Over the years, Wimbledon has hosted some of the best women’s singles finals.
As Italy’s Jasmine Paolini takes on Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon final on Saturday, Sportstar presents five of the most epic showdowns at the grass majors.
Martina Navratilova vs. Steffi Graf (1988)
Navratilova is Wimbledon’s most successful women’s singles player with nine titles in the Open Era. The Czech-born American reached the 1988 final seeking her seventh consecutive title at the coveted Venus Rosewater Dish. At the peak of her career, the then 31-year-old was the favorite to win the title.
Having lost to Navratilova in the 1987 final, Graf, the West German newcomer, was ready for redemption. She took the defending champion’s crown 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 score, a victory that ushered in a new era in women’s singles. Graf would go on to win six more Wimbledon titles.
Steffi Graf vs. Jana Novotna (1993)
“Don’t worry Jana. I know you can do it,” were the Duchess of Kent’s comforting yet prophetic words. Novotna finally won in 1998, but the sight of the Czech crying on the Duchess’s shoulder after fumbling the final set, losing 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4, remains one of Wimbledon’s enduring images.
So the ruthlessness of Graf’s comeback from two breaks down is sometimes forgotten.
Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams (2002)
Before Serena, there was Venus. The latter reached the 2002 final after winning back-to-back championship titles in 2000 and 2001. But Serena was no inexperienced player; she turned professional a year after her sister, but was the first of her siblings to win a Grand Slam (the 1999 Australian Open). In the 2002 Wimbledon final, Serena defeated Venus 7-6(4), 6-3 to win her first Grand Slam title on grass. The siblings ensured a repeat of the 2003 final, in which Venus was again defeated by her sister.
Maria Sharapova vs. Serena Williams (2004)
Over the years, the list of women’s singles finalists and runners-up has remained true to the old adage that “change is the only constant.” After two consecutive titles, it was time for a newcomer to shake up the power structure that Serena had built.
That newcomer was Russia’s Maria Sharapova, who was 17 when she reached her first Grand Slam final. Not giving the American a chance to take the game to a third set, the teenage prodigy defeated the experienced professional 6-1, 6-4.
This would be Sharapova’s only Wimbledon singles title, but the Russian would later face Czech Petra Kvitova in the 2011 final, which the Czech comfortably won.
Venus Williams vs. Lindsey Davenport (2005)
Venus defeated top-seeded Davenport 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7 to win her third Wimbledon singles title after losing in the 10th round. She avoided a match point on serve in the deciding set and played more courageous tennis in the points and games that followed, ending a nearly four-year drought.