“Maybe she gives collective confidence to the locker room: ‘If she can do it, I can, too,’” Navratilova said.

Above all, what helps the collective confidence is the absence of Serena Williams, the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion who is pregnant and, until further notice, out of the game — though hardly out of the headlines. (See her recent Vanity Fair cover.)

“Once you’re a star, you don’t still have to be active to steal the limelight,” Navratilova said.

But you do have to be active to take temporary possession of the Venus Rosewater Dish, which is awarded to the women’s champion. Amid the haze and disorder, what is clear is that some contenders have more time than others to win it in the future.

Consider Monday’s opening match on Centre Court between Venus Williams, 37, and Ana Konjuh, 19, who had not been born when Venus Williams played in her first Wimbledon in 1997.

Konjuh, a huge-hitting Croatian, is quite a threat to Williams now, with her powerful baseline game and aggressive returns. But Williams, seeded 10th, has already fended off one dangerous 19-year-old here, beating Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round.

It is, of course, quite an achievement that Williams is still in the mix at Wimbledon at all. She is the oldest woman to reach the fourth round in singles here since Navratilova in 1994. (Navratilova, then 37 and much closer to 38 than Williams is now, lost in the final.)

The two are also known for an ability to keep personal turmoil from undermining their work.

On June 9, Venus Williams was involved in a traffic accident in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., that led to the death of Jerome Barson, 78. Williams broke down in tears when she was questioned about the accident after her first round here but has appeared as unflappable as usual on court.