Wimbledon's Most Iconic Winners

The Championships, Wimbledon was first played in 1877, since then it has become an integral part of the tennis calendar. Throughout its years, Wimbledon has seen countless iconic moments and Wimbledon winners. We take a look at some of the most successful players to grace the grass courts in the Open Era in the singles competition, including some of their record-breaking titles.

Who has won Wimbledon the most?

Swiss star Roger Federer holds the men’s record of eight Wimbledon singles titles, which is one more than Pete Sampras claimed between 1993 and 2000.
In the women’s singles, and holding the overall most Wimbledon singles titles won, it’s Martina Navratilova who holds an incredible nine. The Czech-born American won her titles between 1978 and 1990, and is still a prominent face in the tennis world.

Who’s the oldest Wimbledon singles champion?

Arthur Gore, a British men’s singles player, was 41 when he won the men’s singles title in the amateur era in 1909. In the modern era, Roger Feder holds the record, winning his final singles title in 2017 when he was 35. In the women’s singles, Serena Williams is the oldest, claiming her final and seventh Wimbledon title when she was 34.

Who’s the youngest Wimbledon singles champion?

Tennis legend Boris Becker was only 17 years of age when he won The Championships in 1985, becoming the youngest ever winner of the gentlemen’s singles title. Martina Hingis holds the record in the women’s game in the modern era, winning when she was 16 in 1997.

What’s the longest match played at Wimbledon?

The longest tennis match in history lasted a total of 11 hours and 5 minutes. This took place on Court No.18 in 2010 between American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round of the men’s singles. The average three set match lasts around 90 minute, so this just shows how much endurance and determination these two players had! Isner finally took the match, which was spread over three days. Wimbledon scores now work to prevent this from occurring again, and have a tie-break decider if the final set is at 12-12.

 

Who are the most iconic winners?

 

Roger Federer

You cannot have a conversation about Wimbledon’s greatest winners without talking about The King of Grass, Roger Federer. Federer is the most successful male player at Wimbledon with a total of 8 titles to his name. He is also one of just two players to win the Championships on five consecutive occasions (2003-2007). If you have ever had the chance to watch Federer on grass courts you can see why he is so successful, he moves so effortlessly and seems to get the ball back with ease. Federer holds many world records at Wimbledon, many surrounding the 2008 final against Nadal which was the longest Wimbledon singles final ever. However, the most notable of his records is arguably the number of consecutive matches he won at Wimbledon. Between 2003 and 2008 Federer won an astonishing 66 matches in a row!

Novak Djokovic

Whilst Federer may be the king of grass and boasts the most Wimbledon Gentlemen’s singles titles, Djokovic is hot on his tail with 7 titles, just one less than Federer. With Federer now retired and Djokovic winning the last 4 Championships titles is this the year that Federer’s record is equalled? Djokovic has taken the record for the most Grand Slam titles ever, with an impressive 24 to his name! He finished 2023 with a record-extending eighth-year-end No.1 finish, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open. He will for sure have his eyes on Federer’s records as he has the opportunity to equalise and if not beat it in the coming years at Wimbledon.

Pete Sampras

Before Federer took his crown, America’s Pete Sampras held the title of most Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Wimbledon Championships for 9 years, from 1999-2008. He won the Championships 7 times in the space of 8 years between 1993 and 2000. He just lost out to Richard Krajicek in the quarterfinals, who then went on to win The Championships that year. Pete Sampras has an astonishing 90%-win rate at Wimbledon, just higher than Federer on 88%. Sampras was an incredible grass court player and was truly untouchable during his peak.

Martina Navratilova

Martina is one of the best players seen at Wimbledon ever, winning a record nine Wimbledon women’s singles titles. The Czech born player found herself in the final 12 times, nine of those being consecutive between 1982 to 1990. She also won the women’s doubles seven times. Navratilova is still a prominent face in the tennis world and is a legend of the game.

Serena Williams

The America star has won an incredible 14 titles at The Championships, Wimbledon during her career, the majority of her 23 Grand Slam titles. She won the women’s singles title seven times, women's doubles six times and had one mixed doubles win. Williams is an icon in the tennis world and is considered to be the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, revolutionising women’s tennis since the 1990s.

All of these players are immensely skilled and proved their talent on grass over many years. Whist Djokovic isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, and with Sampras and Federer no longer playing, there are a number of rising stars who have come onto the world tennis scene in the past 12 months. Carlos Alcaraz stole the Wimbledon title from Djokovic in 2023, claiming his first win at the prestigious tournament and has continuously proven his ability at such a young age.

While we won’t know what the Wimbledon draw will be just yet, we can’t wait to witness more of the world’s greatest players take to SW19 for another year of record-breaking action and see more iconic stars in the making. But who will the next winner of The Championships be? View our remaining Wimbledon hospitality experiences here to witness the icons play like a VIP.