Most Wimbledon titles: Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova top singles winners list
Tennis great Roger Federer has won eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles - one more than Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras. Navratilova has nine women’s singles crowns.
Tennis
Wimbledon is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world and arguably the most prestigious Grand Slam on the calendar.
Established in 1877, Wimbledon is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. Since its inception, the Wimbledon grass courts have been the proving ground for elite names in tennis history.
Understandably, the Wimbledon singles crown is often considered the most coveted piece of silverware in world tennis. Englishman Spencer Gore was the first player to win the Wimbledon singles title. The first women’s singles Wimbledon crown was claimed by Maud Watson of Britain in 1884.
Since then, the most notable names in the world of tennis have etched their names on the coveted Wimbledon trophy. Among the legends, Swiss icon Roger Federer and Czech-American tennis player Martina Navratilova reign supreme.
Roger Federer has won the most Wimbledon titles in men’s singles - eight. Martina Navratilova, with nine titles, is the most successful women’s singles player in Wimbledon history.
The Wimbledon Championships have been held annually in both the Amature Era as well as in the Open Era. In the Amateur Era, British player William Renshaw won the men’s crown a record seven times (1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889).
American Helen Wills Moody dominated the women’s singles in the Wimbledon Ameture Era, winning the championship eight times (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938).
Roger Federer’s emergence in the Open Era
Since the dawn of the Open Era in 1968, Switzerland’s Roger Federer has served up ace after ace at the hallowed greens of SW19. The Swiss tennis star won five consecutive titles (2003 to 2007) to surpass Sweden's Bjorn Borg, who won the championship four consecutive times (1976 to 1979). Australian great Rod Laver won four Wimbledon titles but two of these wins came in the Amateur Era.
The 1980s witnessed some of the game's most iconic rivalries and achievements. American John McEnroe and Germany’s Borris Becker won a combined six titles between them over the course of the decade. American tennis player Pete Sampras ruled the 90s, winning seven titles. Pistol Pete’s run included two hat-tricks (1993 to 1995 and 1997 to 1999).
Novak Djokovic is level with Sampras on seven titles. The Serb, still winning titles at the highest level with impeccable consistency, poses a real threat to Roger Federer’s Wimbledon record in men’s singles.
Martina Navratilova’s super nine at SW19
The women's singles event at Wimbledon has also witnessed some remarkable champions in the Open Era, but none more dominant as Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who won the title a record nine times between 1978 and 1990.
Six of Navratilova’s crowns, 1982 to 1987, came back-to-back. Germany’s Steffi Graf, who ended Martina Navratilova’s six-year streak in 1988, went on to win seven titles - a number which was later equalled by American ace Serena Williams.
The Williams family has five more Wimbledon titles to their name with Serena’s elder sister Venus accounting for the remaining five.
Another American, Billie Jean King, who was the first Open Era Wimbledon women’s singles champion, has six titles to her name with four of these coming in the Open Era.
Most doubles titles at Wimbledon
Australian Todd Woodbridge has won the most number of men’s doubles titles, nine, at Wimbledon in the Open Era. Todd Woodbridge won six of these with compatriot Mark Woodforde - the most for any single pair. For the remaining three, Woodbridge partnered Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.
Martina Navratilova, again, is the most successful player in women’s doubles at Wimbledon in the Open Era with seven titles. Billie Jean King has 10 women’s doubles titles to her name but only six of these are from the Open Era.
USA’s Elizabeth Ryan managed to win 12 women’s doubles crowns in the Amateur Era.
As a pairing, though, it’s Serena and Venus Williams who lay claim to the ‘most successful’ title with six wins together - one more than Navratilova and Pam Shriver.
With four titles each, Navratilova and Indian tennis ace Leander Paes jointly hold the record for most mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon in the Open Era. The two even won one together in 2003.