Did you know that nine retired WTA players’ last career title was a Grand Slam? There are also four active players, including U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu, whose last title was a Grand Slam.
There are currently 13 players on the WTA roster whose last title was an incredible Grand Slam, although you’d expect Gauff and Raducanu to win more before retiring.
1. Chris O’Neill – 1978 Australian Open
Chris O’Neil became the first unseeded player to win the Australian Open in the Open era when he defeated Betsy Nagelsen in 1978.
She was also the last Australian woman to win the title until Ashleigh Barty succeeded in 2022.
The Australian has since fallen far short of winning another Grand Slam title as she has failed to reach the second round in her last 11 majors.
2. Barbara Jordan – 1979 Australian Open
American Barbara Jordan’s first and last singles title in her career was a Grand Slam. The feat was achieved at the 1979 Australian Open, when she defeated compatriot Sharon Walsh in straight sets.
Jordan did win another Grand Slam, but that was at the 1983 French Open in mixed doubles with Eliot Teltscher.
3. Evonne Goolagong – Wimbledon 1980
Evonne Goolagong’s illustrious career included 84 singles titles, including seven Grand Slam trophies.
The Australian defeated four top-10 players (No. 9 Hana Mandlikova, No. 6 Wendy Turnbull, No. 2 Tracy Austin) during her 1980 Wimbledon victory. and No. 3 Chris Evert), which was her last title.
4. Steffi Graf – 1999 French Open
Steffi Graf became the first player to defeat No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the same Grand Slam tournament, defeating Martina Hingis (World) on the way. No. 1), Lindsay Davenport (No. 2) and Monica Seles (No. 3) lifted the trophy at Roland Garros in 1999.
Although Graf also reached the Wimbledon final a few weeks later, the 1999 French Open was the German’s last singles title.
Tennis legend Graf won 107 titles during his career, 22 of which came from Grand Slams.
5. Kim Clijsters – 2011 Australian Open
Kim Clijsters lost her first four Grand Slam finals before winning the next four, the last of which was at the 2011 Australian Open , when she defeated Li Na in three sets.
Clijsters only played in one WTA final – the 2011 GDF Suez Open – before retiring after that year’s US Open. Or so everyone thought when she came back in 2020 and retired again in 2022.
6. Marion Bartoli – Wimbledon 2013
After losing to Venus Williams in the 2007 Wimbledon final, Marion Bartoli returned to the All England Club six years later to win her first Grand Slam title.
Bartoli announced her retirement just 40 days after winning Wimbledon, revealing she had been hampered by injuries.
7. Li Na – 2014 Australian Open
Chinese legend Li Na started the 2014 season in brilliant fashion, winning her home title at the Shenzhen Open before going on to beat Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open final to claim her second A Grand Slam trophy.
She also reached the Miami Open final two months later, losing to Serena Williams, but unfortunately she battled injuries for much of the season and ultimately ended the year Announced his retirement in September.
8. Flavia Pennetta – 2015 U.S. Open
Italy’s Flavia Pennetta has won 11 WTA Tour singles titles, the biggest of which came in the 2015 Flushing Meadows final, when she defeated compatriot Roberta Roberta Vinci.
During her acceptance speech, Pennetta announced that she would retire at the end of the season. She competed in a few more tournaments – including the WTA Finals – but failed to reach another final.
9. Bianca Andreescu – 2019 U.S. Open
The US Open has had its share of surprise winners in recent years, with Bianca Andreescu defeating Serena Williams in straight sets at Flushing Meadows in 2019. Serena Williams, joins the list of first-time Grand Slam champions.
Andreescu’s three WTA titles came in 2019 and have reached the finals twice since then, losing to Ashleigh Barty at the 2021 Miami Open and the 2022 Bad Homburg Open. To Caroline Garcia.
There’s still time for her to win not just another WTA title, but another Grand Slam title.
10. Emma Raducanu – 2021 U.S. Open
Emma Raducanu’s only title to date came at the 2021 US Open, when she endured a magical journey to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam ( regardless of gender).
The British youngster has not reached a final since achieving the milestone at Flushing Meadows as she has struggled with form and injuries over the past year, but like Andreescu, her career The career is still long.
11. Ashleigh Barty – Australian Open 2022
Not too many players retire soon after winning a Grand Slam, but that’s exactly what then-world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty did after a successful 2022 Australian Open.
In fact, Barty’s last match was her final match against Danielle Collins at Melbourne Park as she went unbeaten in her last 11 games and won Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open International champion.
12. Marka Vondrousova – Wimbledon 2023
Marketa Vondrousova won only her second career title and first since April 2017, when she defeated Ons Jabeur. Her previous WTA final was at Roland Garros in 2019, where she lost to Ashleigh Barty.
The Czech has failed to reach another final since winning Wimbledon as she has battled injuries.
13. Coco Gauff – 2023 U.S. Open
Coco Gauff is the most recent Grand Slam winner, winning her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open with a three-set victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
Considering her performance in the second half of the 2023 tennis season, you might think the American wouldn’t stay on this list for long, as she’s expected to add more Grand Slam titles, not to mention the WTA A trophy. before she called it a day.