# The 16 Greatest Female Athletes of All Time

> Twelve sports, one list, and no honest way to compare a serve with a floor routine. Pick the resume you would actually defend.

*By YPB Team · Published August 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-16-greatest-female-athletes-of-all-time*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Serena Williams**
   Won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any player in the Open era.
2. **Simone Biles**
   The most decorated gymnast in history, with 11 Olympic and 30 world championship medals.
3. **Babe Didrikson Zaharias**
   Olympic track champion who then won 10 major golf titles and co-founded the LPGA.
4. **Steffi Graf**
   The only tennis player to win all four majors and Olympic gold in one calendar year.
5. **Martina Navratilova**
   Won 59 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
6. **Jackie Joyner-Kersee**
   Heptathlon world record holder and winner of six Olympic medals across four Games.
7. **Nadia Comaneci**
   Scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics at the 1976 Montreal Games.
8. **Wilma Rudolph**
   Overcame childhood polio to win three sprint golds at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
9. **Florence Griffith-Joyner**
   Still holds the world records in the 100m and 200m set in 1988.
10. **Katie Ledecky**
   Distance swimmer with more individual Olympic golds than any woman in the sport.
11. **Larisa Latynina**
   Soviet gymnast whose 18 Olympic medals stood as the all-time record for 48 years.
12. **Billie Jean King**
   Won 39 Grand Slam titles and beat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes.
13. **Mia Hamm**
   Two-time World Cup winner who was the face of American soccer for a generation.
14. **Marta**
   Brazilian forward and the all-time leading scorer at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
15. **Allyson Felix**
   The most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history.
16. **Annika Sorenstam**
   Won 72 LPGA titles and 10 majors before retiring at the top of the game.

Tags: sports, women, olympics, athletes, all-time