5 shortest Wimbledon champions in women's singles in the Open Era ft. Chris Evert, Simona Halep

Jasmine Paolini fought her way past Donna Vekic to book her spot in the Wimbledon final after the longest ladies SF at SW19.

Buried under the obvious stats and numbers, however, is a peculiar figure — 163 cm. At 5 feet and 4 inches tall. Poulini is one of the shortest players to make the final at Wimbledon.

In recent years, the likes of Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty have proven that height is not a barrier to achieving big things in the sport.

There are other bigger (shorter in this case) examples in history.

With Paolini gunning for the Venus Rosewater Dish in a couple of days, let's look back at the shortest Wimbledon women’s singles champions in the Open Era:

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Evonne Goolagong (168 cm or 5’ 6”)

Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon nine years apart, with her first title coming in 1971 just a few years into the Open Era. The Australian beat Margaret Court in a straightforward final to lift the trophy.

Goolagong, who was 168 cm tall, made three other finals, but it wasn’t until her fourth that she got her hands on the Venus Rosewater Dish again. She beat Chris Evert on this occasion.

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Chris Evert (168 cm or 5’ 6”)

Of Chris Evert’s 18 Grand Slam singles titles, three came at the All England Club. Her success on grass is even more significant given her commitment to the then distinctive baseline-oriented approach in a serve-and-volley age.

Evert, much like Goolagong, was only 168 cm tall. Her consistency on the groundstrokes, delicate touch, and grit more than made up for the height disadvantage.

The American’s first Wimbledon win came in 1974 when she beat Olga Morozova in the final. She won again in 1976 and 1981, beating Evonne Goolagong and Hana Mandlikova respectively.

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Simona Halep (168 cm or 5’ 6”)

Simona Halep embodied grit for a better part of the 2010s, a period that saw her lift two Grand Slam titles and rise to the World No. 1 ranking.

Her second major title came at Wimbledon, where she famously beat Serena Williams with surprising ease 6-2, 6-2. The height difference in that final was a full seven centimeters (Halep stands at 168 cm or 5’ 6” tall against Williams at 175 cm 5’ 9”). As she had done throughout her career, the Romanian bridged the height gap with her baseline prowess, incredible scrambling skills, and the will to fight for every ball.

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Billie Jean King (164 cm or 5’ 5”)

Trailblazers come in all shapes and sizes, and Billie Jean King is a testament to that. Her rather demure 164 cm (5’ 5”) frame did not stop her from spearheading the “Original Nine” — nine female players who put their careers on the line to be treated on par with their male counterparts, by starting a separate tour.

Her height did not stop her from lifting six Wimbledon titles — four of which came in the Open Era. Her last victory was in 1975 when she beat Evonne Goolagong in the final.

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Ann Jones (162.5 cm 5' 4")

The second year into the Open Era gave Wimbledon a 162.5 cm (5’4”) champion in the form of Ann Jones. To date, she remains the shortest player to have lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish (no shorter player ever got hands on the trophy even before Open Era).

The Birmingham-born player beat none other than Billie Jean King in the final, coming back from a set down to prevail 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

At 163 cm, Paolini is half a centimeter taller than Jones. That means the Briton’s record will stand for another year at least.