Allison, Karen and Jean. In that order, not arguably. Jean took herself out of competition, making her ineligible for the top spot. As the saying goes, opinions are like a holes, everyone's got one. 
Who is the best woman player all time
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Finding the best one now is like hitting a moving target...women players are advancing faster than the men now. Johnnyt
Where to begin, Siming Chen is #1 on the WPA womens world list and has maintained that spot for a couple years now. Siming Chen has been #1 woman in the world on the AZBilliards money lists for a few years now. Siming Chen has maintained her fargorate higher than any other woman in the entire world for the past 4 years now. Siming Chen demolishes players like Karen Korr and Alison Fisher, no disrespect but she will eat them for lunch.
Has she been competing with the men? I know Karen has, but I cant recall when I've seen SC playing in an Open event with the men.
Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that one of the requirements for the best woman player HAS to compete with the men, but if their record hasn't born out that they are on par with the others, it would help their case.
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Yes, I cant recall other women who've gone deeper into the Open events with the men than Karen, but I think Allison's record is more robust. And I think Head to Head, Allison has had the upper hand.
Who knows? She lives in China, she may practice drills on her own. She might practice exclusively with men. She may even enter open tournaments in China on a regular basis and beat all the men. Who knows? If she was in the USA we would know more about her, who she could beat etc. As far as her level of play, she would be rated #10 or #11 out of ALL players in the USA male or female.
Wow, if she's that good, I'll look forward to seeing her name in any of the coming world events. I hope she competes in them and shows us what she's made of. I like watching relative unknowns (not necessarily her as an example) compete against our known pros. Fun to watch the pro try to dodge a bullet. LOL.
The best female player of all time is also the best looking female player of all time. Beauty and talent. Just my opinion of course.
I'll second that.
Love the snooker stance.
I have to go with Corr.
I voted for Karen Corr because I think she has won more matches in OPEN tournaments
than any other woman in history.
If somebody has better info, I stand to be corrected.
The best female player of all time is also the best looking female player of all time. Beauty and talent. Just my opinion of course.
Now, by God, we're getting somewhere. :smile:
As others have pointed out, the (type of) games these ladies played should have everything to do with who you might consider the " greatest " of all time...
You simply cannot give a 9ball (only) player that title. Or any game ( only ).
And without going into a deep historical lecture, I'd also like to point out that nobody has mentioned Dorothy Wise, Katherine Haywood, Bertha May King, Martha Clearwater, or even May Kaarlas.
Stick Ga Young Kim on a 10ft carom table with ivory balls and horse blanket cloth and get a good chuckle.
I do realize that we don't have good enough info to make a proper comparison between then and now, nonetheless, certain things can be said with certainty: a champion at 9ball does not an " all time greatest" make.
Greenleaf played 14.1, snooker and 3cushion officially.
Probably played some 9ball and red ball as well, although proof is hard to come by.
How many games does your " all time greatest " excel at?
You simply cannot give a 9ball (only) player that title. Or any game ( only ).
And without going into a deep historical lecture, I'd also like to point out that nobody has mentioned Dorothy Wise, Katherine Haywood, Bertha May King, Martha Clearwater, or even May Kaarlas.
Stick Ga Young Kim on a 10ft carom table with ivory balls and horse blanket cloth and get a good chuckle.
I do realize that we don't have good enough info to make a proper comparison between then and now, nonetheless, certain things can be said with certainty: a champion at 9ball does not an " all time greatest" make.
Greenleaf played 14.1, snooker and 3cushion officially.
Probably played some 9ball and red ball as well, although proof is hard to come by.
How many games does your " all time greatest " excel at?
I doubt you will see Siming competing in the men's world events. She can make as much or more in women's events. Further, even if she's at the level of the 10th best American pro, the 10th best American pro does not have a good chance for a deep run in the world events (and if you don't have a deep run, you're losing money).
I agree with this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Allison came into the USA pool scene in the 90's and dominated from the day she walked into 9ball tournaments. She is passed her prime now, but still plays good.
Nowadays the cloth is fast and the break is more controlled. The smaller Asian girls have mastered their finesse game and taken charge.
!5 years from now there will be different people at the top of the game. That's just life.
I feel like Allison was at the top for a long time and she has my vote.
I know...being just a bit sarcastic, but hopeful. Its such a pity that the women DONT compete in these event. They should just to buck the gender inequality stigma. Karen certainly does go deep for a woman. If what Rhea says is true SC should at least make the quarters, no? Hmmmmmm. I for one would likt to see that. Imagine a US Open woman champion! That might just make her the best woman player in my book.
Has any woman even won a tournament that men competed in?
I hadn't heard about Siming Chen before so I watched one of her match on YT and she can definitely play. Great patterns. good composure, great ball-pocketing skills. She has it all. Definitely the best woman I have seen (haven't seen a lot of them to be fair)
But besides the break, what's the reason a woman has never won a men's tournament(if so)? Pool is not tough physically and I certainly don't think they lack to stroke power to execute any shots that the men do on a regular basis.
I hadn't heard about Siming Chen before so I watched one of her match on YT and she can definitely play. Great patterns. good composure, great ball-pocketing skills. She has it all. Definitely the best woman I have seen (haven't seen a lot of them to be fair)
But besides the break, what's the reason a woman has never won a men's tournament(if so)? Pool is not tough physically and I certainly don't think they lack to stroke power to execute any shots that the men do on a regular basis.
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Jean Balukas already won the U.S. Open before, so it has been done.
At 726, Karen plays at about the same speed as my good friend Rory Hendrickson (729).
Rory just got 2nd in the US Open 8-Ball event, beating some high-level players--Thorston Hohmann, Josh Roberts, Jesse Bowman, Brandon Shuff, etc...-- along the way.
Karen and Rory are capable of beating anybody at any time, and they just might string a couple good matches together at the right time.
But both play quite a bit--more than 40 points-- below the speed of Siming Chen.
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Karen Corr has won 5 Joss Tour events.