Why Martina Navratilova is the Greatest Female Tennis Player Ever

Unlike the, “Greatest male tennis player of all-time” column I just finished, where there were literally three or four players worthy of the top honor, there were only two women I even gave consideration to for the title of the greatest female tennis player of all-time.

One would be my favorite female tennis player ever, Steffi Graf, and the other would be the woman I actually selected as the greatest of all-time, Martina Navratilova. Both were outstanding players in their prime, but for me, the level of competition that Navratilova faced throughout her career was much more formidable than that of Graf’s era. Simply put, there were more great players that Navratilova had to face on a regular basis than Graf – although I must admit that “Fraulein Forehand” was downright intimidating.

At any rate, this column is about Navratilova and why I feel she is the greatest tennis player of all-time – not why I think Graf is number two. Having said that, here’s a look at the incredible career of Martina Navratilova.

The first thing about Navratilova that sticks out in my mind is the fact that, although she turned pro in 1973 at the age of 16 and won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974, it wasn’t until she began to see the importance of physical fitness that her career would really take off.

Navratilova struggled with her weight in the early years of her career and was at one point, inauspiciously labeled the “Great Wide Hope” by the famed tennis journalist and television commentator, Bud Collins.

Once Navratilova decided to change her physical fitness routine, she embarked on a grueling exercise routine that eventually made her extreme levels of fitness and conditioning a hallmark of her game.

Born in 1956 in Czechoslovakia, Navratilova defected to the United States in 1975 and became a U.S. citizen in 1981. During her incredible career she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 40 Grand Slam doubles titles (31 women’s doubles and nine mixed doubles). She also won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times.

After Navratilova finished runner-up at two of the Grand Slams in 1975 – losing in the final of the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong and the French Open to Chris Evert as well as losing to Evert in the semifinals of that year’s U.S. Open, Navratilova won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time.

After turning the proverbial corner, Navratilova beat Evert in the Wimbledon final again to successfully defend her title in 1979 and began a string of winning at least one major for seven out of the next eight seasons.

In 1983, Navratilova went an incredible 86-1. After losing in the fourth round of the first Grand Slam event that year – the French Open – she captured the year’s three remaining Grand Slam titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time) and her winning percentage that year remains the best ever for a professional tennis player, male or female. Incredibly, during the 1982, 1983 and 1984 seasons, Navratilova lost a mind-boggling total of only six singles matches – a feat that may never be duplicated.

When Navratilova won the 1984 French Open and the two successive Grand Slam tournaments that year, (Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) she set a record-equaling run of six consecutive Grand Slams. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year – and seven consecutive. However in the semifinals, Helena SukovÃ?¡ ended a 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) by beating Navratilova 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Navratilova’s winning ways didn’t stop there. In the three years from 1985 to 1987, Navratilova reached the women’s singles final at all 11 Grand Slam tournaments she entered, winning six of them (and extending her run of triumphs at Wimbledon to a record six consecutive).

After nearly two decades of competitive tennis, an aging Navratilova had to face a new threat to her unparalleled dominance, in the form of the young German player, Steffi Graf, who emerged on the scene in 1987 when she beat Navratilova in the final of the French Open.

However, Navratilova proved to everyone that she still had a little bit of gas left in her tank when she beat Graf in the 1987 Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals (and at the U.S. Open became only the third player in the Open Era to win the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the same event).

Two year later, she proved that she still was one of the top players in the world when she and Graf met in the finals of the both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Although Graf won both encounters in three sets, Navratilova’s legacies – and greatness – were firmly established for all-time.

Amazingly, Navratilova was to have one final Grand Slam singles triumph, in 1990. Graf was knocked-out in the Wimbledon semifinals that year by Zina Garrison and in the final, the 33-year old Navratilova blew Garrison away 6-4, 6-1 to claim a record-breaking ninth Wimbledon singles crown. Though that was her last Grand Slam singles title, Navratilova made two further major finals in the years that followed. In 1991, she lost in the U.S. Open final to the new World No. 1, Monica Seles and then, in 1994, at the age of 37, Navratilova reached the Wimbledon final one last time where she lost valiantly in three sets to Conchita Martinez.

If I were to get into all of Navratilova’s other accomplishments as a doubles player, I would probably end up writing this column for another day or two.

However, I can resolutely say that there has never been a female tennis player who has had the longevity – and success – to equal the great Martina Navratilova, which makes her the greatest female tennis player of all-time.

Here are Martina Navratilova’s Grand Slam singles finals victories.

Wins (18)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1978 Wimbledon Christine Marie Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5

1979 Wimbledon Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-4, 6-4

1981 Australian Open Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-7, 6-4, 7-5

1982 French Open Andrea Jaeger 7-6, 6-1

1982 Wimbledon Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-1, 3-6, 6-2

1983 Wimbledon Andrea Jaeger 6-0, 6-3

1983 U.S. Open Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-1, 6-3

1983 Australian Open Kathy Jordan 6-2, 7-6

1984 French Open Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-3, 6-1

1984 Wimbledon Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 7-6, 6-2

1984 U.S. Open Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

1985 Wimbledon Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

1985 Australian Open Christine Marie Evert Lloyd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2

1986 Wimbledon Hana Mandlikov�¡ 7-6, 6-3

1986 U.S. Open Helena Sukov�¡ 6-3, 6-2

1987 Wimbledon Stefanie Maria Graf 7-5, 6-3

1987 U.S. Open Stefanie Maria Graf 7-6, 6-1

1990 Wimbledon Zina Lynna Garrison-Jackson 6-4, 6-1

Here are Navratilova’s doubles championships.
Women’s doubles titles (31)

Year Championship Partner

1975 French Open Christine Marie (Chris) Evert

1976 Wimbledon Christine Marie (Chris) Evert

1977 U.S. Open Betty Stove

1978 U.S. Open Billie Jean Moffitt King

1979 Wimbledon Billie Jean Moffitt King

1980 Australian Open Betsy Nagelsen

1980 U.S. Open Billie Jean Moffitt King

1981 Wimbledon Pamela Howard Shriver

1982 Australian Open Anne Smith

1982 French Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1982 Wimbledon Pamela Howard Shriver

1983 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1983 Wimbledon Pamela Howard Shriver

1983 U.S. Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1984 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1984 French Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1984 Wimbledon Pamela Howard Shriver

1984 U.S. Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1985 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1985 French Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1986 French Open Andrea Temesvari

1986 Wimbledon Pamela Howard Shriver

1986 U.S. Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1987 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1987 French Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1987 U.S. Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1988 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1988 French Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1989 Australian Open Pamela Howard Shriver

1989 U.S. Open Hana Mandlikov�¡

1990 U.S. Open Beatriz Cristina (Gigi) Fernandez

Here are Navratilova’s mixed doubles titles.

Mixed doubles titles (9)
Year Championship Partner
1974 French Open Ivan Molina

1985 French Open Heinz Gunthardt

1985 Wimbledon Paul McNamee

1985 U.S. Open Heinz Gunthardt

1987 U.S. Open Emilio Sanchez

1993 Wimbledon Mark Woodforde

1995 Wimbledon Jonathan Stark

2003 Australian Open Leander Paes

2003 Wimbledon Leander Paes