The short answer
Margaret Court holds the all-time record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any man or woman. Serena Williams holds the Open Era record with 23. The number that settles most arguments is in the WTA's own records: Court won 11 of her 24 in the Open Era, meaning 13 came before 1968, and 11 of her total came at an Australian Open that overseas players frequently skipped. Only three women have won all four majors in one calendar year.
On this page7
All-time singles leaders
Every figure below is from the WTA’s own Grand Slam Records publication.
What those champions were paid took another three decades to settle — see equal prize money in tennis.
| Player | AO | RG | Wimb | US | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Court (AUS) | 11 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| Serena Williams (USA) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Stefanie Graf (GER) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 |
| Helen Wills Moody (USA) | — | 4 | 8 | 7 | 19 |
| Chris Evert (USA) | 2 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Martina Navratilova (USA) | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| Billie Jean King (USA) | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Maureen Connolly (USA) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Monica Seles (USA) | 4 | 3 | — | 2 | 9 |
| Suzanne Lenglen (FRA) | — | 2 | 6 | — | 8 |
| Molly Bjurstedt Mallory (USA) | — | — | — | 8 | 8 |
Court’s 24 is the record for any player, men or women.
The same list, Open Era only
The WTA publishes a second table, and this is where the argument actually lives.
| Player | AO | RG | Wimb | US | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serena Williams (USA) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Stefanie Graf (GER) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 |
| Chris Evert (USA) | 2 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Martina Navratilova (USA) | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| Margaret Court (AUS) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Monica Seles (USA) | 4 | 3 | — | 2 | 9 |
| Billie Jean King (USA) | — | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS) | 4 | 1 | 2 | — | 7 |
| Justine Henin (BEL) | 1 | 4 | — | 2 | 7 |
| Venus Williams (USA) | — | — | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Margaret Court: 24 all-time, 11 in the Open Era. Thirteen of her titles came before 1968.
That is not a criticism of Court and the WTA does not present it as one. It is the reason the sport’s own governing body maintains two tables instead of one.
Why 1968 is the dividing line
Before 1968 the Grand Slam tournaments were amateur events. Players who turned professional became ineligible — so the strongest players of an era were frequently barred from the majors entirely while amateurs contested them.
The Open Era began when the majors admitted professionals. From that point the four tournaments were, for the first time, open to everyone.
Comparing a pre-1968 total with a post-1968 total therefore compares two different competitive fields. Both numbers are real. They are not measuring the same thing.
The Australian Open asterisk
There is a second piece of context in Court’s row, and it is visible in the table above without any interpretation: 11 of her 24 titles came at the Australian Open.
For much of that period the Australian championship was routinely skipped by overseas players. The travel was long, slow and expensive, prize money was minimal, and the tournament’s timing suited almost nobody outside Australia. Its fields were frequently far weaker than Wimbledon’s or the US Championships’.
Court, an Australian, played it every year. Nearly half her record was built at the major her rivals most often missed.
Set against that, Serena Williams’ 23 and Steffi Graf’s 22 were assembled entirely in the Open Era, against full professional fields, at all four events.
The rarest achievement is not the total
Only three women have won all four majors in a single calendar year:
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1953 | Maureen Connolly |
| 1970 | Margaret Court |
| 1988 | Stefanie Graf |
Graf’s 1988 is the most recent, and she did it as the top seed at all four.
Seven further women have completed the career Grand Slam — all four at least once, in any order: Doris Hart, Shirley Fry, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
And two have held all four simultaneously without a calendar Slam: Navratilova across 1983-84, and Serena Williams twice, in 2002-03 and 2014-15.
In the Open Era, nine women have won three of the four but never the set: Ashleigh Barty, Lindsay Davenport, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Angelique Kerber, Hana Mandlikova, Monica Seles and Virginia Wade.
Beyond singles
Singles totals understate the two most decorated careers in the sport’s history. Counting singles, doubles and mixed doubles:
| Player | Singles | Doubles | Mixed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Court (1960-75) | 24 | 19 | 21 | 64 |
| Martina Navratilova (1974-93) | 18 | 31 | 10 | 59 |
| Billie Jean King (1961-81) | 12 | 16 | 11 | 39 |
| Serena Williams (1998-) | 23 | 14 | 2 | 39 |
Navratilova’s 31 doubles majors is a figure that gets almost no attention next to singles counts, and it is the largest single number anywhere in these tables.
One more thing the record hides
The WTA attaches a footnote to Suzanne Lenglen’s eight: she won four additional Roland Garros singles titles before 1925, when the event was restricted to French residents.
Those four are excluded from her total because the tournament was not yet open to the world. It is the same logic as the Open Era distinction, applied at a different boundary — a reminder that “how many majors” has always depended on what counted as a major at the time.
That is why this page shows the WTA’s tables as the WTA publishes them, rather than merging them into a single ranking. Our research and sourcing policy treats the definition behind a number as part of the number.
More record pages with stated methods are in reference, and the rules of the serve itself in tennis serving rules.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won the most women's Grand Slam singles titles?
Margaret Court, with 24. The WTA records this as the all-time record for Grand Slam singles titles by any player, men or women. Serena Williams is second with 23.
Who has the most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era?
Serena Williams, with 23. The Open Era began in 1968, when majors admitted professionals. In the WTA's Open Era table Margaret Court has 11, because 13 of her 24 were won before 1968.
Why is the Open Era distinction important?
Because before 1968 the majors were amateur events and many of the strongest players had turned professional, so they were ineligible. Comparing a pre-1968 total with a post-1968 total compares two different competitive fields, which is why the WTA publishes both tables rather than one.
How many of Margaret Court's titles came at the Australian Open?
Eleven of her 24 — nearly half. In that period the Australian Open was frequently skipped by overseas players because of the distance and cost of travelling, so its fields were often much weaker than the other three majors.
Which women have won all four majors in one year?
Three: Maureen Connolly in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970 and Stefanie Graf in 1988. That is the calendar-year Grand Slam, and it has been achieved only those three times in women's singles.
What is a career Grand Slam?
Winning each of the four majors at least once, not necessarily in the same year. Beyond the three calendar-Slam winners, seven more women have done it: Doris Hart, Shirley Fry, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Has anyone held all four majors at once without a calendar Slam?
Yes. Martina Navratilova held all four across 1983-84, and Serena Williams did it twice, in 2002-03 and again in 2014-15 — the sequence often called a 'Serena Slam'.