Walk through the gates of the All England Club and you’ll feel it immediately. The smell of freshly cut rye grass is basically the scent of history. For over a century, the best in the world have chased a gold trophy on these lawns, but only a handful have truly owned the place.
Most people usually shout out Roger Federer. They aren't wrong, at least on the men's side. But if we’re talking about the absolute, all-time record for singles titles at SW19, Federer isn't actually the person at the very top of the mountain. That honor belongs to someone else entirely.
Who won Wimbledon the most? The singles leaderboard
To get the real answer, you have to look at Martina Navratilova.
Honestly, her dominance was kind of terrifying. Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles. She didn't just win; she practically lived on the Centre Court trophy presentation stage. Between 1978 and 1990, she was the final boss of grass-court tennis. She even won six of those titles in a row from 1982 to 1987. Imagine showing up to the hardest tournament in the world for six straight years and never losing. That’s what she did.
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Roger Federer sits just behind her with eight titles. For a long time, it felt like Federer and Wimbledon were synonymous. He had this effortless glide on the grass that made it look like he was playing a different sport.
The Men's side of the bracket
While Federer holds the record with eight, the "Greatest of All Time" conversation at Wimbledon is getting crowded. Novak Djokovic is currently sitting on seven titles. He was a hair's breadth away from tying Roger’s record in recent years, but Carlos Alcaraz famously played spoiler in that epic 2023 final. And then Jannik Sinner stepped up to take the 2025 crown.
Here is how the top men's singles winners stack up:
- Roger Federer: 8 titles (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)
- Novak Djokovic: 7 titles (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
- Pete Sampras: 7 titles (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
- William Renshaw: 7 titles (1881-1886, 1889)
- Björn Borg: 5 titles (1976-1980)
Renshaw is a weird one for modern fans. He played in the 1880s when the "Challenge Round" existed. Basically, the defending champion got a bye all the way to the final. It was a lot easier to keep your trophy back then, which is why most experts put a little asterisk next to those pre-Open Era numbers.
The women who ruled the grass
Navratilova is the queen, but she had company. Helen Wills Moody, an American who played mostly in the 1920s and 30s, racked up eight titles. She was known as "Little Miss Poker Face" because she never showed emotion.
Then you have Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. Both finished their careers with seven Wimbledon singles titles. It's wild to think that if a few points had gone differently in a couple of finals, Serena might have blown past Navratilova’s nine.
- Martina Navratilova: 9 titles
- Helen Wills Moody: 8 titles
- Steffi Graf: 7 titles
- Serena Williams: 7 titles
- Billie Jean King: 6 titles (plus a ton in doubles)
Speaking of Billie Jean King, if you count doubles and mixed doubles, the numbers get even crazier. Both she and Navratilova won a total of 20 Wimbledon titles across all categories. Twenty. That is a lot of silver plates and trophies to polish.
Why does grass favor these specific players?
Grass is a specialist surface. It’s fast. The ball stays low. If you have a massive serve or you’re comfortable at the net, you’re going to thrive. Navratilova was the ultimate serve-and-volleyer. Federer had the variety. Sampras had that "Pistol Pete" serve that was basically unreturnable on a warm London afternoon.
If you can't move well on grass—which is slippery and rewards short, choppy steps—you're toast. That’s why players like Rafael Nadal, who is the king of clay, "only" won Wimbledon twice. Two is still incredible, but it shows how high the barrier is to join the 7 or 8-club.
What about the modern era?
We are in a bit of a transition phase right now. The "Big Three" era is officially fading. Federer is retired. Nadal is at the end of the road. Djokovic is still a massive threat, but the younger generation has finally figured out how to play on the green stuff.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the names to watch. Alcaraz showed a lot of guts winning back-to-back in '23 and '24. Sinner’s 2025 win proved that the power game is the new standard at SW19. Whether any of them can actually get to eight or nine titles? That’s a tall order. You need a decade of perfect health and zero "off" days.
Actionable insights for tennis fans
If you want to understand why these records matter, you should actually watch how the court changes over the two weeks.
- Watch the baseline: By the second week, the grass at the baseline is gone. It's just dirt. This changes how the ball bounces and favors the grinders over the pure serve-and-volleyers.
- Check the archives: Go find footage of Navratilova in 1985 or Sampras in 1995. The speed of the game was different, but the pressure of Centre Court remains exactly the same.
- Track the 2026 season: With the current talent gap closing, keep an eye on the grass-court lead-up tournaments like Queen's Club or Halle. They are usually the best predictors of who is going to add to their title count in July.
Knowing who won Wimbledon the most is one thing, but seeing how they did it—the slice backhands, the diving volleys, the mental toughness—is what makes the tournament special.