2004 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles became the third-youngest woman to win Wimbledon (behind Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis) and the second Russian woman (after Anastasia Myskina won the French Open earlier that year) to win a Grand Slam title. Venus Williams, who had appeared in the previous four Wimbledon finals, winning in 2000 and 2001, suffered her earliest exit from Wimbledon since her debut, being upset in the second round by Karolina Šprem. This was also the last Grand Slam singles tournament that former world No. 1 Martina Navratilova competed in; having been awarded a wild card, she won her first round match and became,
2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Graf or Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Serena Williams (Champion) Amélie Mauresmo withdrew due to a rib injury. She was replaced in the draw by the highest-ranked non-seeded player Svetlana Kuznetsova, who became the #33 seed. 2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Serena Williams successfully defended her title, defeating her older sister Venus in the final for the second year in a row, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. This was the first Wimbledon appearance of future World No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. She made it to the fourth