30 greatest female athletes of all time

21. Chris Evert
Tennis

Chris Evert was the Rafael Nadal of her time. She was a superstar tennis player who was by far the best in the world on clay. She won seven French Open titles. No woman has won more French Open titles, even going back to the Amateur Era. She’s also tied with Serena Williams with six U.S. Open titles. 

Evert was at the top of the mountain for most of the 1970s and 1980s. Over her career, she won more than 90 percent of her matches, showing incredible consistency at a time when tennis needed a star. Her cool demeanor became her calling card. The moment felt the same whether it was a first-round match or the U.S. Open finals. Evert is the type of person who could keep her cool driving in New York City. It was clear she was insanely competitive, and her only desire was to finish the match as the victor. Of course, everyone wants to win, but Evert clearly needed it. 

Evert became the first player, male or female, to win 1,000 singles matches. Only one person has won more, and it’s her biggest rival (who’s coming up soon). She won at least one major singles title a record 13 years in a row. There are so many tennis players that see their relevance drop as time goes on. In 1974, she won 55 straight matches. Maybe her biggest achievement was becoming the first woman to surpass $1 million in prize money. However, Evert was always going back and forth with one woman…