The last WTA player to win her maiden Grand Slam title was Madison Keys, who captured the 2025 Australian Open crown.
Since Keys’ triumph in Melbourne, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have all added to their Grand Slam totals.
Rybakina is the latest to add to her total, defeating Sabalenka to win the 2026 Australian Open title – following on from her triumph at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek… who do you prefer? 🤔
Many talented players on the WTA Tour have the tools to win a major title, yet haven’t been able to do so in their careers so far.
Andy Roddick, who did win a Grand Slam title during his career, has selected the two best WTA players who are yet to win a major title.
Andy Roddick picks Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina as the two best WTA players who haven’t won a Slam
Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina recently contested the Dubai Tennis Championships final, with Pegula emerging victorious, 6-2, 6-4.
The pair also reached the Australian Open semi-finals this year, with Pegula losing to Elena Rybakina and Svitolina falling to defeat against Aryna Sabalenka.
Speaking on the Served podcast, Andy Roddick believes Pegula and Svitolina are the two best WTA players who are yet to win a major title.
“Jess [Pegula] is super clever and smart. She is dialled,” Roddick said.
“Svitolina and Pegula have taken very different routes, but they are like the best players who have not won a Slam. They are both having great years simultaneously.
“I am a massive fan of Jess Pegula. I think she is subtly hilarious. She does not need to turn up the volume on her voice to just cut.”
Pegula’s best performance at a Grand Slam came in 2024, when she reached the US Open final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka, 5-7, 5-7.
How do you rate Jessica Pegula’s chances of ever winning a Grand Slam?
Svitolina has reached four Grand Slam semi-finals in her career without qualifying for the final.
The only major tournament where Svitolina has not reached the semi-finals is the French Open. The Ukrainian has made the quarter-finals six times at the event.
Returning to Pegula, the American recently took on the position as chair of a new WTA council focused on calendar reform.
Andy Roddick says how he feels about Jessica Pegula chairing the WTA council
Last week, the launch of the 13-person Tour Architecture Council was announced by WTA Chair Valerie Camillo.
The council’s goal is to recommend ‘actionable improvements’ that could be put in place as early as the 2027 campaign.
“I have two thoughts,” Roddick said of Pegula’s appointment as chair of the council. “One, this is a great choice. When was the last time you saw Jess Pegula say something stupid or irresponsible?
“And she has to deal with a lot of dumb questions, just based on the fact that her family is successful. She handles that so well. This is a great choice.
“And also it’s a nice position to be in, if you are on the WTA, and you are looking at the schedule, you already end three weeks earlier than the ATP Tour, that’s great!”
On Tuesday, WTA Chair Valerie Camillo announced the launch of the 13-person Tour Architecture Council, whose goal is to recommend “actionable improvements” that could be implemented as early as the 2027 season.
In a letter addressed to players and tournament partners, Camillo [pictured below] said: “It’s important we take a fresh, collaborative look at how to best preserve the high-quality competition that builds value for tournaments and provides an unparalleled experience for fans,”
“Over my first 90 days, there has been a clear sentiment across the Tour that the current calendar does not feel sustainable for players given the physical, professional and personal pressures of competing at the highest level…
“For this reason, today I am establishing the Tour Architecture Council, a representative working group convened by the WTA to develop meaningful improvements to the calendar, commitments and other core elements of the Tour framework.”
The letter was titled ‘A Stronger Framework for Women’s Tennis.’
Other notable players from tennis history who never won a Grand Slam
Dinara Safina, Mary Joe Fernandez and Karolina Pliskova are among the best players in history to have never won a major title.
Fernandez [pictured below] reached three major finals in the early 1990s, and won seven WTA titles; while Safina achieved the world number one ranking and made three Grand Slam finals.
As for Karolina Pliskova, she is still competing on the WTA Tour. The former world number one, now 33 years of age, has made two major finals so far in her career: the 2016 US Open and 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Pliskova was defeated by Angelique Kerber and Ashleigh Barty in those two finals, respectively.
Other notable figures who were unable to overcome the Grand Slam singles hurdle include Jelena Jankovic, Pam Shriver and Helen Sukova.
