Oldest player to win a first Grand Slam singles title (female)

Flavia Pennetta (Italy, b. 25 February 1982) was 33 years 199 days old when she won the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York on 11 September 2015. Pennetta, who announced her retirement after the match, won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the 49th attempt, beating Marion Bartoli's 47-Slam record.

Pennetta (seeded 26) beat fellow Italian Roberta Vinci (seeded 43) in the final, winning in straight sets, 7–6, 6–2. Her prize money was $3.3 million (£2.1 million).

She was only the second Italian woman – after 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone – to win a Grand Slam singles title in the open era (since 1968).

Pennetta rose to No.8 in the world rankings after winning the title at Flushing Meadows and retired after competing at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Singapore (25 October–1 November 2015), where the final match of her career was a 7–5, 6–1 group-stage defeat to Maria Sharapova on 29 October.

Her career achievements include 11 WTA singles titles, 17 WTA doubles titles and four Fed Cup wins as part of the Italian team.

Pennetta competed in her first Grand Slam tournament in Australia in 2003. Before securing her maiden Slam at the 49th time of asking, she reached the US Open quarter-finals five times in seven years between 2008 and 2014, including a semi-final appearance in 2013. She was absent from the 2012 event with a wrist injury.