WITH no live tennis on currently due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Draft Central will take a look back at some of the best players of past and present and rank them based on a specific set of guidelines. In our next Top 10 countdown, we look at the Top 10 WTA Players to never have won a Grand Slam title, with an attacking American with a huge Wimbledon run coming in at number nine.

#9 Zina Garrison (857 matches – 68.5% winning record, 14 career titles, #4 career-high ranking)

A one-time finalist at Wimbledon comes in at number nine in our countdown with Garrison reaching world number four six months earlier. Along with her finals run at Wimbledon, the American reached a further four semis and reached the final four in three of the Grand Slams. Garrison was always a highly touted junior, wining the Under 18s National Girls title at 14 and then claimed both the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles.

A year later in 1982, Garrison turned professional and within two years she won her first title age 21 at the European Indoors. The American went back-to-back a year later, and by the end of the decade, had nine titles, predominantly across the United States. She also won a bronze medal at the Olympics and teamed up with compatriot Pam Shriver to claim gold in the doubles at the same Games in Seoul, 1988. If anyone doubted how good Garrison was at her peak, her run at the 1990 Wimbledon was remarkable. She knocked off French Open champion Monica Seles and world number one Steffi Graf back-to-back to reach the final, with her defeat of the German being the first time in 13 consecutive Grand Slams where her opponent had not reached the final. Unfortunately for Garrison, she lost to Martina Navratilova in the final.

This would be a regular occurrence for Garrison who faced Navratilova in 11 finals and lost them all – half of her total losing finals (22). It did not stop her claiming a total of 14 titles in her career however, and she did win three Grand Slams in the mixed doubles. The American eventually retired in 1996, and will be remembered for her attacking style with a dominant slice backhand and ability to hit powerful volleys.

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Top 10 WTA Players without a Grand Slam title:

#10 Manuela Maleeva (Bulgaria/Switzerland)
#9 Zina Garrison (USA)