Martina Navratilova did not end her singles career at Wimbledon in the way that she wanted to.
Navratilova is one of the greatest WTA players of all time, and she particularly excelled on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
The American was so successful at the grass court major that she actually holds a record, with Navratilova winning more Wimbledon singles titles than any other player.
Many had thought that Navratilova had played her final Wimbledon match in 1994, but she made a shock return 10 years later.
What Martina Navratilova said was ‘horrendous’ about her last singles match at Wimbledon in 2004
After a 10 year absence from playing singles at Grand Slams, Navratilova made her return in 2004 in a bid to improve her doubles skills.
Navratilova played her first Grand Slam singles match in 10 years at Roland Garros, losing in the first round to Argentine teenager Gisela Dulko.
Despite this disappointment, Navratilova would then transition to her preferred grass courts and would receive a wildcard for Wimbledon as a nine-time champion.
A 47-year-old Navratilova would win her first round match at Wimbledon against Catalina Castaño, which would set up another meeting against Dulko.
Navratilova was beaten by Dulko in straight sets at Roland Garros, but managed to win the first set of their Wimbledon encounter.
However, Dulko was able to fight back and beat Navratilova, 3-6 6-3 6-3, to end the nine-time Wimbledon champion’s singles career at SW19.
Navratilova’s final singles match at Wimbledon took place on Court Three, and she spoke about how difficult the conditions were to deal with in her post-match press conference.
She also admitted that she was disappointed with her own performance in her last singles match at Wimbledon.
“Well, the best that I could, but the level wasn’t as high as it could be, certainly,” said Navratilova. “That’s where I’m disappointed. Not that I lost, but that I didn’t play my best tennis.
“But, I mean, the conditions were horrendous. But they were horrendous for her, too. So, you know, that’s not an excuse. That just makes it more difficult to flow and get into a sort of a rhythm in a match. I mean, I lost — I won the first set playing horrible. And just could never get on track for all kinds of reasons.
“So I’m just disappointed. I gave it my best shot, but I’m disappointed I didn’t play my best tennis. Played much better in Eastbourne, the first round here. It was difficult out there. Very difficult.”
After this defeat, Navratilova would never play singles at a Grand Slam tournament ever again.
The incredible feat Martina Navratilova achieved in her final professional tennis match
Although her singles career at Wimbledon was over, Navratilova would return to the grass court major the following year.
Playing both women’s and mixed doubles, Navratilova would continue her bid to add to her Grand Slam collection.
Navratilova would play her final matches at Wimbledon on the same day, losing in the quarterfinal of women’s doubles with Liezel Huber, before suffering a third round defeat in mixed doubles with Mark Knowles.
The US Open would be the final tournament of Navratilova’s career, and it would end in spectacular fashion.
Navratilova and Nadia Petrova lost in the quarterfinals of women’s doubles, but with Bob Bryan in mixed doubles she reached another Grand Slam final.
It was a fairytale end for Navratilova and Bryan, as they beat Kveta Peschke and Martin Damm to win the US Open mixed doubles title.
Navratilova would retire after the 2006 US Open, ending her career with a combined 59 Grand Slam titles.
This is an Open Era record, with Navratilova winning 18 in singles, a record 31 women’s doubles titles and 10 mixed doubles victories.
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