Ten women who rocked the tennis world, from Billie Jean King to Naomi Osaka
Women have been making waves in the tennis world for more than 100 years, whether they're causing controversy or changing the game for the better.
Keep reading to learn about 10 women who rocked the tennis world - for better or worse.
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Monica Seles
In 1993, Monica Seles was on top of the world - and on top of her game.
Born in Yugoslavia, she also represented the US during her long career, which saw her win nine major singles titles at an incredibly young age.
She became the youngest champion in French Open history when she won at the age of 16 in 1990, then did it again the next two years in a row.
So everyone was horrified when her tennis career was utterly derailed in 1993 when she appeared at the Citizen Cup in Germany.
Monica Seles
Just a few months prior, Seles had played and defeated German tennis pro Steffi Graf at the Australian Open, and one German fan by the name of Günter Parche was furious.
An obsessive Graf fan, he rushed onto the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles between her shoulder blades. She was rushed to hospital and Parche was arrested.
Parche was charged and sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment, which Seles was disappointed by, saying "he did not serve any sort of punishment".
Seles' physical injuries healed in a matter of weeks but the trauma of being attacked on the court lingered and she didn't return to competitive tennis for more than two years.
Suzanne Lenglen
Born in France in 1899, Suzanne Lenglen is regarded as one of the first superstars of women's tennis and was the first ever world No. 1, holding the position from 1921 until 1926.
She won six titles at Wimbledon and was a champion in three categories at both of the first two open French Championships, even becoming a style icon in the process.
She stunned crowds with her game as well as her fashion, often appearing in headscarves and short skirts (for the time), and her time on the court changed the way women played tennis for years to come.
Suzanne Lenglen
Lenglen proved women could absolutely excel in tennis and became one of the first women to play professionally when she went on tour in North America in 1926 and 1927.
As well as making strides in the tennis world, Lenglen shifted the public perception of women in the sport.
She was widely considered the first female tennis 'celebrity' and mixed with royals and actors alike, earning her the kind of fame that had never been seen for a female player before.
Today, women like Ash Barty and Naomi Osaka enjoy the same kind of fame that was so unique when Lenglen was playing.
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is still one of the most famous American tennis players of all time, more than half a century after she won the infamous 'Battle of the Sexes' against Bobby Riggs in 1973.
Just 29 at the time, she'd only been playing professionally for about 10 years but had already proven herself to be a real gamechanger in the sport, even reaching the rank of world No. 1.
Beating Riggs in straight sets that day cemented her as one of the most impressive female players of her generation and forced the global tennis community to sit up and pay attention to women fighting for a space in the sport.
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Billie Jean King
King went on to win 39 Grand Slam titles, including a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon, and established the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation to make sure other women could follow in her footsteps.
Though plenty of men - and some women - rallied against her progressive attitude towards gender equality in sport, it was what made her so famous and beloved in the long run.
In fact, without her many of the amazing women who came in the decades that followed would have had a much harder time making it to the top.
Martina Navratilova
Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navratilova still holds the record for the most wins in singles at Wimbledon, taking home a staggering 120 match wins during her career.
An absolute trailblazer, she won a combined total of 59 major titles and dominated the women's tennis world throughout the 1980s, alongside her longtime rival Chris Evert.
But it wasn't just Navratilova's skill on the court that shook the tennis world, it was her decision to come out as a lesbian and live openly at the height of her tennis career.
Martina Navratilova
Navratilova was outed as bisexual in 1981 after sharing her sexuality in an interview with a New York Daily News reporter. She asked that he not print her comments until she was ready to come out publicly, but he went ahead with it anyway.
Despite the breach of her trust, Navratilova spoke openly about having relationships with women after the piece was published and lived openly for the rest of her tennis career. She later stated that she identifies as a lesbian.
As well as holding so many records, she changed the way women from the LGBTQIA+ community were represented and accepted in tennis.
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Chris Evert
American former world No. 1 Chris Evert dominated women's tennis throughout the '70s and '80s, always in close competition with rival Navratilova.
Like the other women on this list, she was a game changer in the sport and won countless titles throughout her long career, as well as championing other women in the sport by serving as president of the Women's Tennis Association for 11 years.
But it was an offhand comment she made at a match at the 1978 US Open that has lived on for decades after Evert stepped off the court.
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