The 20 Greatest Women's French Open Champions of All Time

By YPB Team

From clay-court dynasties of the 70s and 80s to the power game of modern champions, the women's draw at Roland Garros has produced some of sport's greatest performances. Where do you rank the legends?

  1. Jennifer Capriati — ranked #11
    Jennifer Capriati
    American comeback queen who, after a turbulent early career, won Roland Garros in 2001 as part of a remarkable renaissance that also brought two Australian Open titles.
    1000pts
  2. Chris Evert — ranked #22
    Chris Evert
    American baseline legend who holds the Open Era record with 7 French Open titles (1974–1986), cementing her status as the undisputed queen of Roland Garros.
    880pts
  3. Serena Williams — ranked #33
    Serena Williams
    American all-time great whose 3 French Open titles (2002, 2013, 2015) formed part of a 23-Grand-Slam singles haul that made her the most decorated tennis player of her era.
    817pts
  4. Anastasia Myskina — ranked #44
    Anastasia Myskina
    Russian trailblazer who became the first Russian woman ever to win a Grand Slam singles title when she triumphed at Roland Garros in 2004, defeating fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the final.
    660pts
  5. Maria Sharapova — ranked #55
    Maria Sharapova
    Russian champion who completed a career Grand Slam by winning Roland Garros twice (2012, 2014), conquering clay with her formidable power game to become one of tennis's biggest icons.
    566pts
  6. Mary Pierce — ranked #66
    Mary Pierce
    French-Canadian fan favourite who won Roland Garros in 2000 on home soil, delighting a Paris crowd that had long adopted her, with powerful groundstrokes built for clay.
    566pts
  7. Monica Seles — ranked #77
    Monica Seles
    Yugoslav-American prodigy who won three consecutive French Open titles (1990–1992) from age 16, wielding a two-handed groundstroke game that revolutionised women's tennis.
    440pts
  8. Barbora Krejcikova — ranked #88
    Barbora Krejcikova
    Czech all-rounder who won Roland Garros in 2021 — also claiming the doubles that same week — then added Wimbledon in 2024, establishing herself as one of the game's finest players.
    440pts
  9. Justine Henin — ranked #99
    Justine Henin
    Belgian legend with 4 French Open titles (2003–2007) and an astonishing 48–5 career record at Roland Garros, celebrated for her one-handed backhand mastery on clay.
    440pts
  10. Francesca Schiavone — ranked #1010
    Francesca Schiavone
    Italian champion who became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title when she stormed to Roland Garros glory in 2010, beloved for her attacking, artistic clay-court style.
    440pts
  11. Martina Navratilova — ranked #1111
    Martina Navratilova
    Czech-American serve-and-volley icon whose 2 French Open titles (1982, 1984) sat alongside 18 Grand Slam singles trophies and a record haul at Wimbledon.
    264pts
  12. Ashleigh Barty — ranked #1212
    Ashleigh Barty
    Australian world No. 1 who claimed Roland Garros in 2019 as part of a tri-Slam career (Australian Open, Wimbledon) before her shock retirement at age 25.
    264pts
  13. Na Li — ranked #1313
    Na Li
    Chinese tennis pioneer who won Roland Garros in 2011, becoming the first Asian player in history to win a Grand Slam singles title and inspiring an entire generation across Asia.
    264pts
  14. Jelena Ostapenko — ranked #1414
    Jelena Ostapenko
    Latvian wildcard who became the first unseeded French Open women's champion in the Open Era (2017), blasting her way through the draw with fearless, aggressive hitting.
    264pts
  15. Garbine Muguruza — ranked #1515
    Garbine Muguruza
    Spanish-Venezuelan powerhouse who announced herself by defeating Serena Williams in the 2016 Roland Garros final, then won Wimbledon in 2017 to reach world No. 1.
    264pts
  16. Steffi Graf — ranked #1616
    Steffi Graf
    German legend who won 6 French Open titles including a historic 1988 Golden Slam, dominating the clay courts of Roland Garros through the late 1980s and 1990s.
    1pts
  17. Simona Halep — ranked #1717
    Simona Halep
    Romanian world No. 1 known for exceptional clay-court consistency, finally claiming Roland Garros in 2018 after twice being runner-up, capping one of the most determined champions' stories in the tournament's history.
    1pts
  18. Iga Swiatek — ranked #1818
    Iga Swiatek
    Polish superstar and the dominant modern clay-court queen, winning multiple consecutive French Open titles and cementing herself as the greatest women's player of her generation.
    1pts
  19. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario — ranked #1919
    Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
    Spanish clay-court specialist who claimed 3 French Open titles (1989, 1994, 1998), winning her first at age 17 with a fiery, never-say-die baseline style beloved by the Paris crowd.
    1pts
  20. Coco Gauff — ranked #2020
    Coco Gauff
    American prodigy who won Roland Garros to add the French Open title to her US Open crown (2023), widely considered the future of women's tennis and a generational talent on clay.
    1pts

Comments

Clay put five women ahead of her, three Roland Garros titles against seven Wimbledons, and nothing changed but the ground under her feet: https://youpick.best/articles/serena-williams-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team
·Aug 21·
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