Fifty-two years after lifting the trophy at Queen’s Club, Olga Morozova is back, older, wiser and ... still technically the defending champion.
Her 1973 win at the Rothman’s London Grass Court Championships came in the very first title match of the new WTA era. Armed with a wooden racquet and seeded eighth, the Moscow-born right-hander defeated No. 3 seed Evonne Goolagong 6-2, 6-3 to claim what remains arguably the biggest singles title of her career.
“It’s got to be some kind of record, right?” Morozova said with a mischievous glint, chuckling at the idea that her reign as Queen’s champion has quietly stretched across five decades.
For reasons that would soon become historic, Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals skipped singles that week -- they won the doubles instead -- but the singles draw was stacked. Margaret Court and Chris Evert led the 64-player field, and most of the world’s best showed up for what was, at the time, a key grass-court tune-up.
Story by Adam Lincoln
