Which player won the first Open Era Wimbledon women's singles title in 1968?

Billie Jean King won the first Open Era Wimbledon women’s singles title in 1968.

The 1968 Wimbledon Championships were the tournament’s first edition open to professional players, marking the beginning of tennis’s Open Era. King, then the defending champion, defeated Australia’s Judy Tegart in the final by scores of 9–7 and 7–5. It was King’s third Wimbledon singles title and her fifth major singles championship.

The Open Era ended the formal separation between amateur and professional tennis players at the major tournaments. That distinction matters because 1968 also produced different champions at the US Open: Virginia Wade won there, while King finished runner-up. Ann Jones reached the Wimbledon semifinals, and Margaret Court lost in the quarterfinals, so none of those players was the correct Wimbledon answer. King later became one of the most influential figures in sports equality, including her work in founding the Virginia Slims circuit and advocating for equal opportunities for women athletes.