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,
1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Chris Evert was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Virginia Wade. Wade defeated Betty Stöve in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. As of 2017 Wade remains the last British woman to win a Wimbledon singles title. This was the first time Wimbledon seeded more than 8 players for the ladies' championship, increasing the number (for this year only) to twelve players. The number increased to 16 in 1978. Chris Evert "(Semifinals)" Dianne Fromholtz withdrew due to