Britain has a rich history of producing incredible tennis players, including some trailblazing female tennis players, and even a 15-year-old Wimbledon champion. If you are based in Belfast, consider googling tennis lessons near me.
In this guide, we will explore some of the most established British female tennis players with a focus on both current top 10 players who are still playing today, and also highlight some top British women's tennis players through history who have now retired, but accomplished amazing achievements throughout their careers. For players in Birmingham aiming for improvement, try tennis lessons near me.
| Current ranking in Great Britain | Player | Age (Aug 2025) | Current WTA World Ranking (Aug 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emma Raducanu | 22 | 33 |
| 2 | Katie Boulter | 28 | 43 |
| 3 | Sonay Kartal | 23 | 48 |
| 4 | Francesca Jones | 24 | 84 |
| 5 | Jodie Burrage | 26 | 151 |
| 6 | Heather Watson | 33 | 159 |
| 7 | Harriet Dart | 28 | 200 |
| 8 | Amarni Banks | 22 | 279 |
| 9 | Yuriko Miyazaki | 29 | 280 |
| 10 | Mingge Xu | 17 | 329 |
🌟 Current UK Top 10 Female Tennis Players
Though there are some exciting young talents in the women’s game, we haven’t seen many women reach the very top of tennis, having hailed from the UK in the last 10 years or so. If you're in Edinburgh, you might want to explore tennis lessons near me.
The list below shows some of the current tennis players who are playing and entering tournaments, plus their tennis ranking. Hopefully, we will see many more of them reaching the latter stages of major events soon. The rankings are changing all the time, and there are plenty more female British tennis players who are hoping to make an impact in the coming years.
🎾 Emma Raducanu
Raducanu was born in Toronto and raised in Bromley, England. While most of us came to know her when she burst onto the international tennis scene in stunning fashion during the US Open at the age of 18, Emma was already a popular name in the junior circuit. She has won several UK national titles for different age groups: under-nine, under-12 and under-16. If you're based in London, you might consider taking tennis lessons near me to further refine your skills.
Career Highlights
- Became the first qualifier in either the male or female versions of the tournament to win a Grand Slam tournament (US Open) in 2021
- Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2022
Raducanu is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade in 1977!
🎾 Katie Boulter
Born in Leicestershire, Katie Boulter began her tennis career at the tender age of eight, when she began to represent Great Britain in various tournaments. She participated in junior competitions such as the Lemon Bowl and Orange Bowl. She became the British No. 1 female tennis player in 2023. If you're in Glasgow, you might find that tennis lessons near me can help develop your skills.
Career Highlights
- Won her first WTA singles title during the Nottingham Open in 2023
- Won her first WTA 500 title during the San Diego Open in 2024
- Won her first-ever clay court title during the 2025 Trophée Clarins
Like many tennis players, Boulter is no stranger to injuries and setbacks. Despite being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2014, she persevered and continued to deliver her best throughout her tennis career.
🎾 Sonay Kartal
Born in London and raised in Brighton, Sonay Kartal began playing tennis at the age of six. She is known for her consistency on the international circuits for various ITF tournaments and subsequent WTA tournaments.
Career Highlights
- Won her first WTA Tour during the 2024 Jasmin Open and broke into the Top 100
- Reached the Round of 16 during the 2025 Wimbledon for the first time, achieving a new high ranking of 44
Kartal is actually a left-handed player but switches to her right hand when she plays tennis.
🎾 Francesca Jones
Born in Bradford, Francesca Jones has shown great determination and talent in her tennis career. She spent a part of her childhood and adolescent years training in Spain while having frequent surgeries over the years due to a rare genetic condition: Ectodermal Dysplasia (ED) syndrome (missing one finger on each hand and three toes). She entered the world's Top 100 for the first time in 2025.
Career Highlights
- Won the W75 Vacaria Open in Brazil in March 2025
- Won her first WTA 125 title at Contrexéville in July 2025
- Won her second WTA 125 title at the Palermo Ladies Open in July 2025
Jones once said that she would love to further her studies at Oxford or Cambridge if she were no longer playing tennis.
🎾 Jodie Burrage
Born in Kingston Upon Thames, England, Jodie Burrage is also an established singles and doubles tennis player. She started playing tennis at the age of 5, being influenced by her mother. If you are in Manchester, consider trying tennis lessons near me to boost your game.
2023 was an amazing year for Burrage as she won her first-ever doubles titles, reached her maiden singles final, while also breaking into the Top 100 ranking for the first time.
Career Highlights
- Won the doubles title with Jil Teichmann at the 2023 Transylvania Open
- Reached first career WTA Final at Rothesay Open Nottingham in 2023
- Won the W100 Dubai singles trophy in 2024
Besides tennis, Burrage is known to be an avid golfer. She has played since 2019, but had to stop temporarily due to an injury.
🎾 Heather Watson
Born in Guernsey, Watson started playing tennis at the age of 7 and has multiple titles throughout her junior career, such as the British Under-14 Championship (2006) and British Under-16 Championship (2007), and a gold medal for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in India. She is an accomplished singles and doubles player, having reached peak rankings of Top 40 for both categories.
Career Highlights
- Won her first WTA Tour singles title at the Japan Women's Open in 2012
- Mixed doubles Wimbledon champion with Henri Kontinen in 2016
Watson is the first British female tennis player to make 4 Olympic appearances from 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.
🎾 Harriet Dart
Born and bred in London, Harriet Dart naturally learned tennis after being influenced by her parents, who were avid tennis players at their local club, Cumberland LTC. She grew up watching Maria Sharapova and consistently improved until she established herself as a prominent competitor on the international circuit through WTA tournaments. In 2022, she broke into the top 100 in the world for the first time.
Career Highlights
- Reached Round 3 in 2019 and 2024 for Wimbledon for women's singles
- Won first runner-up in 2021 for Wimbledon in mixed doubles with Joe Salisbury
- Won the 2023 LTA Tennis Awards for Female Player of The Year
Harriet once paired with Venus Williams through a wildcard for a doubles game during a Birmingham tournament.
🎾 Amarni Banks
Armani Banks started playing tennis at the age of three and dedicated many years of training in the Bolton area, and later in Spain (Alicante & Barcelona), to improve her skills to play on outdoor clay surface courts.
Career Highlights
- Won her first pro title at the W35 2024 title in Traralgon, Australia, against Naho Sato
- Runner-up for the 2023 GB Pro-Series Shrewsbury
- Reached the final qualifying round of Wimbledon 2024
Armani is a recipient of the LTA Pro Scholarship Programme, which supports promising players from 16 to 21 to reach the Top 100 singles within 5 years.
🎾 Lily Miyazaki
Lily Miyazaki is known for her multinational background, as she and her family travel across the globe from Japan, Switzerland and London, where they eventually settled down permanently. She took up tennis while she was in Switzerland and started playing in many junior tournaments, being inspired by her favourite tennis player, Roger Federer.
Career Highlights
- Won the $60k ITF title in Glasgow, beating fellow British compatriot, Heather Watson in October 2022
- She has since debuted in several Grand Slam competitions, including the 2023 US Open and 2025 Wimbledon, reaching the second round.
She has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and a master's degree in information technology management.
🎾 Mingge Xu
Born in Swansea, Wales, Mingge is an uprising tennis player who is currently the 10th-ranked female British tennis player. She showed promising results as a junior player in both singles and doubles tournaments.
Career Highlights
- Became the LTA Under-18 Junior National Champion in 2022
- Became the first Welsh female player since 2005 to play in Wimbledon
- Though not currently ranked in the Top 100 for female tennis, she has shown her potential to be one of the best players by upsetting several high-ranked players.
Migge recently beat world No. 52 Alycia Parks at the Birmingham WTA 125 event.
She also won against win against world no 96 Katie Volynets during the Nottingham Open.
🏅Historic English Female Tennis Players
While there are some exciting young British women's tennis players at the moment, history has produced some true greats whom they will look to emulate.
👑 Lottie Dod
Lottie Dod was an incredible figure in the history of tennis. Although she is not as well-known as some of the players from the Grand Slam era, she left an indelible mark on the sport through her remarkable achievements and pioneering efforts.
Born in 1871, Dod emerged as a tennis prodigy in the late 19th century. Despite her young age, she showed exceptional tennis skills and was beating players twice her age.
Dod's breakthrough came in 1887 when, at the age of 15, she became the youngest Wimbledon champion in history, a record that remains unbroken. Her dominance continued, and she went on to win a total of five Wimbledon titles in singles, an extraordinary feat for any athlete.
👑 Charlotte Cooper Sterry
Charlotte Cooper Sterry was a pioneering figure in the world of tennis and a trailblazer for women athletes. Born in 1870, she became the first female Olympic champion in tennis at the 1900 Paris Olympics.
Her victory at the Olympics was just one of many milestones in her illustrious career. Cooper Sterry also achieved great success in Wimbledon, where she won the singles title a total of five times, with her first win in 1895.
👑Sue Barker
Sue Barker, a legendary figure in English tennis, is best known to a whole generation for her television appearances and commentary on the game of tennis. It is fair to say she made significant contributions to the sport both on and off the court.
Barker began her professional tennis career in the 1970s and quickly established herself as a very successful player. She won 15 singles titles, most impressively winning the French Open in 1976.
After retiring from professional tennis, Barker transitioned into a successful career as a television presenter and commentator. Her insightful analysis and deep knowledge of the game have made her a beloved and respected voice in the tennis world.
👑Virginia Wade
The best female British tennis player? Quite possibly. Virginia Wade is a legendary player who made significant contributions to the sport and enjoyed a remarkable career spanning over two decades. She achieved her greatest triumph in 1977 when she won the Wimbledon singles title, becoming the last British player to accomplish this feat until Andy Murray's victory in 2013.
Widely regarded as a fantastic server and skilled player, her career highlights include a total of three Grand Slam singles titles and four Grand Slam doubles titles with her partner, Margaret Court.
Grand Slam Singles Titles
- US Open: 1968
- Australian Open: 1972
- Wimbledon: 1977
Grand Slam Double Titles
- Australian Open: 1973
- French Open: 1973
- US Open: 1973, 1975
With a total of 55 tournament wins throughout her career, it is hard to argue with claims that she is the greatest of all time when it comes to British female tennis players.
🔥 Enhance Your Tennis Skills With Superprof
Now that you have reviewed the above list of the best British female tennis players, you'll probably feel inspired to either kickstart your tennis learning journey or pick up this sport again with a private tennis tutor.
A good way to ensure an enjoyable and effective learning experience is to personalise your learning journey according to your learning pace and goals. At Superprof, you can learn the fundamental tennis playing techniques and also strengthen your understanding of the game with the help of an experienced tennis tutor. One-to-one tutoring can help you build confidence and competence consistently, as you can focus solely without any interruptions or having to wait for others.
Not only that, having an experienced tennis tutor can help you prevent unnecessary injuries when you're starting to play tennis. You'll learn the right way to hold the racket and have a better estimation of the momentum of the ball as you play on different surfaces, too. If you are in Manchester, consider trying tennis lessons near me.
Just head to the Superprof homepage, indicate your current city and subject to start browsing various tennis tutors' profiles who offer their services in the UK. You'll not regret it! No matter where you are in the United Kingdom, you can also check out tennis lessons near me.
Tennis is a battle of the minds, just as much as it is a battle of playing ability. Trying to expose your opponent's weaknesses is one of the most vital and fascinating facets of tennis.
Sue Baker
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We have had so few stars on a world stage due to very poor coaching along with poor athletes among the ladies. It just looks like they are often not trying!
Ann Jones , Christine Truman and Angela Mortimer were all world class who achieved grand slam titles and were ranked highly in the world rankings. Jones in particular would be equal to Wade in her achievements.