‘The moment of victory is much Too short To live for That alone’
SHE WON WIMBLEDON A RECORD NINE TIMES BUT THERE’S MUCH MORE TO MARTINA NAVRATILOVA’S STORY THAN TENNIS
There was a point when it seemed Wimbledon could be cancelled this year as the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives, so tennis icon Martina Navratilova is delighted to be back in the UK to commentate on her favourite tournament.
The green grass of SW19 is dear to her after the massive success she had on its hallowed courts and the way the British crowds took her to their hearts during her career. And it is little wonder they did – because as well as being considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time Martina, 64, has overcome adversity and challenged a few prejudices away from the court.
The Czech-born left-hander won 18 Grand Slam titles – nine of them at Wimbledon and six of them consecutively from 1982.
Known for her attacking serve, she revolutionised the women’s game with her sheer athleticism and aggression.
She’s been a role model to generations of players and is now a broadcaster and an ambassador for Sir Elton John’s Aids Foundation, animal rights group PETA and the Human Rights Campaign. And like all fairytales, her life story is one that began with real hardship.
Martina was three when she first hit a tennis ball on a clay court in Prague. Under Communist rule, her family’s land was taken by the state but the neglected court remained, which her bedroom overlooked.
She recalls of her family, “They were denied so much. I am just sorry my own mother had to live under that regime for most of her life. I was lucky. I got out and, 14 years later, Czechoslovakia became a free country. So I feel anger, even fury, at this bloody system that ruined so many people’s lives for no reason whatsoever.”
Martina was a natural talent at tennis but the Czech tennis federation pocketed all her teenage winnings. She was 18 when she took the huge decision to seek asylum in America during the US Open in 1975.
She told her dad but not her mum and was immediately sequestered by the FBI and US immigration during the tournament – where she reached the semi-finals. She had no idea when she’d see her family again.
Three weeks later she said at a press conference, “I wanted my freedom.”
It took her another two years to reach the world number one position as a player and by then she was persona non grata in her home country but an icon in the West.
She became a US citizen, although when Czechoslovakia was freed she returned and now holds dual citizenship.
Martina also made history when she came out as a bisexual in 1981, becoming the first athlete at the top of her game to do so.
She estimates that she lost out on something in the region of £7 million in sponsorship as corporations avoided working with her during the 1980s Aids epidemic.
Following a couple of long-term relationships with women, she proposed to Russian ex-model Julia Lemigova, 48, during the US Open in 2014 and they married in the December of that year.
While making a TV appearance three years ago, the couple offered a glimpse into their relationship. Julia hilariously complained about Martina’s signature hats, saying, “It annoys me that Martina has pretty blonde hair but she wears her baseball cap way too much.” And Martina countered by saying, “She thinks it’s too butch.” She added, “My hat is for two things – to keep my hair out of my face and go incognito. People don’t recognise me as much when I have a hat on.”
Her life has been a magnificent journey – but that’s only because she realised early on that success was about more than winning trophies.
“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that alone,” she says.
And not content with having already shattered a few glass ceilings herself, Martina is passionate about pushing for women’s rights and equality in sports.
She has said, “I look at this fight for equality for women and girls in sports as a great opportunity to push the ball forward across the board and beyond sports. It’s about changing the social construct and subverting norms and perceptions.”
Martina seems determined to keep changing the world, especially wherever she still sees injustice. And she said last year with a smile on her face, “I know if I had Twitter 30 years ago, I would have been raising holy hell!”