7. Kathy Jordan upsets Chris Evert in 3rd round at Wimbledon 1983
Evert had reached at least the semifinals of every major she played in since 1971 — 34 in a row — prior to being upset by the unseeded Jordan at Wimbledon in ’83. Jordan was unseeded in the tournament, and she was the first non-top 10 player to defeat Evert in four years. Of course, Evert was reported to be ill prior to the match, which may have contributed to her straight set defeat. Evert reached 34 grand slam finals during her career, winning 18 of them. Jordan reached the finals of one major and the semis of another, but she never won a major during her career. Her win over Evert may have been the biggest of her career.
6. Sabine Lisicki stuns Serena Williams in 4th round of 2013 Wimbledon
When Serena loses early in a major, it often makes big news. And this was no exception.
Williams entered the match on a personal-best 34 match winning streak. After dropping the first set, she then won nine games in a row and appeared to be cruising up 3-0 in the third before Lisicki rallied to win four games to take the match. Williams had won three of the previous four Wimbledons prior to her upset loss. She also had won three of the previous four majors entering the tournament and then rebounded to win the US Open.
Lisicki reached the finals of Wimbledon that year, marking her best finish at a major. Though she plays well at Wimbledon and has reached the quarterfinals at the All-England Club five times during her career, she has never made it past the fourth round at any other major.
5. 129th-ranked Jelena Dokic beats No. 1 Martina Hingis at Wimbledon 1999
Martina Hingis was the No. 1 player in the world, while Jelena Dokic made it into the tournament as a qualifier and was ranked just 129th in the world. Yet Dokic mopped up the floor with Hingis, beating her 6-2, 6-0 in only 55 minutes. To show just how shocking this was, Hingis had beaten Dokic 6-1, 6-2 en route to winning the Australian Open. Dokic became the lowest-ranked player to defeat a top-seeded player at a grand slam in the Open era.
Dokic went on to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon that year and made the semis at the All-England Club the following year, but she only had marginal success the rest of her career. Hingis rebounded to reach the finals of the next two majors.
4. 15-year-old Chris Evert defeats world No. 1 Margaret Court in 1970
Margaret Court was the No. 1 player in the world and won the Grand Slam in 1970, meaning she captured all four majors. Yet 15-year-old Chris Evert defeated her 7-6, 7-6 at a clay court tournament in Charlotte. Court was at the pinnacle in the tennis world at the time, while Evert’s career was just starting. She played in her first career major at the US Open the following year and reached the semifinals at age 16. But well before that happened, she defeated the No. 1 player who was in the middle of one of the best years in tennis history, all when she was only 15 years old.
