The Open Era
Czechoslovakia and United States · born Prague, 1956 · left-handed · nine times Wimbledon singles champion
All playersBack to the rankings
9
Wimbledon singles titles, 1978 to 1990
20
Wimbledon titles across singles, doubles and mixed
120-14
Wimbledon singles match record
12
Wimbledon singles finals, nine in a row
305
Grass court match wins, a record
Born Martina Šubertová in Prague in 1956, Navratilova took her stepfather's surname and won the Czechoslovak national title at 15. After losing to Chris Evert in the 1975 US Open semi-final she asked to defect to the United States, and she became a US citizen in 1981. She won 18 major singles titles, nine of them at Wimbledon, plus 31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed: 59 in all. Her 167 singles and 177 doubles titles are Open Era records. She spent 332 weeks at No. 1, went 86-1 in 1983 and won 74 matches in a row before Helena Suková stopped her at the 1984 Australian Open. She left singles in 1994, returned for doubles in 2000 and won her last major, the 2006 US Open mixed, about a month before her 50th birthday.
| Major singles titles | 12: Wimbledon (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990); Australian (1981, 1983, 1985) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 6: Wimbledon 1988, Wimbledon 1989, Wimbledon 1994, Australian 1975, Australian 1982, Australian 1987 |
| Other grass singles titles | 20: Eastbourne 11 (1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993); Sydney 4 (1976, 1982, 1984, 1985); Birmingham 2 (1989, 1991); Brisbane (1985); Newport (1984); Scottish Championships (1977) |
| Major doubles titles | 13 doubles (Wimbledon 7, Australian 6), 4 mixed (Wimbledon 4) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 13: Eastbourne 6 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986); Sydney 3 (1976, 1981, 1982); Brisbane 2 (1984, 1985); Birmingham (1993); Perth (1974) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1976 with Chris Evert; 1979 with Billie Jean King; 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986 with Pam Shriver |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1985 with Paul McNamee; 1993 with Mark Woodforde; 1995 with Jonathan Stark; 2003 with Leander Paes |
| Australian doubles on grass | 1980 with Betsy Nagelsen; 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987 with Pam Shriver |
| Wimbledon singles record | 120 wins and 14 losses; 12 finals, including nine in a row from 1982 to 1990 |
| Finals to remember | 1978: beat Chris Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 for her first title. 1990: beat Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1 for a ninth, one more than Helen Wills Moody |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Women's doubles | with Chris Evert |
| 1978 | Women's singles | |
| 1979 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1979 | Women's singles | |
| 1981 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's singles | |
| 1983 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1983 | Women's singles | |
| 1984 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1984 | Women's singles | |
| 1985 | Mixed doubles | with Paul McNamee |
| 1985 | Women's singles | |
| 1986 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1986 | Women's singles | |
| 1987 | Women's singles | |
| 1990 | Women's singles | |
| 1993 | Mixed doubles | with Mark Woodforde |
| 1995 | Mixed doubles | with Jonathan Stark |
| 2003 | Mixed doubles | with Leander Paes |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1978 | Women's singles†| |
| 1981 | Women's doubles†| with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's singles | |
| 1983 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1983 | Women's singles | |
| 1984 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1984 | Women's singles | |
| 1985 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1985 | Women's singles | |
| 1986 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1986 | Women's singles | |
| 1988 | Women's singles | |
| 1989 | Women's singles | |
| 1990 | Women's singles | |
| 1991 | Women's singles | |
| 1993 | Women's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1980 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Betsy Nagelsen |
| 1981 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1982 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1983 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1983 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1984 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1985 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1985 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1987 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Pam Shriver |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1981 | Women's doubles†New South Wales Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's doubles New South Wales Open | with Pam Shriver |
| 1982 | Women's singles New South Wales Open | |
| 1984 | Women's singles New South Wales Open | |
| 1985 | Women's singles New South Wales Open | |
| National Panasonic Open | ||
| 1984 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1985 | Women's doubles | with Pam Shriver |
| 1985 | Women's singles | |
| Birmingham | ||
| 1989 | Women's singles | |
| 1991 | Women's singles | |
| 1993 | Women's doubles | with Lori McNeil |
| Colgate International (Sydney) | ||
| 1976 | Women's doubles†| with Betty Stöve |
| 1976 | Women's singles†| |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1984 | Women's singles Virginia Slims of Newport | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"The greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who ever lived."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1973
Her entry for Queen's never arrived because of an Italian postal strike, so she spent a week practising at a local London club. On Court One in the first round she met Christine Truman Janes, a 1961 finalist she took to be about 40. Her tight Fred Perry dress itched and left her short of breath, and she never wore it again.
Source: TennisheadForest Hills 1975
After losing to Chris Evert in the US Open semi-final, the 18-year-old went to the immigration offices in New York and said she wished to defect from Czechoslovakia. She had a green card within a month. Czechoslovakia stripped her of her citizenship; she became American in 1981 and took Czech citizenship again in 2008.
Source: WikipediaAmelia Island 1981
Evert beat her 6-0, 6-0 in the final on clay, the only time Navratilova lost a professional match without winning a game. She went to work with the basketball player Nancy Lieberman on fitness and on hardening her approach to matches. Three years later she beat Evert 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the same event.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1990
She beat Zina Garrison in an hour and 15 minutes for a ninth singles title, then climbed up to her players' box to hug her coach Craig Kardon and Billie Jean King, who had worked with her on the mental side of the game. "This tops it all," she said. Garrison said Navratilova believed it was her court.
Source: TennisheadWimbledon 1994
At 37 she reached a 12th singles final and lost to Conchita MartÃnez 4-6, 6-3, 3-6. Before leaving Centre Court she plucked a blade of grass for her memory book. People still remember it, she said years later, and she still has it.
Source: TennisheadWimbledon 2004
Ten years after her last full singles season, and criticised for taking a wild card, she beat Catalina Castaño 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. At 47 years and eight months she became the oldest player to win a professional singles match in the Open Era. Gisela Dulko beat her in three sets in the next round.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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