Women's Tennis and US Open Greats: Graf, King, Navratilova, Williams

For women in tennis spanning the Open Period, none surpass and most do not come close to Steffi Graf, Billy Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams. All have done so much to advance tennis and have given back to society in so many ways.

We can quibble about court decorum—which might make us take Williams out—or about the need and propriety of some of the activities. But whether conservative or liberal, for or against rights, and concerned domestically or internationally, every one of these players has done more for tennis than any others.

Including Graf in the list might be seen by some to be inappropriate because she has not done as much for or outside of tennis. Yet she is married to Andre Agassi and their income is combined. One must see her accomplishments in this light and see her as perhaps the best women's tennis player in history.

Steffi Graf

For sheer accomplishments, Graf is perhaps the greatest tennis player—male or female—of all time. True, Margaret Court won two more Grand Slams and a "boxed set"—winning all four Grand Slam events (singles, mixed doubles, and doubles), a feat accomplished only by Martina Navratilova and one other player. Yet, for those who saw her play, Graf will be the epitome of the new female tennis player, with range, power and net play combining to make her game transcend those whose games were changing.

Chris Evert could have never come close to winning in this coming age. Perhaps only Williams and Navratilova could. Also, Court is not included because of her strong views against gays, which perhaps diminished, unfortunately, her off-court activities to many in and outside the sport.

Graf won the Golden Grand Slam, the four Grand Slam events, and the Olympics in 1988. She remains the only player male or female to accomplish this feat.  

Graf has also been active off of the court. The Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center was dedicated in Leipzig in 1991. And she is the founder and chair of the Children for Tomorrow, which is dedicated to support children traumatized by war and other catastrophes.  As said, she deserves some credit for the actions of her husband, although this may be unfair since none of the others chosen are married and don't have a chance to be compared with someone like Andre Agassi.

Graf won the US Open five times, becoming one of very few to accomplish this feat. When we see women today, we could see Graf as a US Open women's standard.

Billy Jean King

Perhaps the woman with the greatest influence on tennis ever, Billy Jean King brought women's tennis up from also-rans to prominence. She was instrumental in obtaining equal pay for women in tennis events, and, in the televised Battle of the Sexes, beat Bobby Riggs handily after Margret Court's loss. 

Another Career Grand Slam winner, she managed to concentrate both on championing women very actively and at the same time stay at the top of the women's game for many years. This feat of being able to win despite a very active life promoting civil rights is perhaps only matched by Martina Navratilova in women's tennis.

She won the US Open four times. For her accomplishments on and off the court, the USTA tennis center is named the USTA Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.

Martina Navratilova

For sheer longevity, broad accomplishments in all phases of the game, and amazing grace under fire, Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest tennis players ever. Few if any athletes in any sport have stood up to the pressures of homosexuality, particularly in an age when disclosure of this fact could destroy a career. She instead turned this into a cause, including filing a lawsuit during her career against a Colorado law that, in her view, discriminated against homosexuals.

Winner of the "boxed set" of the only Open Era Career Grand Slams along with Court, Navratilova showed more physical prowess than any other player in history and more tennis ability in all forms of Grand Slam competition. Court could not have competed with Navratilova when both were at their prime, as she did not have the same physical power or the court coverage as Navratilova.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams will go down in history as the greatest black female player in the Open Era. Although highly competitive to the point of engaging in perhaps the worst behavior in Open history when she attacked a small Japanese line judge, her accomplishments have not been diminished by this one well-publicized incident. And perhaps this is excusable, since she has certainly suffered a degree of racial discrimination growing up black in a predominately white sport. 

Only the French and Australian Mixed Doubles championships, where she has been runner-up, keep Williams from gaining "boxed set" honors.

Off the court, Williams was awarded the Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon for her work regarding breast cancer, the Young Heroes Award, and the Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes A Difference Award. In addition, she has been very involved in fashion with her own lines of sports clothing and her own label.

Others

Many others could be listed for their roles in bringing tennis to prominence, and for their grace and good manners as tennis ambassadors. Yet, these four seem to stand out.

And that, in my opinion, is The Real Truth.