Pam Shriver/Martina Navratilova : The GOATS of women's doubles

Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver dominated the women's doubles scene in the 1980s. They accumulated 20 Grand Slam titles together as a pairing and once enjoyed a 109 match winning streak. The All-American duo emerged triumphant in 79 of the 104 tournaments they competed in.

Shriver was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 4th, 1962, Independence Day in the USA. Navratilova came into the world in Czechoslovakia on October, 18th 1956. She would eventually take political asylum in the US after fleeing Communist rule in her homeland.

Shriver begs to compete on the tour in 1978, a few years after Navratilova. Their combination in doubles came to fruition in 1981 and success was instant.

Their first title in unison came at the Avon Championships of Chicago in February 1981. It was one of ten titles in a season that was headlined by their first major title as a partnership at Wimbledon. In the SW19 title match, Shriver and Navratilova defeated compatriots Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith.

Their 1982 campaign included a successful defence at Wimbledon, once again toppling Jordan and Smith in the final. A second major title of the year happened at the Australian Open in November, where they beat German duo Claudia Kohde-Klisch and Eva Pfaff in the final.

A total of 13 titles were lifted in a year where they had now firmly established themselves as the preeminent doubles team in the world. Among their non major titles this year were the Family Circle Cup, Porsche Grand Prix and the BMW International in Eastbourne.

Their 1983 campaign was another incredibly productive one. They amassed 13 titles including a treble of Grand Slams. It was also a season where in April they began an astonishing run of winning 109 matches in a row.

The American pair made successful defences at Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open. In London, victory came after a straight sets win over Rosemary Casals and Wendy Turnbull. The title match in New York saw them bounce back from losing the opening set against Candy Reynolds and Rosalyn Fairbank Nideffer. At the end of a glorious year, Melbourne was the setting for a third major of the campaign. They emerged triumphant in a three set battle with Brit Anne Hobbs and Turnbull.

1984 would represent the absolute zenith of their alliance. Shriver and Navratilova became the only pair in the Open Era to complete a Calendar Year Grand Slam. This quartet of majors formed part of a season which yielded 12 titles.

At the time Roland Garros acted as the season's opening Grand Slam. Coming from a set down, Shriver/Navratilova bested Kohde-Klisch and Hana Mandlikova to secure a Career Grand Slam. It also meant they were now in possession of all four majors but not in a calendar year.

A straight sets win over Jordan and Smith gave them a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. They followed this by grabbing a third straight US Open crown in New York, defeating Hobbs and Turnbull 6-2, 6-4.

Heading into the Australian Open, having now won the last six Grand Slam titles, Shriver and Navratilova had the opportunity for tennis immortality. They duly delivered with a straight sets victory over Kohde-Klisch and Helena Sukova. Their achievement is a unique feat in the Open Era of doubles.

Their dominance continued into the 1985 season as they lifted six titles before a successful defence in Paris. Kohde-Klisch and Sukova were beaten in the final in a deciding set.

Their winning streak was halted at the All-England Club when beaten in three sets by Jordan and Australian Liz Smylie. Their run of 109 consecutive match wins remains a world record in the Open Era for either singles or doubles outside the wheelchair game.

Normal service was resumed in the autumn as they amassed a further three titles including a fourth Australian Open crown in a row.

Eleven titles were accrued in a 1986 season where they continued to set the benchmark. Victories at Wimbledon and the US Open over Mandlikova and Sukova were the campaign's highlights.

The 1987 season witnessed the American juggernaut pocket an octet of titles. Their haul included a trio of majors. It began with the Australian Open, now in a January slot, where they lost just one game in beating Lori McNeil and Zina Garrison in the final. A third French Open title was clinched with a final victory over Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini. Jordan and Smylie were vanquished opponents in the US Open final - a fourth title for Shriver/Navratilova in New York.

A total of seven tournaments were won by Shriver and Navratilova in 1988, including a sixth Australian Open title, after they beat Chris Evert and Turnbull in the final. Later in the summer, Roland Garros glory materialised for a fourth time after beating Kohde-Klisch and Sukova in the final. They finished the term by winning the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships (now the WTA Finals) for a record-extending eighth time.

Navratilova opted out of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Tennis was returning to the Olympic programme after a long absence but the strongly principled Czech American felt tennis was not true to the amateur ethos of the Olympic Games. She wouldn't feature at sport's greatest festival until the Athens Games of 2004, aged 47.

In her absence, Shriver chose to hook up with Garrison and they went on to claim gold. The final saw them prevail 10-8 in a deciding set over Sukova and the late great Jana Novotna.

The 1989 campaign would be the last in which the two played together regularly. They added eight titles to their bulging CV. This featured another triumph at the Australian Open, beating Americans Patty Fendick and Jill Hetherington to win the Melbourne showpiece for a seventh time.

They would occasionally reconvene after their 1980s pomp. A tenth win, in November 1991, at the Virginia Slims Championships in New York was followed by two titles in 1992 that would be their last together.

Of the 21 Grand Slams lifted in doubles by Shriver, all but one of them came with Navratilova. The exception was at the 1991 US Open, in tandem with Belarussian Natasha Zvereva, they defeated Novotna and Larisa Neiland Savchenko in a thrilling final that went all the way. Then, two years later, Zvereva was now with Gigi Fernandez, and they defeated Shriver and Smylie in the 1993 Australian Open final.

For all Shriver never came close to matching the sensational feats of Navratilova in singles, much of the 1980s was spent in the sport’s upper echelons. Her highest ever ranking was reaching world number three.

Shriver lifted 21 singles titles from 48 finals. The standout triumphs included winning the Canadian Open event in Toronto held in August 1987. She also won a record four Birmingham Classic titles in succession at the grasscourts of Edgbaston Priory Club.

The closest she came in a major was very early on when beaten by the great Evert in the 1978 US Open final. Shriver was also beaten in eight major singles semi-finals. Oddly, Shriver opted to participate in the French Open singles on two occasions.

The 6ft tall American won a solitary Grand Slam in mixed doubles. Shriver partnered Emilio Sanchez-Vicario, brother of the great Aranxta, to win the 1987 French Open mixed doubles title.

Shriver was part of US Fed Cup winning teams in 1986 and 1989. Navratilova was with her for both of these successes, having previously been part of victorious US squads.

For the singles career of Navratilova, please read a previous Tennis Legends profile on the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion who won a record nine Wimbledon singles titles.

Shriver married a Bond actor and spoke out about inappropriate relationship with former coach

Shriver was coached for much of her career by Don Candy. In 2022, she chose to reveal that for many years they engaged in a romantic relationship that started when she was just 17, below the age of consent in the US. Shriver made the decision to speak out as she wanted to warn today's players about the dangers of those kinds of relationships.

The Baltimore native, who is a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, was first married to lawyer Joe Shapiro but he sadly died in 1999. Three years later, Shriver married actor George Lazenby, known for his work as James Bond in Her Majesty's Secret Service. They divorced six years later but had three children together including twins Kate and Sam. A year ago, Shriver revealed they've reunited and she now also is his carer due to the impact of dementia.

Like Navratilova, Shriver has worked in the tennis media for many years, primarily for Stateside broadcasters.

As a doubles team, their claims to be the greatest ever stand up considerably. Twenty majors in unison is a record for any female or male partnership in the Open Era. Louise Brough and Margaret Du Pont also lifted twenty Slams but in the less competitive amateur era.

Their winning streak is unprecedented. They managed to win eight majors in the spin at one stage. The American double act possessed an incredible strike rate of 79 victories from 104 tournaments contested. The Williams sisters could've perhaps bettered their tally if they'd competed more often in doubles, but even they never boasted a run in the majors like the queens of doubles, Shriver and Navratilova.