Grand Slam great Martina Navratilova believes the current generation of tennis superstars face a threat to their place in history due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Roger Federer is currently leading the men’s all-time list on 20 singles titles while Serena Williams remains an agonising one more major win away from matching Margaret Court’s women’s record on 24.

And Navratilova, who won 59 grand slam titles in total, believes the sport’s shutdown is bound to have an adverse effect on those building their legacies as they prepare to exit the sport.

Navratilova added: “For tennis players, at New Year, we always toast Wimbledon. I have been coming to Wimbledon since I was 16. I have not missed one of them.

“Now it’s the first time without Wimbledon and I’m itching to get on a plane and just touch the grass.”

:: Martina Navratilova is a member of the Laureus Sports Academy, Laureus Sport for Good has raised more than 150million euros for the Sport for Development sector.