Jana Novotna

Jana Novotna

Jana Novotna owned the most human story Wimbledon has told. In the 1993 final she led Steffi Graf 4-1 in the third set, a point from 5-1, then watched it unravel, and wept on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent, who told her she would win it one day. She lost the 1997 final from a set up against Martina Hingis. The promise held in 1998: at 29 years and nine months she beat Nathalie Tauziat 6-4, 7-6, the oldest first-time women's Grand Slam singles champion of the Open era.

The game was pure serve and volley, honed over nine years with coach Hana Mandlikova. It made her a doubles great: twelve Grand Slam women's doubles titles, four more in mixed, and the doubles No. 1 ranking beside a singles peak of world No. 2. The Wimbledon crown stands as her 1 singles major among 24 career titles. She retired in 1999, entered the Hall of Fame in 2005, and died of cancer in November 2017, at 49.