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The three greatest seasons by a player in tennis history

By Brandon Daniels

Steffi Graf of Germany during the Women's Singles Final against Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship on 8 July 1989 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images)
Steffi Graf of Germany during the Women's Singles Final against Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship on 8 July 1989 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – NOVEMBER: Martina Navratilova waits for a serve during the Virginia Slims Tennis Championships on November 1983 in Manhattan Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – NOVEMBER: Martina Navratilova waits for a serve during the Virginia Slims Tennis Championships on November 1983 in Manhattan Beach, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images) /

2. Martina Navratilova – 1983

Navratilova’s 86-1 record in 1983 could have been much different if not for a loss in the 4th round of the French Open. She captured the other three Grand Slam titles that year without missing a beat and won both Wimbledon and the US Open without dropping a set. She also showed why she was the best player in the world, as she had a 9-0 record against the two #2 players (6-0 vs Evert, 3-0 vs Jaeger). In the 87 matches she played, she lost a total of 9 sets. So why isn’t she at the top of the list?

We’ll get to the #1 spot in a bit. The reason this season isn’t the greatest of all-time in tennis is in part due to that French Open loss. She lost 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 to Kathy Horvath, the 33rd-ranked player in the world at the time. To be the best season ever, Navratilova needed to have put together a better result at Roland Garros. In my eyes, if she had made it at least to the semifinals, it would’ve catapulted her into the top spot.

It’s an argument of how important major tournaments are when assessing seasons. Winning the most amount of major tournaments is the key to distancing one season from another. That’s the reason I put Djokovic’s 2015 season at #3 and this 1983 season from Navratilova here, and also why this next season is the greatest season in tennis history.

Next. #1 - Steffi Graf's 1988 season. dark

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