NINE times Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova lost her first doubles match in Australia in 22 years at the Sydney International Tuesday.

The former world number one's unbeaten streak came to an end when she and Alexandra Stevenson were beaten 6-3 6-2 by Evie Dominikovic and Myriam Oremans.

Navratilova's last doubles loss in Australia was at the 1981 Australian Open final. She won every Australian Open doubles title after that until her last appearance in 1989.

She retired from tennis in 1994 but made a comeback in 2000, playing doubles only, and returned to Australia for the first time this year.

Navratilova, 46, teamed up with Svetlana Kuznetsova to win last week's Australian women's hardcourt title, making her the oldest player ever to win a tournament, singles or doubles, on tour.

Navratilova will link up again with Kuznetsova at next week's Australian Open once she completes the 10-hour drive to Melbourne.

She had planned to fly but said she had been forced to hit the road after airline officials told her she could carry her new pet dog on board.