After a Wimbledon tournament full of shocks, Martina Navratilova said it was time the top women players "stepped up to the plate" following the shock retirement of world number one Justine Henin.
Navratilova, nine times champion at Wimbledon, said: "It is a changing of the guard. It is the first time ever we don’t have one of the top four seeds in the quarters."
The tournament lost much of its glamour when Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova were knocked out in early rounds and Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova followed suit.
Now the prospect is looming of sisters Venus and Serena Williams heading for their third Wimbledon final against each other. The pair have dominated 21st century Wimbledon, winning six singles titles between them.
Navratilova said: "Nobody has stepped up to the plate. Maybe this will be the resurrection of Serena and Venus. Maybe they will end up number one and two at the end of the year."
"We have the new generation, a lot of new players coming through in their late teens and early 20s. The middle is much stronger, the top is a little bit weaker," she said.
The world of tennis was shocked in May by the surprise announcement from Henin that she was to retire from the game at the pinnacle of her powers.
Navratilova, noting how the landscape of the women’s game has changed so suddenly, said: "It is too even at the top and nobody has risen to the top."
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