It has been rightly said that nothing is as strong as gentleness and nothing is as gentle as true strength. Women tennis players have consistently traversed the said path with quiet dignity, rebellious intent for equality and a carefully crafted public image of femininity and gracious sportsmanship. A few have always stood out for such qualities and have shone brilliantly at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships.

Among the greats who are the possible nominees for the title of the best Wimbledon woman champion of all time are Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Venus Williams. Of all these wonderfully talented 'artists on the court', I believe that Graf is the one who stands out for sheer brilliance, immense athleticism, true professionalism and faultless passion.

Graf had a game which possessed true power, but was absolutely gentle in its craft. Then again her true gentleness was never devoid of power and a certain amount of ruthlessness. This was the story of the greatest female champion at Wimbledon.

‘Graf had a game which possessed true power, but was absolutely gentle in its craft’


Though Martina Navratilova won a record-breaking nine titles on the hallowed grass courts and Helen Wills Moody achieved eight championships, I will always hold Graf's seven titles as the best performance amongst the women. In modern times Venus Williams has ruled Wimbledon with four crowns but she has some lengths to go to attain the hallmark of the greatest Wimbledon champion ever.

Though Navratilova won Wimbledon at the peak of her rivalry against Chris Evert, Steffi overcame stiff competition from the American legend, from Monica Seles, from the glamorous under-achiever Gabriela Sabatini, from the gifted but mentally fragile Jana Novotna and from the brilliantly tenacious Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to win her seven titles.

Though her record stands blemished with the sudden absence of Monica Seles in the early '90s, still her latter wins came when women's tennis was seeing an upsurge of young talent. Her seamless domination from the back of the court at Wimbledon saw a transition from the equally powerful serve and volley game practised to perfection by Navratilova.

Her superlative forehand, whacked late, sometimes completely out of position and executing angles not known to exist, did well to conceal her weaker backhand slice while her beautiful serve built a fortress around her game which had few weaknesses. Her court coverage is certainly legendary and equally distinct. Never have we seen any woman since Graf navigate the court with such ease, refinement and spotless perfection.

Her stern resolve would flare at her favourite Grand Slam where she gave her best performances and certainly the most ruthless. In 1988 she finally defeated the great Navratilova in three gruelling sets for her first title. The 1991 title came at the expense of Sabatini who herself was close to winning the title on several occasions during the match. 1992 saw the German great beat her superlative rival Seles in another three-set wonder. 1993 witnessed the spectacular meltdown of Novotna after a winning lead which made the match a classic come-from-behind victory for Graf. And 1995 saw her battle the extremely stubborn Sanchez Vicario in a three-set classic encounter.

Graf is part of an equally great company of players. Billie Jean King fought for equality for women while she racked up 19 crowns, Navratilove went on into her 40s to garner 20 such titles. Venus Williams and Althea Gibson broke the colour barrier and records with superlative displays of tennis. Equally gifted were Margaret Court and Chris Evert.

Then again, we have to choose one, and I believe Graf was the greatest female tennis player of the past century and remains the greatest Wimbledon champion.