Top five women's singles players to win Wimbledon title with least games dropped in Open Era

Only four women tennis athletes have won the competition after losing less than 30 games.

Winning the Wimbledon title is one the toughest tasks in the sport of tennis. The oldest tennis tournament in the world attracts the best of what the sport has to offer across multiple categories in men’s and women’s tennis. 

However, some legendary figures of the sport made it a habit of winning the Grand Slam and in style. While some players struggled to even qualify for the main stage of the grass-court tournament, these legends went on to thrive at the Grand Slam which separates them from the crowd and makes them truly the greats of the sport.

Looking at some of the most iconic women’s tennis and their feats at Wimbledon makes for an interesting glance in which some of them won the tournament by losing the least number of games. Here are the top five women’s singles players to win Wimbledon title with the least games dropped in the Open Era:

5. Steffi Graf (1989) – 30 games

Steffi Graf is one of the greatest women’s singles players of all time and certainly one of the finest players to come out of Germany. The Golden Slam (winner of all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold) winner won the Wimbledon singles title seven times, the second most number of times in the Open Era.

She won the 1989 edition of the tournament in a dominant fashion. The German superstar dropped only 30 games en route to the title.

4. Martina Navratilova (1990) – 29 games

Martina Navratilova is up there amongst the greatest tennis players of all time. She holds the record for most Wimbledon titles in the singles category with nine wins. The former World No.1 dominated the world of tennis and won the 1990 Wimbledon by dropping only 29 games.

Little did the world know that the 1990 edition of Wimbledon would be Martina Navratilova’s last-ever title in the singles category. She beat Zina Garrison of the USA in straight sets in the final.

3. Steffi Graf (1988) – 27 games

Steffi Graf broke Martina Navratilova’s winning streak of six consecutive Wimbledon titles in 1988. Following the latter’s domination of the grass-court tournament from 1982 to 1987, Graf won the 1988 edition by beating Navratilova herself in the final.

Steffi Graf won the 1988 edition of the Wimbledon after dropping only 27 games. Her victory in the final against Navratilova came after losing the first set.

2. Chris Evert (1981) – 26 games

Chris Evert is also regarded as one of the most iconic tennis players of all time. Her achievements in women’s singles are exemplary. She won the 1981 edition of Wimbledon after dropping merely 26 games, which was a record at the time.

Chris Evert won the grass-court Grand Slam on only three instances as her true strength was the clay court. She won the French Open on seven occasions, truly dominating that Grand Slam. She won the Wimbledon once in the doubles category too.

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1. Martina Navratilova (1983) – 25 games

Martina Navratilova holds the record for winning the women’s singles title at Wimbledon by dropping the least number of games. The legendary player won the 1983 edition after dropping only 25 games. She was simply unstoppable that year and dominated her competitors. 

Martina Navratilova had a brilliant spell in the 1980s. She reached the final of Wimbledon nine times from 1982 to 1990, losing only twice to Steffi Graf on both occasions. Martina Navratilova’s 1983 triumph saw her beat USA’s Andrea Jaeger by 6-0, 6-3.