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,
Pete Sampras (the second most of all-time after Roger Federer's 310 weeks) and was year-end No. 1 for an ATP record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. Sampras was known for his natural attacking serve-and-volley game, all-round game, and strong competitive instinct. Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts, Sampras won seven Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles titles (1993–95, 1997–2000), broken only by a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek. Sampras's seven Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles titles, tied with William Renshaw, has only been surpassed by Roger Federer who won a record eighth Gentleman's Singles title in 2017.