Navratilova won her first Major title at Wimbledon in 1978, winning her last 12 years later at the same venue.
Jul 1990: Martina Navratilova of the USA holds up the winners” plate after winning the Wimbledon Championships played at Wimbledon, London, England. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport
Her longevity was perhaps even more impressive in doubles and mixed doubles, winning her first and last titles 32 years apart.
Such brilliance fairly saw Navratilova considered by many to be the greatest WTA player of all time, although some suggested Germany’s Steffi Graf deserved the nod.
Back in 2009, Navratilova had her say, as she revealed who she considered to be the best to ever play the game of tennis.
Martina Navratilova said it ‘would be hard to say no’ when asked if she was the greatest of all time in 2009
Speaking to the Tennis Channel 16 years ago, Navratilova gave her honest opinion on who the greatest women’s tennis player of all time was.
“Am I the greatest player that ever played the game?” she asked.
“It would be hard to say no.
“I feel like at my best I was better than anybody else that I played against because my game was more complete, I prepared better than anybody, I knew what to do, and I had the ability to do it, I was as fast as anybody, as strong as anybody and I had more shots, and I was a better athlete than everybody.
“Overall, the body of work speaks for itself, the records, a lot of them happened because I played for a long time, but the quality as well as the quantity, the combination.
“The Grand Slams, yes, Steffi Graf won more Grand Slams, but in my day, the Grand Slams were not as important.”
