[twight6]

vote! Remember, this is who you think was the best player of all time, not who you like the best!

[Katha-Ger]

Steffi Graf

[Jujuh]

Originally Posted by ♣Thomas♣

vote! Remember, this is who you think was the best player of all time, not who you like the best!

Justine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Athena]

Originally Posted by ♣Thomas♣

vote! Remember, this is who you think was the best player of all time, not who you like the best!

Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Monica Seles. In terms of stats and numbers..MARTINA NAVRATILOVA.

[GoDominique]

Originally Posted by ♣Thomas♣

vote! Remember, this is who you think was the best player of all time, not who you like the best!

[Mattographer]

Navratilova - over 100 titles at singles and doubles is quite achievement!

[New_balls_please]

Navratilova, followed by: Graf, Seles, Hingis and ASV

[LADIEZ CHAMPION]

Originally Posted by ♣Thomas♣

vote! Remember, this is who you think was the best player of all time, not who you like the best!

Five Major factors to be considered in determining the Greatest Ever/Best of the Best.

For CONSISTENCY ... go with Evert's 13 consecutive years with a Grand Slam singles title.

For BRILLIANCE….go with Seles who already had 8 majors at age 19-winning 55 of her last 56 Grand Slam tournaments prior to the 1993 tragedy. No one had ever broken in like this, on either side of the sport. Not Bjorn Borg or Chris Evert or John McEnroe or anybody.

For LONGEVITY ... go with Navratilova's 19 consecutive years in the top 5 in singles and her almost 30 years between her first and last final in a Grand Slam event.

For DOMINANCE ... go with Navratilova being the only woman player to hold the record for most singles titles at 2 of the 5 biggest events in women's tennis (Wimbledon and WTA Tour Championships) ALTERNATE: Helen Wills Moody with her 15 singles titles from Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships.

For OVERALL WINNING RECORDS ... go with Navratilova for her 160+ singles titles and her 160+ doubles titles. ALTERNATE: Margaret Court with her record for most singles titles -- and most overall titles -- at the Grand Slam events.


"Frankly, Martina Navratilova is the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player that has ever lived."

- Billie Jean King

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Kerni2003

Navratilova - over 100 titles at singles and doubles is quite achievement!

Martina Navratilova (born October 18, 1956) is undoubtedly the greatest female tennis player in the long history of the game.[/b] She played on the WTA Tour, competing in the singles from 1973 until 1994. She won 18 major singles titles from 1978-1990 (including nine at Wimbledon including six in a row 1982-1987), 167 singles tournaments (out of 380 played) and 162 doubles tournaments (out of 286 played) including 31 in the major competitions.

She was born in Prague and grew up in the Krkonose region. When her parents separated she went with her mother to Revnice where she became interested in tennis. Her mother re-married in 1962 and her stepfather, Mirek Navratil,became her first coach. She played in her first junior tournament in 1964 and began working with George Parma. She became a professional player in 1973, reaching the quarter-finals of her first Grand Slam event. In
September 1975 she took up permanent residence in the US after the
tournament in New York City (she became a US citizen in 1981).

Initially unsuccessful it was not until 1978 that she won her first major
title, beating Chris Evert to win the Wimbeldon women's singles. A rigourous
training regime finally showed its worth from 1982 when she won fifteen
singles tournaments and fourteen doubles in that year and 28 in the
following year, just missing a singles Grand Slam. She had a extended and
fiercely competitive on-court rivalry with Chris Evert, a clash of
contrasting styles that lasted until Evert retired in 1988.

The rise of young female stars in the late 1980s broke Navratilova's
dominance. In 1991 she lost in three major finals, every time to Monica
Seles. Her last major Open victory was in 1993, when she beat Seles to win
the Paris Open. She announced her intention to retire from the WTA Tour at
the end of 1994 and in that year she still made two Open finals (Rome and
Wimbledon), losing both to Conchita Martinez.

In 2000 Martina Navratilova was grandly inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

She returned to the professional tennis circuit after her retirement, and as
of 2003 was playing competitively. In January 2003 she won the Australian
Open mixed doubles title with Leander Paes, thus becoming only the third
player (after Doris Hart and Margaret Court to win every possible title
(singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles) from the four Grand Slam
tournaments. At the same time, at 46 years and 3 months, she became the
oldest player, male or female, to have won a Grand Slam title, eclipsing the
record set by Norman Brookes, who was a month younger when he won the mens doubles at the Australian Championships in 1924.

Martina's return to tennis sees her still winning Grand Slam doubles titles
after the retirement of Martina Hingis, who was named after her.

In July 2003, again with Leander Paes, she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles,
equalling Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles, which is what
she came out of retirement specifically to chase.

Her 58 grand slam titles place her second on the all-time list behind
Australia's Margaret Court, who has 62.

[LADIEZ CHAMPION]

Originally Posted by Kerni2003

Navratilova - over 100 titles at singles and doubles is quite achievement!

Kerni you are very right, Martina Navratilova is also the only one to have the...

• most consecutive years at #1 ...
• most Wimbledon singles titles ...
• most consecutive years winning Wimbledon ...
• most overall total Grand Slam titles won ....
• most singles titles won on the WTA Tour ...
• most doubles titles won on the WTA Tour ...
• most impressive record for longevity and playing past the age of 30.
• most wins head to head between Graf and Navratilova in the Slams.
• most wins head to head between Graf and Navratilova at the Tour Championships.

Navratilova is the only woman in women's tennis history to have the all-time record for most number of wins at 2 of the 5 biggest events in women's tennis.

Oh, may I add a few more impressive numbers to this list, please? Martina also holds the records for -
-- most singles matches won (Navratilova-1442, Evert-1304, Graf-900)
-- most consecutive singles matched won (74)
-- most consecutive doubles matches won (109, record shared with Pam Shriver)
-- most dominant year (86-1 W/L record in 1983)
-- 2nd oldest player to hold the #1 ranking (Evert was oldest)
-- most career wins over the #1 player
-- most years finished ranked in the top 10 (Navratilova - 20; Evert - 19, Graf & Seles - 13)
-- most weeks ranked #1 in singles and doubles at the same time (Navratilova-103, Graf -0)
-- most career prize money (by far) when you factor in prize money relativity
-- most years finished ranked #1 in prize money
-- most consecutive years earning $100K or more
-- most consecutive years earning $500K or more
-- most years earning $500K or more
-- most consecutive years on top 10 prize money list (Navratilova-20, Evert-16 ... Graf is 6th on this list at 11)
-- most consecutive WTA Tour singles titles (Navratilova-13, Court-12)
-- most consecutive years winning at lest 1 singles title (Navratilova -21, Evert-18)
-- most singles titles won at the same tournament (Navratilova-Chicago/12, Navratilova-Eastbourne/11, Graf-Berlin/9)
-- most consecutive titles won a tthe same tournament (Navratilova-Wimbledon/6, Navratilova-Chicago/6, Graf-Hamburg/6)
--- most dominant individual performance at a 128-draw grand slam event - US Open: Navratilova conceded just 19 games at the 1983 US Open
- most dominant individual performance at Wimbledon: Navratilova conceded just 25 games at the 1983 Wimbledon (Evert conceded just 26 games at the 1981 Wimbledon)
-- most singles matches won in the same season: Navratilova-74 (1984), Graf- 66 (1990, snapped by Monica Seles).
-- most consecutive singles finals reached (23)
-- most WTA Tour awards for doubles team of the year (10 - 2 with King, 8 with Shriver)
-- most WTA Tour awards - 18
-- most WTA Tour Special Service to the Game Award - Billie Jean King is the only person to have won this twice since it was first awarded in 1980; Navratilova, Evert and Shriver have all received this award. Graf was never nominated.

Should I add more records for Navratilova or is this enough?

[stenen]

Navratilova

[kabuki]

Why, Thomas, why?

[Athena]

Originally Posted by kabuki

Why, Thomas, why?

You are right kabuki.

[lukehingis]

Though Steffi had more singles slams and more weeks at number one, Martina Snr had a doubles career which was as great as her singles career. I think the doubles results is what separates the 2.

Did Martina Snr win all the slam titles she could, ie mixed and women's doubles and singles in all 4 slams?

[CooCooCachoo]

Martina Hingis
Or Martina Navratilova, but I believe that competition was much stronger in Hingis' era. And that Hingis could have accomplished much more, hadn't it been for the injury