5 oldest US Open women's singles champions in the Open Era

The US Open held its first women's singles competition in 1887, six years after the inception of the tournament. Athletes belonging to 17 different countries have won the event in its 131-year history, with United States topping the charts.

Molla Mallory is the most successful champion at the US Open Championships of all time, with 8 titles to her name. In the Open Era, Chris Evert and Serena Williams lead the pack with 6 titles apiece.

The US Open was the first Grand Slam to equalize pay among men and women. This happened in 1973, mostly due to the bold activism shown by tennis great Billie Jean King who threatened to boycott the tournament if pay parity wasn't brought about. The US Open also offers the highest prize-money among all the Grand Slams.

Here, we focus our attention on the five oldest US Open women's champions in the Open Era:

#5 Billie Jean King (1974)

A colossal personality in American tennis, Billie Jean King will always be remembered for the glory that she achieved on court as well as her humanitarian activities off-court.

The winner of 39 Grand Slam trophies including 12 singles, 16 doubles and 11 mixed doubles titles, King pioneered the introduction of equal pay in Grand Slams. Always trying to bridge the gender gap, she has been a vocal advocate of feminism.

King was the second seed at the 1974 US Open after defending champion Margaret Court chose not to defend her title. In the final, King was up against Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the fifth seed.

Goolagong Cawley had beaten Chris Evert in the semis, which was a remarkable feat considering that Evert hadn't lost in her 55 previous semifinals.

Goolagong Cawley took the first set in the final but King won the match to take her 4th US Open crown at the age of 30 years, 279 days.

#4 Martina Navratilova (1987)

Martina Navratilova

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Martina Navratilova played professional tennis till the age of 50. The 'Iron Lady' of tennis, won an all-time record 59 Grand Slam titles across all three categories.

Navratilova came into the 1987 US Open as the defending champion and second seed. Prior to this, she had won the tournament on three different occasions.

Navratilova hadn't dropped a single set en-route to her path to the final. In the final, she faced top seed and teenage sensation Steffi Graf.

Graf was just 18 back then and Navratilova was in her 30s, but that didn't stop the legendary champion from winning her 4th US Open title at the age of 30 years, 330 days.

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#3 Margaret Court (1973)

Margaret Court

It is really no surprise that the most decorated tennis athlete of all time - Margaret Court - makes it to most top 5 or top 10 charts.

No tennis player, barring possibly Serena Williams, has been as dominant as Court was. The Australian won a remarkable 192 singles titles overall.

Court came into the 1973 US Open as a 4-time champion, having already won two US Open crowns in the Open Era. She was the 2nd seed at this edition.

In the semis, Court beat Chris Evert in a tight 3-setter to set up a final clash against compatriot Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Court won the match in 3 sets, at the age of 31 years, 51 days.

#2 Serena Williams (2014)

2014 US Open Champion Serena Williams

Serena Williams has won the most Grand Slam titles among all players - active or retired -after turning 30. She has captured 10 Majors in her 30s, and it seems likely that she will add a few more before calling it quits.

The 2014 US Open saw the top seed and World Number 1 Serena aiming for a hat-trick of wins at the US Open. She was also attempting to equal Chris Evert's Open Era record tally of 6 US Open titles.

It was one of Serena's most dominant displays in a Grand Slam tournament as she won the tournament without dropping a single set, beating Caroline Wozniacki in the final. She was 32 years, 346 days old at the time.

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#1 Flavia Pennetta (2015)

Flavia Pennetta with the 2015 U.S. Open Trophy

The 2015 US Open grabbed a lot of attention, with Serena Williams at the centre of all of it.

The American was attempting to become the oldest ever athlete to complete the Calendar Slam. Having won the previous three Grand Slams of the year in commanding fashion, Serena was expected to breeze past the competition in New York.

However, things didn't go exactly as she would have liked as Italy's Roberta Vinci, against all odds, stunner her in the semifinals.

Another player from Italy was scripting a fairytale story of her own: 26th seed Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta beat the likes of Samantha Stosur, Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep to make the final, which saw two Italian women square off against each other for the very first time in history.

Pennetta won the US Open in her last ever Grand Slam appearance, as she announced her retirement after the completion of the tournament. She became only the second Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title; she did so at the age of 33 years, 199 days, making her the oldest female player to win the US Open.