With so many great players throughout the history of tennis, it will always be open to debate who is the best of the lot. On the men’s tour there are obvious modern stand-outs in Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, while Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf are their female equivalents.

But it may come as a surprise to learn that you probably haven't even heard of perhaps the greatest player of all time.

Born in Holland in 1981, Esther Vergeer has claimed more than 120 singles titles and more than 100 in the doubles game. And, perhaps even more impressively, she has completed a career slam in both singles and doubles.

'After playing basketball for several years at club level, she joined the Dutch national team that won the European Championships in 1997'


And the reason you haven't heard of her? Esther Vergeer is in a wheelchair.

When she was just eight years old, Vergeer underwent extensive surgery to remove haemorrhaging blood vessels around her spinal cord which left her unable to walk. Over the following years she learned to play basketball, volleyball and tennis. After playing basketball for several years at club level, she joined the Dutch national team that won the European Championships in 1997.

It was a year later that she turned to tennis full time. In 1998 she won her first major title at the US Open - and she hasn't looked back since.

Some find it spectacular that players like Federer and Graf held the No.1 ranking for so long - but Vergeer has gone beyond even their accomplishments. She has held the position since 1999. On top of that, she has topped the ranking charts in doubles.

Her record of titles even outstrips that of Navratilova. She has so far racked up an incredible 27 victories at the four Grand Slam events compared to Navratilova's 18 - and that's just in singles. Add another 25 in doubles and you begin to see just how dominant Vergeer is.

She has a simply staggering winning record of 516-25 in career singles matches.

But her domination doesn't stop there. Between August 2004 and October 2006 she didn't drop a single set - and only once was she stretched to a tie-break. She is currently on a 311-game winning streak.

Oh, and let's not forget her flawless Olympic record. In 2000 and 2004, she took gold in both the singles and doubles events.

It is fair to say Esther Vergeer has perfected the game like no other.

If total dominance on every surface, ranking No.1 in the world for more than eight years, and completing career slams isn’t the definition of a great player, then what is?