Graf–Navratilova rivalry

Steffi Graf (22 Singles majors)

Martina Navratilova (18 Singles majors)

The Graf–Navratilova rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, widely regarded as two of the greatest tennis players of all time. They met 18 times during their careers, and their head-to-head is even at 9–9,^[1] 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, 1988, 1989). Notably, despite how even their rivalry was, the age difference between Navratilova and Graf is more than 12.5 years. It should also be noted that Navratilova won their first 3 encounters when Graf was 16 years old. Graf won 6 of their final 8 matches.

List of all matches[]

Graf–Navratilova (9–9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score	Graf	Navratilova
1.	1985	US Open	Hard	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–2, 6–3	0	1
2.	1985	Maybelline Classic	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 6–1	0	2
3.	1986	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–2, 6–2	0	3
4.	1986	German Open	Clay	Final	Graf	6–2, 6–3	1	3
5.	1986	US Open	Hard	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–1, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(10–8)	1	4
6.	1986	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–2	1	5
7.	1987	Miami Open	Hard	Semifinals	Graf	6–3, 6–2	2	5
8.	1987	Roland Garros	Clay	Final	Graf	6–4, 4–6, 8–6	3	5
9.	1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	7–5, 6–3	3	6
10.	1987	US Open	Hard	Final	Navratilova	7–6(7–4), 6–1	3	7
11.	1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Graf	5–7, 6–2, 6–1	4	7
12.	1989	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Graf	6–2, 6–7(1–7), 6–1	5	7
13.	1989	US Open	Hard	Final	Graf	3–6, 7–5, 6–1	6	7
14.	1989	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Final	Graf	6–4, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2	7	7
15.	1991	US Open	Hard	Semifinals	Navratilova	7–6(7–2), 6–7(6–8), 6–4	7	8
16.	1992	Zurich Open	Carpet	Final	Graf	2–6, 7–5, 7–5	8	8
17.	1993	Pan Pacific Open	Carpet	Semifinals	Navratilova	4–6, 6–3, 6–3	8	9
18.	1994	Pan Pacific Open	Carpet	Final	Graf	6–2, 6–4	9	9

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[]

See also[]

• List of tennis rivalries
• List of Grand Slam related tennis records

References[]