Here’s a list of winners since 1968, the year in which the U.S. championships were opened to professionals:

2009 — Kim Clijsters

2008 — Serena Williams

2007 — Justine Henin

2006 — Maria Sharapova

2005 — Kim Clijsters

2004 — Svetlana Kuznetsova

2003 — Justine Henin-Hardenne

2002 — Serena Williams

2001 — Venus Williams

2000 — Venus Williams

1999 — Serena Williams

1998 — Lindsay Davenport

1997 — Martina Hingis

1996 — Steffi Graf

1995 — Steffi Graf

1994 — Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

1993 — Steffi Graf

1992 — Monica Seles

1991 — Monica Seles

1990 — Gabriela Sabatini

1989 — Steffi Graf

1988 — Steffi Graf

1987 — Martina Navratilova

1986 — Martina Navratilova

1985 — Hana Mandlikova

1984 — Martina Navratilova

1983 — Martina Navratilova

1982 — Chris Evert Lloyd

1981 — Tracy Austin

1980 — Chris Evert Lloyd

1979 — Tracy Austin

1978 — Christine Marie Evert

1977 — Christine Marie Evert

1976 — Christine Marie Evert

1975 — Christine Marie Evert

1974 — Billie Jean King

1973 — Margaret Smith Court

1972 — Billie Jean King

1971 — Billie Jean King

1970 — Margaret Smith Court

1969 — Margaret Smith Court

1968 — Virginia Wade

Source: USOpen.org

So who’s the all-time leader among women in Grand Slam tennis championships? None other than Australia’s own Margaret Smith Court, whose best work came before the tennis boom led by King, Navratilova, Evert, and others.

Curious who else belongs on the list of tennis’ all-time greats?

Here’s the list, through Wimbledon 2009:

1. Margaret Smith Court, Australia (24)

2. Steffi Graf, Germany (22)

3. Helen Wills Moody, USA (19)

4. Chris Evert, USA (18)

T4. Martina Navratilova, Czechoslovakia, USA (18)

6. Billie Jean King, USA (12)

7. Serena Williams, USA (10)

T8. Maureen Connolly, USA (9)

T8 Monica Seles, Yugoslavia/USA (9)

T10. Suzanne Lenglen, France (8)

T10. Molla Bjursdedt Mallory, USA (8)

Source: ESPN.com

Advertisement

Yoshida wasn’t just young. She was a woman, too, the first ever to play on a Japanese professional baseball team.

So much for yet another gender barrier. Soon enough, Yoshida’s emergence prompted Time to remember some other female sports pioneers.

Here’s the list they came up with:

– Annika Sorenstam: 72 LPGA wins, including 10 majors.

– Julie Krone: Hall of Fame jockey won the Belmont Stakes (1993) and Breeder’s Cup (2003).

– Manon Rheaume: Played for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, becoming the first woman to compete in one of the four major U.S. sports.

– Janet Guthrie: First woman to drive in the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500.

– Ann Meyers Drysdale: First woman to sign with an NBA team (Indiana, 1979).

– Billie Jean King: Tennis great routed Bobby Riggs in 1973 “Battle of the Sexes.”

– Wilma Rudolph: Track star was the first woman to win three medals at a single Olympics (Rome, 1960).

– Althea Gibson: Black tennis star won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1957.

– Babe Didriksen Zaharias: Basketball and Olympic track star also won three U.S. Open golf titles.

To read more about these groundbreaking performers, and to see a slideshow, visit Time.

Here’s a list of the all-time winners:

Men
7 - Richard Sears 1881-87; Bill Larned 1901-02, ‘07-11; Bill Tilden 1920- 25, ‘29
5 – Jimmy Connors 1974, ‘76, ‘78, ‘82-83; Pete Sampras 1990, ‘93, ‘95-96, ‘02, Roger Federer 2004-08
4 – Bob Wrenn 1893-94, ‘96-97; John McEnroe 1979-81, ‘84
3 – Oliver Campbell 1890-92; Mal Whitman 1898-1900; Fred Perry 1933-34, ‘36; Ivan Lendl 1985-87

Women
8 – Molla B. Mallory 1915-18, ‘20-22, ‘26
7 – Helen Wills Moody 1923-25, ‘27-29, ‘31
6 – Chris Evert Lloyd 1975-78, ‘80, ‘82
5 - Margaret Smith Court 1962, ‘65, ‘69-70, ‘73; Steffi Graf 1988-89, ‘93, ‘95-96
4 – Elisabeth Moore 1896, 1901, ‘03, ‘05; Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman 1909-11, ‘19; Helen H. Jacobs 1932-35; Alice Marble 1936, ‘38-40; Pauline Betz 1942-44, ‘46; Maria Bueno 1959, ‘63-64, ‘66; Billie Jean King 1967, ‘71-72, ‘74; Martina Navratilova 1983-84, ‘86-87

Source: usopen.org

Without further ado, here are some of the most familiar faces on the Open stage, with total matches and years of competition:

Men:
115 – Jimmy Connors, 1970-89, ‘91-92
102 – Vic Seixas, 1940-69
  98 – Andre Agassi, 1986 – 2006
  89 – R. Norris Williams, 1912-35
  86 – Ivan Lendl, 1979-94
  78 – Bill Tilden, 1916-30

Women:
113 – Chris Evert, 1971-89
106 – Martina Navratilova, 1973-93
  82 – Steffi Graf, 1984-96, ‘98
  73 – Helen H. Jacobs, 1927-41; A. Louise Brough, 1941-57; Doris Hart, 1940-55
  72 – Molla B. Mallory, 1915-29; Billie Jean King, 1960-79, ‘82

Source: USOpen.org

Alas, the magazine folded after publishing its final issue in December of 2002, so maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea after all.

Before riding off into the sunset, the editors managed to compile their version of the best female competitors of the previous century. It’s a little dated, obviously, but still worth a look, since most of the great ones are in little danger of losing their spot.

Curious who made it…and who didn’t?

We’ll run down the Top 10:

1. Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Track & Field

2. Babe Didrikson-Zaharias, Track & Field

3. Billie Jean King, Tennis

4. Sonja Henie, Figure Skating

5. Martina Navratilova, Tennis

6. Chris Evert, Tennis

7. Bonnie Blair, Speed Skating

8. Wilma Rudolph, Track & Field

9. Nadia Comanici, Gymastics

10. Tracy Caulkins, Swimming

No, we’re not leaving you high and dry here. You can still check out the rest at the SI for Women web site.