All time winners singles female US Open

Image via Wikipedia1887 Ellen Hansell
1888 Bertha Townsend
1889 Bertha Townsend
1890 Ellen Roosevelt
1891 Mabel Cahill
1892 Mabel Cahill
1893 Aline Terry
1894 Helen Hellwig
1895 Juliette Atkinson
1896 Elisabeth Moore
1897 Juliette Atkinson
1898 Juliette Atkinson
1899 Marion Jones
1900 Myrtle McAteer
1901 Elisabeth Moore
1902 Marion Jones
1903 Elisabeth Moore
1904 May Sutton
1905 Elisabeth Moore
1906 Helen Homans
1907 Evelyn Sears
1908 Maud Barger-Wallach
1909 Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1910 Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1911 Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1912 Mary Browne
1913 Mary Browne
1914 Mary Browne
1915 Molla Mallory
1916 Molla Mallory
1917 Molla Mallory
1918 Molla Mallory
1919 Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1920 Molla Mallory
1921 Molla Mallory
1922 Molla Mallory
1923 Helen Wills
1924 Helen Wills
1925 Helen Wills
1926 Molla Mallory
1927 Helen Wills
1928 Helen Wills
1929 Helen Wills
1930 Betty Nuthall
1931 Helen Wills Moody
1932 Helen Jacobs
1933 Helen Jacobs
1934 Helen Jacobs
1935 Helen Jacobs
1936 Alice Marble
1937 Anita Lizana
1938 Alice Marble
1939 Alice Marble
1940 Alice Marble
1941 Sarah Palfrey Cooke
1942 Pauline Betz
1943 Pauline Betz
1944 Pauline Betz
1945 Sarah Palfrey Cooke
1946 Pauline Betz
1947 Louise Brough
1948 Margaret Osborne duPont
1949 Margaret Osborne duPont
1950 Margaret Osborne duPont
1951 Maureen Connolly
1952 Maureen Connolly
1953 Maureen Connolly
1954 Doris Hart
1955 Doris Hart
1956 Shirley Fry
1957 Althea Gibson
1958 Althea Gibson
1959 Maria Bueno
1960 Darlene Hard
1961 Darlene Hard
1962 Margaret Smith
1963 Maria Bueno
1964 Maria Bueno
1965 Margaret Smith
1966 Maria Bueno
1967 Billie Jean King
1968 Virginia Wade
1968 Margaret Smith Court
1969 Margaret Smith Court
1969 Margaret Smith Court
1970 Margaret Smith Court
1971 Billie Jean King
1972 Billie Jean King
1973 Margaret Smith Court
1974 Billie Jean King
1975 Chris Evert
1976 Chris Evert
1977 Chris Evert
1978 Chris Evert
1979 Tracy Austin
1980 Chris Evert Lloyd
1981 Tracy Austin
1982 Chris Evert Lloyd
1983 Martina Navratilova
1984 Martina Navratilova
1985 Hana Mandlikova
1986 Martina Navratilova
1987 Martina Navratilova
1988 Steffi Graf
1989 Steffi Graf
1990 Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles
1993 Steffi Graf
1994 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
1995 Steffi Graf
1996 Steffi Graf
1997 Martina Hingis
1998 Lindsay Davenport
1999 Serena Williams
2000 Venus Williams
2001 Venus Williams
2002 Serena Williams
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Kim Clijsters
2006 Maria Sharapova
2007 Justine Henin
2008 Serena Williams
2009 Kim Clijsters
2010 Kim Clijsters
2011 Samantha Stosur
2012 Serena Williams

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Maria Sharapova

Maria was born in Russia in 1987. She began hitting tennis balls at the age of 4 and at 6 she participated in an exhibition match in Moscow which featured Martina Navratilova. Martina recommended to her the Nick Bollittieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In 1995, Maria and her father, Yuri Sharapova, decided to move to Florida in the USA. This meant leaving her mother for 2 years in Russia because of visa problems and financial troubles.

At the age of seven Maria and her father Yuri, who could speak barely any English , boarded a plane to the USA with only $700. When they arrived at Miami airport the next morning, her father took her on the handlebars of a bicycle to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy without any notice whatsoever. They arrived at the academy and one of the coaches checked her out. The story goes that Maria knocked his hat off with the tennis ball, thereby making a favourable impression. This led to her obtaining a scholarship. At the age of 9, she was signed up by a number of sponsors including Prince (racquets), Oakley and Nike.

She did train at the Bollittieri Academy and at 14 Maria turned professional. In 2002 she reached the final of the Junior Australian Open, after which she joined the senior tour with a ranking of 186. In 2003 she made her first appearance as a senior in the Australian Open. This is when I noticed her. She seemed to have such determination and self-composure at this young age. She also had a few fierce ground strokes. Later that year she made the French Open and won her first titles on the WTA tour at Tokyo and Quebec. She ended 2003 ranked 32.


Maria really came to everyone's notice in 2004. She was tall, athletic and attractive. She reached the third round of the Australian Open, and then she won Wimbledon. In doing so she became the second youngest Wimbledon women's champion in the Open Era (after Martina Hingis ) by defeating defending two-time champion Serena Williams in straight sets (6-1,6-4). In the process she also became the first Russian ever to win that tournament. She also won Birmingham, Seoul, Tokyo and the WTA Championships in that year. She was beginning to see some serious money. She topped the 2004 prize money list with $2,506,263, one of a record five women to earn more than $2 million in 2004. That's just prize money though. She has many big sponsorship deals.

In 2005 she won Tokyo, Birmingham and Doha. She reached the quarterfinals or better at all 15 events she contested, including reaching the semifinals at three of the four Grand Slams, and falling to the eventual champion at all four. She also became the first-ever Russian to become No.1 in the world, doing so between late August and October, holding the top spot for a total of seven nonconsecutive weeks before surrendering it to Davenport. She ended the year ranked No 4.

Maria is the richest female athlete in the world, according to Forbes Magazine (July 2005). She is coached by her father, Yuri Sharapov and Robert Lansdorp. She studies via the internet and loves reading. She is definitely one to watch in the future, because, unlike many of the other big talents at an early age, I think she is well looked after, without the problems other female tennis players have had with their fathers as coach. She also seems unaffected by her enormous fame.

There has recently been some gossip about Maria. On November 24, 2005 it was reported that a Florida production company has sued her over the right to market a documentary about female Russian tennis players. The law suit claims that Sharapova objected to the use of her name and image in the documentary. "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis." The DVD has already been shown, but in September IMG, the agency which represents Sharapova, sent a letter accusing the production company of misappropriating her name. The counter sue is basically that in America, 'we have the right to make documentaries about current events, subjects of interests' according to the attorney L. Martin Reeder, Jr., who represents the production company.