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Martina Hingis
Born
Martina Hingis is the model for winning with the mind. Without big power, she moved opponents with angles, disguised drop shots, lobs and changes of pace, and took the ball early to rush them. She became world number one at 16 and won five Grand Slam singles titles, then built a second career in doubles, where her reading of the court made her one of the best of all time.
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Agnieszka Radwańska
Born
Agnieszka Radwańska turned improvisation into a system. Her repertoire included squat-down half-volleys from the baseline, sliced lobs, drop shots and angled chips, and she used them to take pace off powerful hitters. She reached the 2012 Wimbledon final and won the 2015 WTA Finals, and she won the WTA's shot of the year award several times, a fair measure of her inventiveness.
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Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty combined a heavy forehand, a low sliced backhand and a well-placed serve with doubles-honed volleys, and she changed between them constantly. That range let her win majors on three different surfaces: the 2019 French Open on clay, Wimbledon in 2021 on grass and the 2022 Australian Open on hard courts, before she retired as world number one.
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Justine Henin
Born
Justine Henin was smaller than most of her rivals, so she built a game of options: a one-handed backhand she could drive, slice or angle short, a kick serve, and frequent approaches to the net. Against the power of the Williams sisters and Kim Clijsters, that variety won her seven Grand Slam singles titles, including the US Open twice and the French Open four times.
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Hsieh Su-wei
Born
Hsieh Su-wei hits two-handed on both sides with almost no backswing, and her shots arrive at odd heights and angles that opponents cannot predict. She slices, flicks, drops and lobs without warning, which beat Simona Halep, then world number one, at Wimbledon in 2018. In doubles the same craft has made her a world number one and a winner of many Grand Slam titles, including several at Wimbledon.
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Ons Jabeur
Born
Ons Jabeur plays with the most imaginative shot selection on the current tour: backhand slices, drop shots off both wings, sudden changes of pace and the occasional underarm serve. It took her to world number two, two Wimbledon finals and a US Open final, and made her the first Arab and North African player to reach a major singles final. After the birth of her son in 2026, she is preparing a return.
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Amélie Mauresmo
Born
Amélie Mauresmo combined a heavy topspin forehand and a one-handed backhand she could slice or drive with a readiness to attack the net, unusual in the baseline-dominated women's game of the 2000s. Her ability to change from defence to attack in one shot brought her the world number one ranking in 2004 and the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006.
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Steffi Graf
Born
Steffi Graf's game was built on contrast: a flat, ferocious forehand and a low, floating sliced backhand that made opponents hit up. Alternating the two broke rhythm and opened the court for her forehand. With it she won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and, in 1988, the Golden Slam, winning on clay, grass and hard courts.
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Martina Navratilova
Born
Martina Navratilova is usually remembered as a serve-volleyer, but her real strength was choice. She could chip and charge, stay back and slice, or come in behind a topspin approach, and she adjusted to each surface and opponent. That range, with superb fitness, brought 18 Grand Slam singles titles, nine of them at Wimbledon, plus 31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed.
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Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was a tactician as much as an athlete. She mixed chip-and-charge returns, angled volleys and changes of spin, and she planned matches around opponents' weaknesses. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, six at Wimbledon, and in 1973 beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes by slowing the ball down and running him across the court.
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Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Evonne Goolagong Cawley played with an improvised, flowing style: slice and topspin, deft volleys and sudden changes of direction, all hit with apparent ease. It made her dangerous on every surface of the 1970s, and she won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including the French Open and Wimbledon in 1971 and Wimbledon again in 1980.
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Roberta Vinci
Born
Roberta Vinci's sliced one-handed backhand, low and slow, was her answer to power. She mixed it with net approaches and drop shots, and in the 2015 US Open semi-final she used exactly that to beat Serena Williams, ending Williams's attempt at a calendar Grand Slam. It was one of the great tactical upsets, and Vinci, a doubles world number one, reached the final.
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Monica Niculescu
Born
Monica Niculescu is famous for one of the most unusual shots in professional tennis, a sliced forehand that barely bounces. She uses it, along with looping balls and net rushes, to deny opponents any rhythm. It made her a top-30 singles player and a Grand Slam doubles finalist at Wimbledon in 2017, and she remains a reminder that an eccentric shot can still be a weapon.
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Jana Novotná
Born
Jana Novotná was one of the last true serve-volleyers on the women's tour, with sliced approaches, soft volleys and a game that kept opponents guessing. After losing the 1993 Wimbledon final from a winning position, she won the title in 1998 at the age of 29. She was also one of the great doubles players, with 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and died in 2017.
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Gabriela Sabatini
Born
Gabriela Sabatini hit heavy topspin from both sides, including a one-handed backhand, and mixed it with sliced approaches and volleys. That combination of a clay-court base and net play beat Steffi Graf in the 1990 US Open final, her only Grand Slam singles title, and won her the 1988 and 1994 season-ending championships. She also took Olympic silver in 1988.
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Carla Suárez Navarro
Born
Carla Suárez Navarro varied height and spin more than almost anyone of her generation: a topspin one-handed backhand that kicked high, a slice that stayed low, and drop shots to pull bigger hitters forward. It took her into the world's top six in 2016 and to six Grand Slam quarter-finals, a strong record for a player who relied on craft rather than power.
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Francesca Schiavone
Born
Francesca Schiavone treated each point as a puzzle, alternating heavy topspin, slice and net approaches, and she was not afraid to serve and volley on clay. Her 2010 French Open title, won at almost 30, and the final there in 2011 came from that variety. She also played the longest women's Grand Slam match on record, a four-hour 44-minute win over Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2011 Australian Open.
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Conchita Martínez
Born
Conchita Martínez mixed heavy topspin forehands, a sliced one-handed backhand and lobs to frustrate faster and stronger players. That variety won her the Italian Open four years in a row and, most remarkably, the 1994 Wimbledon title over Martina Navratilova on grass, far from her favourite surface. She later coached Garbiñe Muguruza to the 2017 Wimbledon title.
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Barbora Krejčíková
Born
Barbora Krejčíková brings a doubles player's skills into singles: well-timed net approaches, touch volleys, slices and lobs alongside solid groundstrokes. That versatility won her the 2021 French Open on clay and Wimbledon in 2024 on grass. In doubles, with Kateřina Siniaková, she has won a career Grand Slam and Olympic gold.
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Karolína Muchová
Born
Karolína Muchová is the most complete all-court player in the current women's game: she can slice, drop, volley, hit heavy topspin or flatten the ball out, and she chooses well between them. Injuries interrupted her rise several times, but she reached the 2023 French Open final and the 2026 Wimbledon final, and a career high of sixth in 2026.
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Daria Kasatkina
Born
Daria Kasatkina builds points with heavy, looping topspin, sharp angles and well-disguised drop shots rather than outright power, and she is happy to move opponents for a long time before attacking. That tactical patience took her into the world's top ten and to the 2022 French Open semi-finals, and made her one of the most interesting players to watch on clay.
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Tatjana Maria
Born
Tatjana Maria hits slice on both sides, keeps the ball low and comes to the net often, a style that almost disappeared from the women's game. On grass it is very effective: she reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022 as a mother of two, and in 2025 won the Queen's Club title after coming through qualifying. Her matches show how much a low, slow ball can unsettle hard hitters.
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