Martina Navratilova: Wimbledon's most successful female champion

Wimbledon is the world’s oldest tennis tournament and naturally, it has seen many winners over the years.

Since the womens’ singles started in 1884, more than 100 players have lifted the famous Venus Rosewater Dish, following impressive undefeated runs on the grass courts.

But despite the many winners over the years, no one has won more titles at the All England Club than Martina Navratilova.

The Prague-born tennis legend, regarded as one of the best players to ever grace the court, boasts an unrivalled nine Wimbledon titles.

Her legacy — including six consecutive title wins across 1982—1987 — surpassed Helen Wills’ previous record of eight.

Navratilova’s impressive Wimbledon trophy tally adds to her 59 major titles — the most won by a single player in the Open Era.

Succeeding at Wimbledon is something that came extremely naturally to Navratilova right from the off. After initially representing Czechoslovakia, she adopted the US flag to compete under before gaining American citizenship.

From a young age, Navratilova enjoyed success on the grass surface in both the singles and doubles tournaments.

After striking up a partnership with Chris Evert, the duo won the French Open in 1975, followed by Wimbledon the next year.

However, their success as a partnership soon turned to a competitive rivalry in the singles game and Navratilova found herself repeatedly on top.

In 1978, she won her first ever Grand Slam singles title after defeating Evert at Wimbledon. A thrilling three-set final set the Czech star up for an historic career on the grass, one that to this day, has not been matched.

Navratilova retained her title in 1979 after a straight set win — once again over Evert — and captured the world number one status for