Tennis fans await the Australian Open each year as a respite from the sport’s long, barren offseason. So, it’s no surprise that good year-round conditioning plays a role in determining the Australian Open women’s winners. Players must stay in prime shape during the winter months if they want to win the year’s first major, and that is no easy feat!

In this Betway Insider top 10, we’ll seek to determine the best women's tennis Australian Open winners of all time.

Who Won the 2023 Australian Open Women’s Final?

The 2023 women’s Australian Open tennis champion was Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian star defeated Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Australian Open Tennis Winners History

The first Australian Open women’s singles champion was Margaret Molesworth back in 1922. The oldest Australian Open women’s winner was Thelma Long at age 35 in 1954. The youngest Australian Open women’s winner was Martina Hingis at age 16 in 1997.

A complete Australian Open list of winners can be found here.

Who has won the most Australian Open tennis women’s singles titles?

Margaret Smith Court has the most Australian Open women’s titles with 11. She is one of many Aussie Australian Open tennis legends who have won multiple titles at Melbourne Park. 

Ranking the Top 10 Greatest Women’s Singles Winners in Australian Open Tennis History

10. Chris Evert

Australian Open Champion: 1982, 1984
Other Australian Open Finals: 1974, 1981, 1985, 1988

Former world No.1 Chris Evert’s battles with fellow American tennis legend Martina Navratilova certainly carried over to the Australian Open stage. The pair met in three finals, with Evert falling in two of them.

Evert avenged her loss to Navratilova in the 1981 final by capturing the 1982 title to complete her career Grand Slam. She explained her sense of relief after the victory:

“Last year I remember Martina and I played in the finals, and I’ll never forget -- I still dream about that third set, because she had me 5-1 and I came back to 5-all and lost the set, and it kind of stuck to my mind a little bit all year,” Evert said. “… All I can say is I’m really thrilled to have won this tournament because I’ve wanted it so badly for so many years.”

9. Martina Navratilova

Australian Open Champion: 1981, 1983, 1985
Other Australian Open Finals: 1975, 1982, 1987

Former American tennis star Martina Navratilova reached her first Australian Open final as a teenager back in 1975, falling to Australian star Evonne Goolagong in straight sets. She wouldn't make it back to the final until 1981, in part because she did not enter the tournament from 1976 to 1979.

Navratilova’s 1981 victory was an epic win over longtime rival Chris Evert, and she needed a late break to capture the third set 7-5. She gets the nod over Evert in these rankings because she has three championships compared to Evert’s two.

8. Monica Seles

Australian Open Champion: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996

Perhaps this ranking is too low for former Australian Open tennis champion Monica Seles, who went a perfect 4-0 in the tournament’s finals. She was just a teenager when she started her famous Australian Open three-peat in 1991, defeating Jana Novotna in three sets.

Seles would win again in 1992 and 1993. Unstoppable at the time, she appeared to be the future face of the sport. Tragically, she was the victim of a on-court knife attack in 1993 that caused her to miss two years. She admirably came back and won the 1996 Australian Open, but she was never the same player after the stabbing.

7. Martina Hingis

Australian Open Champion: 1997, 1998, 1999
Other Australian Open Finals: 2000, 2001, 2002

While former Swiss tennis superstar Martina Hingis might not have captured the most Australian Open women’s titles of all time, she did pull off a remarkable feat: reaching six straight finals. She was just 16 when she reached the first of those -- knocking off Mary Pierce to capture the 1997 Australian Open.

Hingis would win again in both 1998 and 1999 to make it a threepeat and become the youngest ever world No. 1. Her appearances in the finals from 2000 to 2002 didn't quite go according to plan, as she was defeated on all three occasions. Hingis missed the 2003 tournament, ending her finals streak.

6. Steffi Graf

Australian Open Champion: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994
Other Australian Open Finals: 1993

Here is yet another women’s tennis player who managed to three-peat in the Australian Open finals. Germany’s Steffi Graf began her run of championships by defeating Chris Evert in 1988. That title kicked off her historic “Golden Slam,” as she became the first player to win all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold in the same calendar year. 

Had Graf not retired at age 30 and gone on to make a few more finals appearances, she might rank higher on this list.

5. Daphne Akhurst Cozens

Australian Open Champion:  1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930

What’s the name of the trophy presented to singles winners of the Australian Open women’s final? It’s called the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in honor of the legendary player’s five victories in the 1920s.

Akhurst Cozens never technically won an “Australian Open.” Instead, she was a two-time winner of what was then known as the Australasian Championships before added three more titles in the Australian Championships. Either way, her five victories are the fourth-most of all time.

4. Evonne Goolagong

Australian Open Champion: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 (December)
Other Australian Open Finals: 1971, 1972, 1973

Former Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong had one of the most dominant decades of any player at any major tournament. During the 1970s, she reached the finals of seven of the eight Australian Opens she entered. After falling the 1970 quarterfinals, Goolagong devastatingly lost three straight finals (including two to fellow Australian Margaret Court).

Goolagong finally claimed her overdue Australian Open tennis championship in 1974 by beating Chris Evert in three sets. She couldn’t be stopped once she got the taste for winning and went on to capture three more titles to give herself four for the decade.

Her final championship came in the second Australian Open of the calendar year 1977. There had been an earlier event in January, but a second one was held in December since the tournament was staged in that month from 1977 to 1986.  

Goolagong did not compete in the January 1977 tournament because she was expecting a baby. In any event, her seven Australian Open finals appearances are the second-most in the Open Era.

3. Nancye Wynne Bolton

Australian Open Champion: 1937, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951
Other Australian Open Finals: 1936, 1949

The most successful Australian Open winner in the amateur era of women’s tennis was Nancye Wynne Bolton, a six-time winner of the competition. The most amazing thing is the fact that it wasn’t even her greatest Australian Open legacy. Incredibly, Bolton was also a 14x-time Australian Open women’s doubles champion, including five straight titles from 1936 to1940.

Bolton’s 20 combined Australian Open singles and doubles titles are also a record.

2. Serena Williams

Australian Open Champion: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017
Other Australian Open Finals: 2016

American tennis legend Serena Williams holds records for the most Australian Open titles and most Australian Open women’s finals appearances in the post-1968 Open Era. Her seven titles match her seven Wimbledon championships as the most that she won at any of the four majors.

Williams’ first Australian title was a victory over her sister Venus in 2003. Ironically, her final victory also came against her sister 14 years later in 2017.

1. Margaret Smith Court

Australian Open Champion: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971
Other Australian Open Finals: 1968

Why is Margaret Smith Court the greatest Australian Open tennis champion of all time? Her resume speaks for itself:

• Most Australian Open titles (11) -- seven in the Amateur Era, four in the Open Era
• Most Australian Open finals appearances (12)
• Winner of seven straight Australian Open titles from 1960 to 1966

Parameters of Rankings

These rankings are based on each player’s number of standout performances, the total number of titles won by each player, and each player’s legacy at the Australian Open.

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