No country has thrived in tennis as much as the United States.

As well as being home to one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the nation plays host to countless tournaments – and has produced some of the best tennis players of all time.

With the Cincinnati Open taking place this week and the US hard-court summer being well and truly underway, we’ve delved through the record books.

Here, focusing on singles, we rank the nine greatest US female players of the Open Era.

9) Nancy Richey

In a career that spread across both the amateur and professional games, Richey well and truly made her mark.

Having won the Australian Open in 1967 and reaching three more major finals before the Open Era, Richey was the first French Open winner of the professional age, defeating Ann Jones in the final.

She was also the runner-up at the US Open in 1969, beaten by Margaret Court, and reached further semi-finals in New York, Paris, and at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

She was recognised as the world No 2 in 1969, and called time on her playing career in 1978.

8) Jennifer Capriati

A teen prodigy, Capriati reached multiple Grand Slam semi-finals and won Olympic gold at the Barcelona 1992 Games, before personal difficulties across the mid-to-late 1990s.

However, her comeback over the late 1990s and early 2000s was incredible, making her second chapter even more remarkable than the first.

Capriati defeated Martina Hingis to win her first Slam at the 2001 Australian Open and then beat Kim Clijsters to win the French Open title that same year.

She regained her Australian Open title in 2002 and won 14 titles in total, reaching multiple Wimbledon and US Open titles – and spending 17 weeks as the world No 1.

7) Tracy Austin

Another teen prodigy, Austin’s career may have been short – but it was certainly sweet.

She was just 14 when she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 1977 and two years later became the youngest US Open champion in history, shocking Chris Evert in the final.

That was followed by a second US Open victory aged 18 in 1981, beating Martina Navratilova, and she reached further semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1979 and 1980.

Chronic injuries took their toll on Austin and she was just 19 when she won her last title, but she still picked up 30 WTA titles and 21 weeks at world No 1.

6) Lindsay Davenport

A huge force in the women’s game from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, Davenport was one of the key instigators of the ‘power’ era that has taken hold of the women’s game.

Davenport’s first huge success came when she won Olympic gold at Atlanta in 1996, and that was followed by a first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1998 – beating Martina Hingis in the final.

That was followed by triumphs at Wimbledon in 1999 and the Australian Open in 2000, beating Steffi Graf and Hingis respectively, and she went on to reach a further four major singles finals.

Her 98 weeks as world No 1 put her 10th on the WTA all-time list, and she amassed an impressive haul of 55 singles titles.

WTA Tour News

Tim Henman makes Emma Raducanu rankings prediction and sends a message to her critics

Iga Swiatek makes ‘scary’ admission as she highlights concerning tennis issue

5) Venus Williams

The second-most successful woman of the 21st Century in terms of Grand Slam singles triumphs, Venus is one of the most beloved and enduring WTA players of all time.

She memorably reached her first Grand Slam singles final as a 17-year-old at the US Open in 1997 and famously swept the Wimbledon, US Open, and Olympic titles in 2000.

Wimbledon was her most successful major, winning it five times in eight years, though she also won back-to-back majors in New York, and is a former runner-up in Melbourne and Paris.

Venus has won 49 WTA singles titles and has spent 12 weeks as the world No 1 during her legendary career.

4) Billie Jean King

No player has had as big of an impact on women’s tennis as King, who was the leading pioneer for equal prize money in the early 1970s, and a key figure in the formation of the WTA in 1973.

And, having won four majors in the amateur era, she continued her success with an impressive eight majors in the Open Era.

King won four of her six Wimbledon titles and three of her four US Open titles in the professional era and completed the Career Grand Slam at the French Open in 1972.

She won 67 singles titles during the Open Era and reached a high of world No 2 on the WTA Rankings – though was recognised as the No 1 before that.

3) Chris Evert

The winner of 157 WTA singles titles and the first ever world No 1 on the WTA, Evert was one of the game’s first big modern superstars – and had a career to match that billing.

She won an impressive 18 Grand Slam singles titles and also reached a further 16 finals – a total of 34 major singles finals, which is a record no other woman can match.

Evert ruled over Roland Garros during her career, holding a record seven women’s singles titles, but also won six US Open, two Australian Open, and three Wimbledon titles.

Across 56 Grand Slam appearances, she failed to reach the semi-final just four times – and spent 260 weeks as world No 1.

2) Martina Navratilova

Navratilova was born and raised in Czechoslovakia, but represented the United States for the vast majority of her tennis career – so we’re counting her here.

No one will likely ever come close to her astonishing record of 167 WTA singles titles, of which 18 were Grand Slam victories.

Navratilova is probably best remembered for her nine Wimbledon titles – including six straight wins from 1982-1987 – though won a further four US Opens, three Australian Opens, and two French Opens.

She also reached a further 14 Grand Slam finals and spent 332 weeks as the world No 1 – a total only beaten by Steffi Graf in the women’s game.

1) Serena Williams

Not only the greatest US player but arguably also the greatest women’s player full stop, Serena’s career was like no other we’ve seen in the women’s game.

She was the dominant figure in the sport for almost two decades, spanning her first Slam at the 1999 US Open and her last at the 2017 Australian Open.

In total, she won 23 singles majors with seven Australian Open, three French Open, seven Wimbledon, and six US Open titles in her collection, winning 73 WTA singles titles overall.

With five WTA Finals titles, a further 10 Grand Slam finals, and 319 weeks as world No 1 to her name, she is by far and away the greatest American female player.

Read Next: The 9 greatest US male tennis players of the Open Era – ranked!