1966 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles 1966 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Margaret Smith was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Billie Jean King. King defeated Maria Bueno in the final, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1966 Wimbledon Championships. The second round match in which Gail Sherriff beat her sister Carol was the second match between sisters in the ladies' singles draw at Wimbledon, the first being in the 1884 Wimbledon Championships when Maud Watson beat Lillian. The next Wimbledon match between sisters in the singles draw was in 2000 between Serena and Venus Williams. Margaret
Billie Jean King titles just one day after Ryan collapsed and died at Wimbledon. At the US Open, the ninth-seeded King reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set, where she upset the fourth-seeded Virginia Wade 6–3, 7–6(4). Next up was a semifinal match with the four-time defending champion and top-seeded Chris Evert; however, with King hampered by a neck injury sustained during a bear hug with a friend the day before the match, Evert won 6–1, 6–0, including the last eleven games and 48 of the last 63 points. This was Evert's eighth consecutive win over King, with Evert during those matches losing