Evert–Navratilova rivalry

Chris Evert (left) and Martina Navratilova each won 18 Grand Slam single titles.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are retired American and American/Czechoslovak professional tennis players who engaged in an iconic rivalry for dominance in women's tennis in the 1970s and 1980s. It is considered to be one of the greatest in women's tennis history and sports in general.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

In the 12 years from the introduction of the WTA rankings in November 1975 until August 1987, one of the two held the top spot in all but 23 weeks, switching multiple times between 1978 and 1985. In the first 615 weeks of the WTA rankings, they collectively held the No. 1 ranking for 592 weeks, Navratilova at 332 weeks and Evert at 260 weeks. In total, from 1973 to 1988 they played 80 matches, including 61 tournament finals.^[1][6][7]

Starting at the 1981 Australian Open, through the 1985 Wimbledon, they won a record 15 consecutive grand slam singles titles. From the 1981 Australian Open to the 1987 US Open, they won 21 of those 24 grand slam singles titles and at least one of them appeared in each of those 24 consecutive grand slam finals. The only other two players to win titles during that stretch were Hana Mandlikova (1985 US Open and 1987 Australian Open) and Steffi Graf (1987 French Open).

51 of the 90 matches the two played against each other were on the faster court surfaces (grass and indoors) where Navratilova's offensive serve-and-volley style of play gave her the upper hand over Evert's counter-attacking baseline approach. Evert enjoyed her greatest success against Navratilova on hard courts and especially on clay courts. Navratilova led Evert 10–5 on grass; Evert led Navratilova 11–3 on clay courts; Navratilova led 9–7 on outdoor hard courts. Indoors, Navratilova won the majority of their matches, leading 21–14. Evert led their head-to-head three-set match wins 15–14 but Navratilova led 29–22 in straight sets wins. Navratilova was ahead 36–25 in all finals. Navratilova was most dominant in Slam encounters, leading 14–8 overall and 10–4 in Slam finals. Navratilova had the upper hand in their head-to-head over 9 seasons (1979, 1981–88) whereas Evert led over the first 6 years of their rivalry (1973–78).

Grand Slam matches

Notes

• In bold and italics: Matches that happened in the finals.
• The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Head-to-head breakdown

• All finals: Navratilova 36–25
• Grand Slam finals: Navratilova 10–4
• WTA Tour Championships finals: Navratilova 2–1
• Non-Grand Slam & Non-WTA Tour Championships finals: Navratilova 24–20
• Grand Slam matches: Navratilova 14–8
• Grand Slam semifinals: Tied 4–4
• Three-set matches: Evert 15–14
• Straight-set matches: Navratilova 29–22

List of all matches

WTA, Fed Cup, and Grand Slam main draw results included.^[8]

Martina Navratilova leads the head-to-head 43–37. Walkovers are not counted as official wins or losses.

Singles

Evert–Navratilova (37–43)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score	Evert	Navratilova
1.	1973	Virginia Slims of Akron	Carpet	Round of 16	Evert	7–6(5–4), 6–3	1	0
2.	1973	Eckerd Open	Clay	Semifinals	Evert	7–5, 6–3	2	0
3.	1974	Virginia Slims of California	Carpet	Round of 32	Evert	6–7, 6–3, 6–1	3	0
4.	1974	Italian Open	Clay	Final	Evert	6–3, 6–3	4	0
5.	1975	Virginia Slims of California	Carpet	Semifinals	Evert	6–4, 6–3	5	0
6.	1975	Virginia Slims of Washington	Carpet	Quarterfinals	Navratilova	3–6, 6–4, 7–6(5–4)	5	1
7.	1975	Virginia Slims of Akron	Carpet	Quartefinals	Evert	6–3, 6–1	6	1
8.	1975	Virginia Slims of Chicago	Carpet	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–4, 6–0	6	2
9.	1975	Virginia Slims of Philadelphia	Carpet	Semifinals	Evert	7–6, 6–4	7	2
10.	1975	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–4, 6–2	8	2
11.	1975	Charleston Open	Clay	Final	Evert	7–5, 6–4	9	2
12.	1975	Italian Open	Clay	Final	Evert	6–1, 6–0	10	2
13.	1975	Roland Garros	Clay	Final	Evert	2–6, 6–2, 6–1	11	2
14.	1975	US Open	Clay	Semifinals	Evert	6–4, 6–4	12	2
15.	1975	WTA Atlanta	Hard (i)	Final	Evert	2–6, 6–2, 6–0	13	2
16.	1976	L'Eggs World Series	Hard	Semifinals	Evert	6–0, 6–3	14	2
17.	1976	Virginia Slims of Houston	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 6–4	14	3
18.	1976	Wimbledon	Grass	Semifinals	Evert	6–3, 4–6, 6–4	15	3
19.	1977	Virginia Slims of Washington	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–3	15	4
20.	1977	Virginia Slims of Seattle	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–2, 6–4	16	4
21.	1977	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–2, 2–6, 6–1	17	4
22.	1977	Virginia Slims of Philadelphia	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–4, 4–6, 6–3	18	4
23.	1977	L'Eggs World Series	Hard (i)	Final	Evert	6–3, 7–6(5–3)	19	4
24.	1977	Toyota Championships	Hard	Round of 32	Evert	6–4, 6–1	20	4
25.	1978	Eastbourne International	Grass	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 4–6, 9–7	20	5
26.	1978	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	2–6, 6–4, 7–5	20	6
27.	1978	WTA Atlanta	Carpet	Final	Evert	7–6(7–3), 0–6, 6–3	21	6
28.	1978	Toyota Championships	Hard	Final	Evert	6–3, 6–3	22	6
29.	1978	Lion's Cup	Carpet	Final	Evert	7–5, 6–2	23	6
30.	1979	Virginia Slims of California	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	7–5, 7–5	23	7
31.	1979	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–3, 6–4	24	7
32.	1979	Virginia Slims of Dallas	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 6–4	24	8
33.	1979	Eastbourne International	Grass	Final	Evert	7–5, 5–7, 13–11	25	8
34.	1979	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 6–4	25	9
35.	1979	Virginia Slims of Phoenix	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–1, 6–3	25	10
36.	1979	Brighton International	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 6–3	25	11
37.	1980	Virginia Slims of Chicago	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 6–4	25	12
38.	1980	Wimbledon	Grass	Semifinals	Evert	4–6, 6–4, 6–2	26	12
39.	1980	Brighton International	Carpet	Final	Evert	6–4, 5–7, 6–3	27	12
40.	1980	Lion's Cup	Carpet	Semifinals	Navratilova	7–6, 6–2	27	13
41.	1981	Amelia Island Championships	Clay	Final	Evert	6–0, 6–0	28	13
42.	1981	US Open	Hard	Semifinals	Navratilova	7–5, 4–6, 6–4	28	14
43.	1981	Lion's Cup	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 6–2	28	15
44.	1981	Sydney International	Grass	Final	Evert	6–4, 2–6, 6–1	29	15
45.	1981	Australian Open	Grass	Final	Navratilova	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 7–5	29	16
46.	1982	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	6–1, 3–6, 6–2	29	17
47.	1982	Brighton International	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–1, 6–4	29	18
48.	1982	Australian Open	Grass	Final	Evert	6–3, 2–6, 6–3	30	18
49.	1982	Toyota Championships	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	4–6, 6–1, 6–2	30	19
50.	1983	Virginia Slims of Dallas	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 6–0	30	20
51.	1983	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–0	30	21
52.	1983	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–1, 6–3	30	22
53.	1983	Canadian Open	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–4, 4–6, 6–1	30	23
54.	1983	US Open	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–1, 6–3	30	24
55.	1983	Lion's Cup	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–2	30	25
56.	1984	US Indoor Championships	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 7–6(7–4)	30	26
57.	1984	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 7–5, 6–1	30	27
58.	1984	Amelia Island Championships	Clay	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–0	30	28
59.	1984	Roland Garros	Clay	Final	Navratilova	6–3, 6–1	30	29
60.	1984	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	7–6(7–5), 6–2	30	30
61.	1984	US Open	Hard	Final	Navratilova	4–6, 6–4, 6–4	30	31
62.	1985	Virginia Slims of Florida	Hard	Final	Evert	6–2, 6–4	31	31
63.	1985	Miami Open	Hard	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–4	31	32
64.	1985	Virginia Slims of Dallas	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–3 6–4	31	33
65.	1985	Roland Garros	Clay	Final	Evert	6–3, 6–7(4–7), 7–5	32	33
66.	1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Final	Navratilova	4–6, 6–3, 6–2	32	34
67.	1985	Australian Open	Grass	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 4–6, 6–2	32	35
68.	1986	Virginia Slims of Dallas	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–1	32	36
69.	1986	Roland Garros	Clay	Final	Evert	2–6, 6–3, 6–3	33	36
70.	1986	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles	Hard	Final	Navratilova	7–6(7–5), 6–3	33	37
71.	1987	Virginia Slims of Houston	Clay	Final	Evert	3–6, 6–1, 7–6(7–4)	34	37
72.	1987	Roland Garros	Clay	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–2, 6–2	34	38
73.	1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–2, 5–7, 6–4	34	39
74.	1987	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles	Hard	Semifinals	Evert	6–2, 6–1	35	39
75.	1987	Stuttgart Open	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	7–5, 6–1	35	40
76.	1988	Australian Open	Hard	Semifinals	Evert	6–2, 7–5	36	40
77.	1988	Virginia Slims of Houston	Clay	Final	Evert	6–0, 6–4	37	40
78.	1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Semifinals	Navratilova	6–1, 4–6, 7–5	37	41
79.	1988	Stuttgart Open	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–3	37	42
80.	1988	Virginia Slims of Chicago	Carpet	Final	Navratilova	6–2, 6–2	37	43

Grand Slam performance timeline comparison

For all players in their era see: Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)

1971–1977

Player	1971				1972				1973				1974				1975				1976				1977
	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUSJ	FRA	WIM	USA	AUSD
Martina Navratilova	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	A	QF	3R	1R	A	QF	1R	3R	F	F	QF	SF	A	A	SF	1R	A	A	QF	SF	A
Chris Evert	A	A	A	SF	A	A	SF	SF	A	F	F	SF	F	W	W	SF	A	W	SF	W	A	A	W	W	A	A	SF	W	A

• The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January (J) and December (D).

1978–1984

Player	1978				1979				1980				1981				1982				1983				1984
	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS
Martina Navratilova	A	W	SF	A	A	W	SF	A	A	SF	4R	SF	QF	SF	F	W	W	W	QF	F	4R	W	W	W	W	W	W	SF
Chris Evert	A	F	W	A	W	F	F	A	W	F	W	A	SF	W	SF	F	SF	F	W	W	W	3R	F	A	F	F	F	W

1985–1991

Player	1985				1986			1987				1988				1989				1990				1991
	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Martina Navratilova	F	W	F	W	F	W	W	F	F	W	W	SF	4R	F	QF	QF	A	F	F	A	A	W	4R	A	A	QF	F
Chris Evert	W	F	SF	F	W	SF	SF	A	SF	SF	QF	F	3R	SF	SF	A	A	SF	QF	Retired

1992–2006

Player	1992				1993				1994				1995 to 2003				2004				2005				2006
	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Martina Navratilova	A	A	SF	2R	A	A	SF	4R	A	1R	F	A	Retired				A	1R	2R	A	A	A	A	A	Retired
Chris Evert	Retired

WTA rankings

See also

• List of tennis rivalries
• Grand Slam (tennis)
• Chris Evert career statistics
• Martina Navratilova career statistics
• Unmatched

References

External links

• International Tennis Federation (ITF) player head to head