Martina Navratilova at the Canadian Open: Career Record, Titles and Tennis Legacy

Martina Navratilova is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of professional sport. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, a record 167 singles titles overall, and 177 doubles titles across a remarkable career that spanned four decades from 1974 to 2006.

At the Canadian Open, Navratilova was simply dominant. Five titles across seven years made her the most successful women’s champion in the history of this tournament, a record that stood for decades and remains one of the most impressive individual records the Canadian Open has ever produced.

This page covers her full Canadian Open record, her greatest performances in Toronto and Montreal, and the legacy she left behind as one of the finest players ever to compete at this tournament.

Quick Facts:

Martina Navratilova at the Canadian Open

For Martina Navratilova, the Canadian Open was one of the tournaments where her dominance over women’s tennis during the late 1970s and 1980s was most consistently and impressively displayed.

Five titles across seven years represent a level of sustained excellence at this event that no women’s player before or since has matched. Navratilova arrived in Canada each summer during her peak years as the clear favourite and almost always delivered exactly what her ranking and reputation promised.

What made Navratilova so dominant at the Canadian Open:

• Her serve and volley game was uniquely suited to the hard court conditions in Toronto and Montreal
• Her extraordinary physical fitness, revolutionary for women’s tennis in the 1970s and 1980s, allowed her to dominate opponents physically across an entire tournament week
• Her left-handed serve created angles and difficulties that right-handed opponents struggled to handle consistently
• Her mental strength and competitive intensity under pressure were unmatched in women’s tennis during her peak era

Navratilova’s 1983 season was statistically the most dominant in the Open Era, as she compiled an 86-1 record for a .989 winning percentage. Her Canadian Open titles during this period were a natural extension of a level of tennis that the women’s game had simply never seen before.

Her five Canadian Open titles remain the record for any women’s player at this tournament, a testament to how completely she owned this event during the greatest years of her extraordinary career.

Canadian Open Results

Martina Navratilova built the most impressive Canadian Open record of any women’s player in the history of the tournament, winning the title five times across a remarkable seven year period.

Key observations from her Canadian Open record:

• Navratilova won five Canadian Open titles across a seven year span from 1978 to 1984
• She successfully defended her title in 1979, winning back to back Canadian Open championships
• Her 1983 title came during the most statistically dominant season in Open Era tennis history
• Her five titles are the all time record for any women’s player at the Canadian Open
• She won titles in both Toronto and Montreal, demonstrating her dominance was not venue specific
• No women’s player in the modern era has come close to matching her five title record at this tournament

Best Canadian Open Performances

Among her five Canadian Open titles, two performances stand out as particularly significant moments in Navratilova’s career at this tournament.

1979 Montreal – Successful Title Defence:

Navratilova’s 1979 Canadian Open title was a successful defence of her 1978 crown, making her one of the few women’s players in the modern era to win consecutive Canadian Open titles. Winning back to back at a major WTA event against a competitive field demonstrated the consistency and confidence that defined her entire career during this period.

1983 Montreal – Dominant Title During Greatest Season:

Navratilova’s 1983 Canadian Open title came during what is statistically the most dominant season any player, male or female, has produced in the Open Era. She compiled an 86-1 record for a .989 winning percentage that year, winning virtually every tournament she entered including Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.

Winning the Canadian Open as part of that 1983 campaign placed her title alongside some of the most impressive tournament victories of the entire decade. Every match she played that year was a demonstration of tennis at a level the sport had never witnessed before.

Career Canadian Open performance summary:

Titles and Records

Martina Navratilova retired from professional singles competition in 1994 and from doubles in 2006 as the most decorated player in the history of professional tennis across all categories.

Career title breakdown:

Key career records and milestones:

• Won a record nine Wimbledon singles titles, the most at any single Grand Slam by any player in history
• Won 167 singles titles and 177 doubles titles, both Open Era records for any player male or female Grand Slam History
• Spent 332 weeks at world No. 1, the second most in WTA history behind Steffi Graf
• Won 59 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined
• Collected six consecutive Grand Slam singles titles from Wimbledon 1983 through the US Open 1984, equalling the record set by Maureen Connolly and Margaret Court
• Became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title at the 2006 US Open mixed doubles at age 49
• Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000
• Her five Canadian Open titles remain the all-time record for any women’s player at this tournament

Latest Canadian Open Appearances

Martina Navratilova’s final Canadian Open title came in 1984, and her competitive singles appearances at the tournament concluded during the mid to late 1980s as younger players began to challenge her dominance on the WTA tour.

Her Canadian Open appearances are now a permanent and celebrated part of the tournament’s history, representing the most dominant individual women’s record this event has ever produced.

Navratilova’s Canadian Open appearance timeline:

After her singles retirement in 1994, Navratilova continued competing in doubles and mixed doubles events for another 12 years, demonstrating the extraordinary longevity that defined her four-decade career. Her final Grand Slam title came at the 2006 US Open mixed doubles at the age of 49, making her the oldest player ever to win a Grand Slam title.

That achievement alone tells you everything about Martina Navratilova. A player who simply refused to stop competing at the highest level until her body left her no other choice.

For a complete look at all Canadian Open champions including Navratilova’s five title years, explore our full Canadian Open winners list.

Conclusion

Martina Navratilova retired in 2006 as the most decorated player in the history of professional tennis across all categories. Eighteen Grand Slam singles titles, 167 career singles titles, 177 doubles titles, and a nine-time Wimbledon record that may never be broken.

At the Canadian Open, her five titles across 1978 to 1984 represent the greatest individual women’s record this tournament has ever produced. No women’s player before or since has come close to matching what she achieved on Canadian hard courts during the peak years of her extraordinary career.

To explore the full list of Canadian Open champions across every era, visit our complete Canadian Open winners list.