The Graf–Navratilova rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, widely regarded as two of the greatest

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

players of all time. They met 18 times during their careers, and their head-to-head is even at 9–9, with Graf having a 4–2 record in major finals but Navratilova having a 5–4 record in overall major matches (winning their last major meeting despite being 34 at the time). They contested three consecutive Wimbledon singles finals (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

). Notably, despite how even their rivalry was, the age difference between Navratilova and Graf is more than 12.5 years.

List of all matches

Graf–Navratilova (9–9)

Famous matches

1986 US Open semifinal

In semifinals of the 1986 US Open, in the most anticipated match of the tournament, No.1 Martina Navratilova prevailed over 17-year-old and No. 3 Steffi Graf with a scoreline of . The match was suspended with Navratilova leading 4–1 in the first set and resumed the next day. Navratilova saved three match points in the epic spread over two days. With her win in the final, Navratilova became the first woman in the

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

to win a major after saving match points en route.

1987 French Open final

In the final of the

1987 French Open The 1987 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 25 May until 7 June. It was the 91st staging of the French Open, and the second Gran ...

, No. 2 Graf defeated No. 1 Navratilova to win her first Grand Slam title with a scoreline of in what was considered a changing of the guard. Graf overcame a 3–5 deficit in the final set to eventually win it 8–6.

1988 Wimbledon final

In the final of the 1988 Wimbledon No. 1 Steffi Graf defeated No. 2 and six-time defending champion Martina Navratilova with to win her third slam title on her way to the Golden Slam that year. Navratilova had a lead before Graf won 12 of the last 13 matches, breaking Navratilova in all of her last 7 service games. Graf’s win is considered by many as the best performance ever of a female tennis player.

1991 US Open semifinal

In the semifinals of the 1991 US Open, No. 6 Navratilova beat No. 1 Graf in an epic, winning with a score line of , in what is considered one of the greatest matches in US Open history. She would ultimately lose the final to

Monica Seles Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Sla ...

Breakdown of the rivalry

*Hard courts: Navratilova, 5–2 *Clay courts: Graf, 2–0 *Grass courts: Graf, 2–1 *Carpet courts: Equal, 3–3 *Grand Slam matches: Navratilova, 5–4 *Grand Slam finals: Graf, 4–2 *Year-End Championships matches: Navratilova, 2–1 *Year-End Championships finals: Equal, 1–1 *Fed Cup matches: ''None'' *All finals: Graf, 8–4 *All matches: Equal, 9–9

Set tallies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf-Navratilova Rivalry Tennis rivalries Steffi Graf Martina Navratilova