1978 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles 1978 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Virginia Wade was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Chris Evert. Martina Navratilova defeated her rival Evert in the final, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1978 Wimbledon Championships. This was Navratilova's first of 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a record nine Wimbledon singles titles. This was the first time Wimbledon seeded 16 players for the ladies' championship, increasing the number from 12 in 1977. There have been at least 16 seeds in every championship since. Chris Evert "(Final)" As originally published Rosie Casals
1998 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles 1998 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Martina Hingis was the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotná, in a rematch of the previous year's final. Novotná defeated Nathalie Tauziat in the final, 6–4, 7–6 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships. This was Novotná's first win in a Wimbledon final on her third attempt. This would be the last time a Czech player would win Wimbledon (or win a Grand Slam title) until Petra Kvitová won in 2011. The 1998 final was the first time in the Open Era since the 1980