, with memorable triumphs at the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon to her name.
The Romanian has reached five Grand Slam singles finals in total, including a runner-up finish at the 2018 Australian Open.
Halep was beaten 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 by Caroline Wozniacki in a three-set thriller – a final that was guaranteed to crown a first-time major winner – and she never quite got her hands on the trophy.
The French Open (32) is the only major Halep has more match wins at outside of Melbourne (31), and she was also a semi-finalist in 2020 alongside reaching three further quarter-finals.
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Garbine Muguruza
Best Result: RU 2020
Muguruza, who confirmed her retirement in 2024, was one of the most feared competitors of her generation, reaching world No 1 and winning 10 WTA singles titles during her career.
The Spaniard is probably best remembered for victories at the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, and just missed out on glory at the Australian Open in 2020.
Muguruza was unseeded in the draw five years ago but beat fourth seed Halep in the semi-final, before losing 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Sofia Kenin in the final.
She was also a quarter-finalist in 2017 and her record of 27 match wins in Melbourne is only bettered by her 29 victories at Roland Garros.
Petra Kvitova
Best Result: RU 2019
A winner of a staggering 31 career singles titles, former world No 2 Kvitova is most associated with the lawns of Wimbledon.
The Czech was a champion at SW19 in both 2011 and 2014, though she also came close to Australian Open success in 2019.
After previously reaching the last four in 2012, Kvitova made it to the championship match seven years later, falling 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4 to Naomi Osaka in one of the tournament’s greatest-ever finals.
That is Kvitova’s best Slam result outside of Wimbledon, though she has reached at least the last eight at all four majors.
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