Substance over style made Martina Navratilova the queen of the court

She may not have been the most pleasing on the eye for a female tennis player but there is no doubting how important Martina Navratilova was in the evolution in ladies' tennis.

With 18 Grand Slam title victories in an amazing career it prompted fellow great Billie-Jean King to announce in 2006: "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player that ever lived."

Indeed, she and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles. Martina has won 167 career titles, which is a record for both men and women. She won the Wimbledon singles title an incredible nine times and appeared in 12 finals.

From 1982 through to 1990 she reached nine finals in a row. Three Australian titles, two French titles and four US Open titles were also lifted in a glittering career.