By Raymond Lee | @TennisNow | Wednesday, June 26, 2024

 

Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova are three of the greatest grass-court champions in history; historian Raymond Lee asserts one of them is grass GOAT.

Photo credit: Adam Pretty/Getty

Wimbledon starts on Monday, July 1st.

To celebrate The Championships, we're honoring the Greatest Women Grass-Court Champions of all time.

Evert on WTA-Saudi Alliance: No Judgment, Real Questions

In an effort to examine all the great grass-court champions, we're spotlighting both Pre-Open and Open Era champions in our list.

Prior to Roland Garros, we published The Greatest Women Clay-Court Champions of all time. Check out my picks for that list here.

The Greatest Women's Grass-Court Champions of All Time

Suzanne Lenglen

Of course I’m going to start with the legendary Suzanne Lenglen.

Lenglen won five Wimbledon titles and still holds the record for fewest games lost at Wimbledon with a ridiculous number of five games lost in five matches. Lenglen lost only three matches in her career on grass but you could argue that she only lost one match since she had to withdraw from Wimbledon in 1924 due to illness and she also withdrew from Wimbledon in 1926 due to a mix-up with the scheduling.

Even the one she lost was ridiculous because she traveled from France to New York to play the United States Nationals, which reduced practice time. She then played the excellent United States player Molla Mallory and had to retire after feeling ill during the match. Lenglen was later examined by a doctor and told to rest for several months.



A healthy Lenglen played Mallory in the Wimbledon final in 1922 and annihilated her by a score of 6-2 6-0.

The match only lasted 23 minutes or 26 minutes depending on the source. And you thought some of Iga Swiatek's matches were fast! 




Helen Wills

Helen Wills historically has been ranked up there with Suzanne Lenglen as the GOAT of pre-Open Era women's tennis.

Wills won 19 majors out of 24 played but she actually won 19 out of 22 majors that she was able to complete. Wills had an appendectomy after the second round of the French Championships in 1926 and since she was entered at Wimbledon shortly afterwards, had to default the first round there also.

So while she did not win those tournaments in 1926, she did not lose it on the tennis court.



Of the 19 majors Wills won, 15 of them were on grass with 8 Wimbledons and 7 US Nationasl. Wills was 55-1 at Wimbledon and 51-2 at the US Nationals for a combined 106-3 record. Not bad!

Wills was known for her powerful groundstrokes, especially her forehand. Her serve was excellent and she was known for having a very strong slice serve. 

Alice Marble

Alice Marble was perhaps the prototype of the serve and volleyers that would follow for Women in the future. Marble used to be, as she called it a mascot for the baseball team San Francisco Seals in the 1920s. She learned how to play baseball and how to throw.

At age 13 Alice won a throwing contest over a group of 20 Women, which included one of the great female athletes of all-time Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Marble threw the ball from centerfield into the stands and won the contest.



Some had joked at the time that the 13-year-old Marble had a superior arm to many of the male players!

I mention this story to show that Marble had the strength, even at a young age, to develop a great tennis serve, which she did have later. I have no doubt that Marble would be a fantastic server nowadays with the racquets we currently have. Marble was known for having a great kick serve also.

Marble won 5 grass court majors and I have no doubt she would have won more grass court majors if World War II and illness had not interrupted her career. She is clearly the best combination tennis player and spy that ever played. You will understand that comment if you look at the video above.

Maureen Connolly

There have a lot of dominant women players over the years. Very few have been more dominant than Maureen Connolly or "Litte Mo" as she was nicknamed.

Connolly lost the first two majors she played in the second round at the US Nationals in 1949 and 1950. She then proceeded to win the next 9 majors she played in, including the Grand Slam in 1953.



Of those 9 majors, 7 of them were on grass. Connolly was a power baseliner and not particularly tall at about 5’5” tall.

She was getting better and better but unfortunately, she had a horseback riding accident at age 20 that ended her career. In her career Connolly was 145-10 on grass for a percentage of 93.55. 

Margaret Court

Margaret Court, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, is tied with Novak Djokovic for most major singles titles all time. Her record is superb on all surfaces.

Court played at a time that 3 of the 4 majors were played on grass so it of course stands to reason that she holds the record for Women and Men for most grass court majors won with 19. The grass court majors break down with 11 Australian titles, 5 U.S. titles and 3 Wimbledon championships. Court was a powerful serve-and-volleyer on grass with good groundstrokes. Her forehand was generally flat and her backhand was a consistent slice which was great for approach shots on grass. She moved extremely well and was able to retrieve shots that most players could not get.



Court was a tremendous volleyer and had a great overhead. Her serve was excellent. Court won about 92.5% of her matches on grass.

Billie Jean King

An equal rights and civil rights warrior, Billie Jean King is perhaps best known one of the Original 9 pioneers, who formed the women’s Tour in the 1970s.

While King is a larger than life figure she was not as tall as a number of players, standing 5’5” tall.

To this day, Billie Jean King's backhand volley is widely regarded as one of the best in the history of the sport. She was a great serve and volley with perhaps the best volley in the game. Her serve was excellent and her second serve was very strong. The King backhand was her best groundstroke. It was extremely versatile.



Even in the old days with the tiny and heavy wood racquets, King could come over the ball and hit topspin on the backhand side, which is something many players could not do in those days due to those racquets. King won 11 grass court majors out of the 12 majors she won. This breaks down to 1 Australian Championship, 6 Wimbledons and 4 U.S. championships. King was very quick, had excellent court coverage and closed net with authority. According to some sources, King won 83.6% of her lifetime grass court matches.

Chris Evert

When many of us think of Chrissie Evert we often think about her invincibility on clay bur we often forget how great Evert also was on a grass surface. Evert won 5 majors on grass which breaks down to 3 Wimbledons and 2 Australian Opens.

What isn’t known is how consistent Evert was on a grass surface. For example from 1972 to 1989, only once did she fail to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon!

That was when she lost in the third round to Kathy Jordan in a huge upset in 1983. At the Australian Open Evert entered it 6 times and reached the final each time, winning in 1982 and 1984.



Evert’s lifetime winning percentage on grass was 86.5%. Evert was tremendous on all surfaces and underrated on grass.

Martina Navratilova

Unquestionably the greatest lefthanded player ever and possibly the women's GOAT (when you factor in her phenomenal record in singles, doubles and mixed doubles), Navratilova’s serve-and-volley game was ideal for grass. 

Navratilova always had a nice backhand slice for approach shots on grass but she later developed a strong topspin backhand. Navratilova was of course strong on all surfaces but she made her reputation on grass courts. Martina won 12 grass-court majors, with 3 Australian Opens on grass and 9 Wimbledon championships.

Her first breakthrough in a major was appropriately enough, at Wimbledon in 1978 where she defeated her archrival Chris Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

In the semifinals that year Navratilova defeated the great Evonne Goolagong in 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for any player to defeat Goolagong and Evert in consecutive rounds, especially after losing the first set 6-2.

The next year 1979, as the top seed, Navratilova won Wimbledon again, with less drama over Evert again 6-4 6-4. Navratilova and Evert were the greatest rivalry of the Open Era, meeting about 80 times over their careers. Some new sources now have it as over 80 matches with Navratilova having a slight edge.

In 1982 Navratilova moved up to another level and from 1982 to 1986 she won 427 and only lost 14 matches. Quite often it was not a question of beating Navratilova but a question of how long an opponent can last against her.

During those years Navratilova was 109-2 on grass. She won Wimbledon every year during that time span, losing only at the Australian Open in 1982 and 1984 on grass. The Wimbledon streak lasted up to 1987.

Only Chris Evert and Helena Sokova were in the 1982 Australian final and the 1984 Australian semifinal respectively. After losing to Steffi Graf in the 1988 and 1989 finals, Navratilova won her last Wimbledon in 1990 over Zina Garrison. I recall the magazine Sports Illustrated had Navratilova on the cover and titled it Wonder Woman.

Martina Navratilova certainly was that and more. Martina Navratilova won 32 titles on grass with a 307-40 record for 88.47%.



To refresh your memory, take a look at Navratilova defeating Chris Evert in the 1978 Wimbledon final. 

Steffi Graf

Arguably the greatest pure athlete in women's tennis history, Steffi Graf had it all and knew how to use her wondrous weapons.

Graf's footwork and mobility were unparalleled. She had great power that she could call on with any shot. Her serve was excellent and she had a very good volley.

Graf was a power baseliner who used her super footwork to run around her excellent backhand to hit her forehand often. This was not just an ordinary forehand.

In my opinion, and the opinion of many of her opponents, Steffi Graf owned the greatest forehand in women's tennis history.  Her formidable forehand earned her the nickname Fraulein Forehand from fellow Hall of Famer Bud Collins.

Graf had a topspin backhand but generally in groundstroke rallies she tended to slice the ball back. This was perfect for grass and Graf moved very well on a grass surface. Graf was the one who finally dethroned Martina Navratilova in 1988, the year of Graf’s calendar Golden Grand Slam. Graf lost the first set 5-7 and trailed 0-2 in the second set.

It looked like Navratilova may win Wimbledon again for the 7 th consecutive time. But then Graf went into overdrive. She was driving her backhand return back with unbelievable fury. Graf won 12 on the next 13 games against a woman who many believe is the GOAT, but then again, many believe Graf is the GOAT!

Graf won the second and third sets 6-2 6-1 to win her first of 7 Wimbledon tournaments! Graf was 74-7 at Wimbledon for a 91.36%.

There weren’t too many grass tournaments during the time Graf played so all the grass court tournaments she won were Wimbledon titles.



Here's Steffi Graf against Gabriela Sabatini in the 1991 Wimbledon final.

Venus Williams

It is incredible that our sport has had two sisters of the quality and longevity of Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

Venus is a player with fantastic mobility and excellent power. Her first serve has been timed in the mid 120 mph range.

Venus moves extremely well on grass and though she's one of the tallest players on our list, notice how well Venus used her legs to get in position on the low ball.

Playing some of her most dynamic tennis at SW19, Venus has raised the Rosewater Dish five times at Wimbledon in her esteemed career. All the Wimbledon titles that she won were in a span of 9 years from 2000 to 2008. Venus was also in 2 Wimbledon finals, losing to Serena Williams in 2002 and 2003.

In this period of time, Venus was 43-4 for a percentage of 91.49!

For her career Venus is 98-26 for a percentage of 79.03. All her grass court titles were at Wimbledon.



Remember, Venus Williams won what many regard as the greatest and most dramatic Wimbledon ladies' finals in Open Era history.

Here's Venus saving a championship point defeating Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Wimbledon final that was the longest-ever Wimbledon women's final at two hours, 45 minutes. Venus became the first woman since Helen Wills in 1935 to win Wimbledon after saving championship point.

Serena Williams

An iconic champion, Serena Williams is one of the most explosive and dominant players on our list.

Serena has won 23 major tournaments in her career, which is one behind Margaret Court on the all-time list.

Serena Williams' best span of grass court play was from 2009 to 2016 when she was 50-4 for a percentage of 92.59.

The former world No. 1 won Wimbledon 5 times during this period and 6 grass tournaments in all during this span. For her career Serena has a 107-16 record on grass with 8 tournaments won.

This is a winning percentage of 86.99. During her prime, Serena rarely played a grass-court tune-up tournament before Wimbledon, preferring to practice on hard courts.

Serena, like her sister, has tremendous mobility on all surfaces. Her first serve is widely regarded as the greatest serve in history and her second serve is among the greatest second serves the sport has seen.

Serena owns point-ending power off both sides and is capable of going on streaks where the opponents seems helpless against the barrage and shot-making storm Serena unleashes.



Here’s Serena playing Elena Dementieva in the 2009 Wimbledon semifinal. Serena went on to win the tournament over Venus Williams 7-6 6-2.

Conclusion

So who is the greatest women's grass-court champion of all time?

Well, it seems to me that a no brainer for being in the Top Tier is of course Suzanne Lenglen, who was virtually unbeatable on any surface. Helen Wills was unbeatable for years and I suppose had to be there if you just look at her accomplishments, but we are also looking at peak level.

I am of the opinion that when Alice Marble was healthy, she may very well have been better than Wills on grass. Great mobility, huge serve and a great volley.

Ellsworth Vines, who saw Navratilova at her peak, thought that while Marble might not win the majority of her matches against Navratilova, she would win her share!

That say a lot for Marble’s strength on a grass court or any surface for that matter.

I would have to write Margaret Court, with 19 majors on grass and a 92.5% won rate has to be there among the very best on lawn.

Of course Serena Williams and Venus Williams, who played a wide variety of opponents and imposed their games on many, are absolutely Tier 1 grass-court champions as is of course Steffi Graf.

Billie Jean King was of course a super top level grass court player with excellent versatility.

In my view: Serena, Venus and Steffi at their top levels were absolutely astonishing and those three champions could beat anyone on their very best day.

That said, my choice for the greatest woman grass-court champion of all time is the Incredible Martina Navratilova with 9 Wimbledon and 12 grass court majors.

During her peak grass court period from 1982 to 1990 Martina Navratilova was 168-6 for a percentage of 96.55%. She won Wimbledon 7 times and the Australian Open on grass twice for 9 grass court majors during this time.

At her peak, Navratilova was just a force of nature on a grass court.

Yes, I've debated many who believe both Serena and Venus, on their best day, would prevail because they owned knock-out power on both forehand and backhand and theoretically could hammer the Navratilova one-handed backhand.

You can make that case, but I would counter than Navratilova's variety, her ability to slice, change the pace, change the height of her shots and, importantly, finish at net would give her the edge over prime Venus and prime Serena. Though you can argue the Williams sisters are more powerful, Navratilova is an all-court player with more variety and better net skills, which gives her the edge, in my view.

You may recall when Italian Roberta Vinci used her one-handed slice backhand masterfully shocking Serena at the US Open to end her quest for the calendar Grand Slam. Martina Navratilova's all-court skills, vast versatility and her tremendous front-court skills make her my choice as Greatest Woman Grass-Court Champion of all time.

Seemingly unstoppable at her best, Martina Navratilova is the greatest women grass-court champion of all time.

Honorable Mentions

Maria Bueno could have easily been on the first list. Others would be Doris Hart, Louise Bough, Pauline Betz, Althea Gibson, Evonne Goolagong, Hana Mandlikova and Virginia Wade.

Here’s Goolagong’s win over Chris Evert in the 1980 Wimbledon final. Goolagong was just so smooth in her movement on a tennis court. The Goolagong-Evert rivalry is often forgotten because of the Evert-Navratilova rivalry but it was fabulous. The rallies generally were of the highest level.



That's our list, who did we miss?

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Raymond Lee is a Tennis Now contributing writer, tennis historian and avid tennis player who lives in New York. He has written about professional tennis for decades serving as a contributing writer for Tennis Week Magazine and TennisWeek.com before joining Tennis Now.

Check out Raymond Lee's Articles: Star Turns: Top Tournament Performances in Tennis History, One for One: Who is the GOAT for One Match? Celebrating 50th Anniversary of John Newcombe's 1973 US Open Win, Why Novak Djokovic Can Win 30 Slams and Holy Grail: Why Winning the Calendar Grand Slam is Toughest Task in Sport.