From a roll of honour spanning 32 years, 15 candidate matches and a plethora of conflicting views, the WTA Tour is aiming to find the greatest match in women's tennis.

Unveiling the project at the U.S. Open on Friday, officials said fans and international media were invited to vote for what they thought encapsulated the best in the women's game in the Open era.

"The most difficult part was trying to select the (first) 15 matches," WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said in a statement.

"It will be a great way to recognise some of the wonderful matches and reflect on the remarkable battles."

The 15 candidate matches, from which one will be voted the greatest, were selected by the WTA.

The earliest is Margaret Court's 14-12, 11-9 victory over Billie Jean King in the 1970 Wimbledon, and the list culminates in Jennifer Capriati's comeback 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 win over Martina Hingis in the 2002 Australian Open.

In between, Tracy Austin's 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 triumph over Martina Navratilova in the 1981 U.S. Open final is included, and the pair were back at Flushing Meadows on Friday to promote the project.

"If you look at these 15 matches, there's always a contrast in something -- personalities, looks, styles, cultures, ages," Navratilova said.

Voting will close on October 27 and the winner revealed during the WTA Tour championships in Los Angeles from November 3.