Martina Navratilova life and biography

Martina Navratilova, born October 10, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia is an American athlete and tennis player.

Martina Navratilova has won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and a record nine Wimbledon women’s singles titles. Her 167 tournament victories is an all-time high for a tennis player of either gender.

The clouds gathered, the sky darkened, and the summer rain fell on the grass, center court in the suburbs of London, England. This was early in the summer of 1988, late in the fortnight at Wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. In progress: the championship match of the women's competition between Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. Navratilova, 31, was the defending champion. A native of Czechoslovakia who is now an American citizen, she was seeking her seventh straight English crown and ninth there in the past 11 years. On the other side of the net was Graf, 19, a German who had lost the previous year's title match to Navratilova but seemed on her way to her first victory at Wimbledon.

When the rains came, each woman had won one set of the best-of-three finale. Navratilova had won the first, 7-5, but Graf had rebounded with an impressive 6-2 victory in the second set and had taken a 3-1 lead in the third. At one point, Graf had won nine straight games and had broken Navratilova's service five straight times. To borrow a cliché from another individualist sport, boxing, Graf had Navratilova on the ropes. "No one had treated Navratilova so rudely in years," wrote Paul Attner of the Sporting News. Would Navratilova, queen of this court through most of the 1980s, use the unplanned rest to gather her strength, adjust her strategy, prepare a dramatic comeback, and keep her title? With time on her hands, would Graf dwell on the enormity of her opportunity, lose her momentum, and squander what seemed in reach?

Perhaps it would happen in dreams, in fairy tales, or in movie scripts, but not on the lawn at Wimbledon in 1988. "In truth," wrote Curry Kirkpatrick of Sports Illustrated, "it was a reign stoppage." When they returned to the court, Graf quickly won the next three games to take the final set, 6-1, and leave with the silver plate that is presented to the champion by the Duchess of Kent. "It wound up being a sad scene for [Navratilova]," Graf said, "but a special one for me." Navratilova admitted: "I got blown out. This is definitely the end of a chapter.... Pass the torch, I guess."

Although the defeat at Wimbledon meant the end of a chapter, it certainly didn't close the book on the career of Navratilova, one of the world's most successful, colorful, and controversial athletes of her generation. Even if she hadn't been a tennis champion, Navratilova would have been an unusual and interesting person for at least two reasons. First, she is a political defector from Czechoslovakia, a communist country of the Soviet Eastern Bloc, who was outspoken about her desire to become a citizen of the United States; and second, she is a lesbian who has often discussed lesbian love in interviews and in her autobiography, Martina, co-authored with George Vecsey in 1985.

In tennis, she has shown more willingness than others of her generation to seek technical, physical, and emotional coaching from other persons inside and outside her sport. While Navratilova isn't the first to do such things, some experts feel her dedication to coaching and training has influenced other tennis players. "I'm not saying she's the first to do it," said Mary Carillo, a former player who is now a television commentator, in an interview for Newsmakers. "Margaret Court did it and Billie Jean King did it. But when Martina did it, everybody followed her lead. A lot of players now go to sports psychologists. Martina soared so far beyond everybody else, the only thing to do was to follow her lead. She did more than dominate the early 1980s. She set a whole new standard. She changed her diet and her fitness status. She made it scientific. She made it specific."

Navratilova was born on October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia and was raised in the suburb of Revnice by her mother and her stepfather. (Her real father committed suicide after the divorce.) As a lean, small child, Navratilova excelled in many sports, including hockey and skiing. She often competed against boys. "I'm not very psychologically oriented and I have no idea how I was affected by my real father's abandonment, the secrets and the suicide, or my feeling about being a misfit, a skinny little tomboy with short hair," she wrote in her autobiography. "In Czechoslovakia, nobody ever put me down for running around with boys, playing ice hockey and soccer. From what I've been told, people in the States used to think that if girls were good at sports, their sexuality would be affected."

As a teenager, Navratilova's tennis skills allowed her to tour foreign countries, including the United States. She felt stifled in Czechoslovakia and defected at the U.S. Open in 1975, shortly before her 19th birthday. At the time, she said it was strictly a matter of tennis. "Politics had nothing to do with my decision," she said in an Associated Press story. "It was strictly a tennis matter." In Prague, a reporter told her grandfather, who was quoted as replying, "Oh, the little idiot, why did she do that?" The defection was prompted in part, she said, by an incident early in 1975 when she was playing in a tournament at Amelia Island off the coast of Florida. She received a telegram from the officials of the Czech Sports Federation demanding that she return home. "I was in the middle of the tournament," she said. "I had to call upon the U.S. Tennis Association to help get me permission to play. That was when I really decided that I should leave Czechoslovakia."

Life in a capitalist country brought wealth--and problems. "I didn't do it for the money, but it's nice to have," she told the Detroit Free Press more than two years after the defection. She began to buy cars and houses, often owning several of each at the same time. She maintained a home in Fort Worth, Texas, and a townhouse in Aspen, Colorado. Among the problems were loneliness and a fondness for the fattening foods sold in fast-food restaurants in the United States. "I miss my family badly," she told Bud Collins in a New York Times Magazine article. "I worried for awhile that there would be retaliation against them, but there wasn't much." Her weight grew to 167 pounds shortly after her defection. She is five feet, seven and one-half inches tall. A decade later, after undergoing her physical conditioning program, she was 145 pounds of lean muscle.

Her physique stood in contrast to that of many American female athletes of the past who tried to maintain the-unlikely combination of round, soft, "feminine" curves and the athletic ability that comes with muscle tone and conditioning. Her appearance and personal behavior quickly led to public discussions of her sexual preference. "I never thought there was anything strange about being gay," she wrote in her book. "Even when I thought about it, I never panicked and thought, Oh, I'm strange, I'm weird, what do I do now?"

The book details many of Navratilova's relationships and living arrangements with women and how some soured and ended in bitterness. She tells of her professional relationship with Renee Richards, a female tennis player and coach and former man who had undergone a sex-change operation. Another one of her professional aides was Nancy Lieberman, a basketball player who Navratilova used for training and motivational purposes. At times, her many coaches and associates didn't get along. "Things got worse at Wimbledon when Renee was not invited to a surprise birthday party for Nancy, planned by some friends of Nancy's," Navratilova wrote in her book. "Renee thought it was Nancy's idea, but that was ridiculous. I knew the party was being planned, but I had other things on my mind." Navratilova's break-up with girlfriend Judy Nelson sparked considerable media attention when Nelson sued for half of Navratilova's earnings. The two women eventually settled.

The political side of her life story came to the fore in the summer of 1986, when she returned for the first time to Czechoslovakia. As an American citizen, she represented the United States in the Federation Cup in Prague. The return was a major media event as soon as she stepped off the plane. "Lights. Shouts. Rudeness. Pushing. Shoving," wrote Frank Deford in Sports Illustrated."How Kafka must have chuckled in his nearby grave as Navratilova beat a retreat." As she played well and won, she became a favorite of the fans, if not of Czech tennis officials. "Every day the lady from Revnice was winning more hearts," Deford wrote. "Young men dashed on the court to give her roses. The crowds began to acclaim her, and she grew more responsive--first waving shyly, then giving the thumbs-up sign and, last, blowing kisses. Why, it almost seemed as if the Statue of Liberty had gone on tour, turning in her torch for a Yonex racquet. Czech officials grew so enraged that on Friday they ordered the umpire not to introduce Navratilova by name. She became `On my left the woman player from the United States.'"

Navratilova is left-handed and plays tennis aggressively. "The pattern of attack is a vital factor in Martina's supremacy," Shirley Brasher wrote in Weekend Magazine of Canada."She gives her opponents no time to find their own rhythm, no time to play at a safe speed. Instead, she rushes them and pushes them around the court, hitting out for the lines and blanketing the next with her reach, power and speed."

As the years went by and her victory totals grew, Navratilova became a favorite subject of sports writers who watched her grow from an emotional teenager to a more self-assured adult. "She has evolved in the eyes of many," John Ed Bradley wrote in the Washington Post, "into a strong-armed automaton with a mean top spin forehand . . . and a tough, insensitive attitude that has wiped clean the memory of her emotional loss to Tracy Austin in the 1981 U.S. Open. Has the world forgotten that she wept violently at center court after dropping the third-set tie breaker?" As her career peaked, late in 1986, Peter Alfano wrote in the New York Times: "For the fifth consecutive year, Ms. Navratilova will finish as the No. 1 player in the world in the computer rankings. Her hold is so strong that a rare defeat is celebrated like a holiday on the tour, her victorious opponent treated like a conquering hero. Then come the whispers: Is Martina slowing down?"

Two years later, the whispers were common conversation. Her computer ranking fell to No. 2 and held there for 1988. Going into competition in 1988, she had won 17 Grand Slam titles. (A Grand Slam event is one of the four major tournaments: Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open.) Only three women had won more: Margaret Court (26), Helen Wills Moody (19), and Chris Evert (18). Prior to 1988, Navratilova had won at least one Grand Slam singles title in seven consecutive years. But the year 1988 was difficult for her with no Grand Slam titles. After being upset by Zina Garrison in the U.S. Open in suburban New York, Navratilova said, "If this year were a fish, I would throw it back."

Navratilova continued to play singles tennis despite constant retirement rumors. In 1992 she won her one hundred and fifty-eighth professional tennis title and broke the record for more tennis titles than any other man or woman. Playing with Jonathan Stark, the pair won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1995. A second attempt at a mixed doubles title at Wimbledon was squelched by a loss to Lindsay Davenport and Grant Connell in 1996. Reporters continued to ask Navratilova about her plans and whether or not she might return for another match on the professional tennis tour, and she remained noncommittal. After four years as a sports commentator for the Home Box Office cable network, Navratilova returned to U.S. Open doubles competition in 2000.

Navratilova has devoted some of her time off of the tennis court to writing. Her autobiography Martina chronicles her life from growing up in the former Czechoslovakia to her defection to the United States and subsequent rise to greatness and reveals much about trials and triumphs she has experienced along the way. Her mystery novels The Total Zone and Breaking Point were released in 1994 and 1996, and in 2000 she signed a lucrative endorsement contract with Subaru motors to promote that company's sports utility vehicles. Also in 2000, Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Being inducted into the Hall of Fame did not slow down Navratilova's career in the early 2000s. She continued play on the professional tour, primarily in doubles and mixed doubles events. After winning one doubles title on the women's tour (WTA) in 2002, Navratilova won seven doubles events, including the Canadian Open, in 2003. In 2003, she also won two Grand Slam mixed double tournaments, at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. While Navratilova was not as successful in 2004, winning only one doubles title, she did return to singles play. However, Navratilova lost in the first round at the French Open, then in the second round of Wimbledon. Despite such losses, Navratilova was still honored by being chosen to represent the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, as a member of the tennis team. By going to Athens, Navratilova made history as the oldest Olympic competitor ever in tennis. In September of 2006, after winning the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship in New York with Bob Bryan, she said she was done with competitive tennis.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Born October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia; came to United States, 1975; naturalized citizen, July 21, 1981; daughter of Jana (an office worker) and stepdaughter of Mirek (an economic adviser and tennis coach) Navratil. Education: Attended school in Czechoslovakia.

AWARDS

Named Player of the Year by Women's International Tennis Association, 1978-79, 1982-86; named Female Athlete of the Year by Associated Press, 1983; David Gray Service Award, Women's Tennis Association Tour, 1996; International Tennis Hall of Fame, 2000; Leyenda Award, Marca newspaper (Spain), 2002; BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003.

CAREER

Professional tennis player, 1974. Ranked No. 1 female tennis player in the world, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986; winner of numerous competitions and tournaments, including singles championships at Wimbledon, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1990; Australian Open, 1981, 1983, and 1985, French Open, 1982 and 1984, and U.S. Open, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1987; doubles championships at French Open, 1975, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988, Wimbledon, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1986, U.S. Open, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990, and Australian Open, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1989; mixed doubles championships at Wimbledon, 1985, 1993, 1995, and 2006; French Open, 1974 and 1985; Australian Open, 2003; and U.S. Open, 1985 and 1987. Member of U.S. Olympic Team, 2004. Has accumulated more than 1,000 match victories; in 1984, earned more money ($2,173,556) than any other athlete in the world, except two boxers. Has done extensive work on behalf of underprivileged and abused children.

CHRONOLOGY

* At the time of Navratilova's birth:
* Dwight Eisenhower was president of the United States
* France granted independence to Morocco
* Shirley Fry captured the women's singles titles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills
* The U.S. exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over the Pacific
* The times:
* 1957-1975: Vietnam War
* 1983: American invasion of Grenada
* 1991: Persian Gulf War
* 1992-1996: Civil War in Bosnia
* Navratilova's contemporaries:
* Susan Solomon (1956 -) American ozone hole researcher
* Sugar Ray Leonard (1956-) American boxer
* Joe Montana (1956-) American football player
* Mae C. Jemison (1956-) American astronaut
* Anita Hill (1956-) American educator
* Tom Hanks (1956-) American actor
* Larry Bird (1956-) American basketball player
* Tony Kushner (1956-) American writer
* Lynda Barry (1956-) American cartoonist
* Selected world events:
* 1956: Supreme Court ruling outlaws racial segregation in intrastate public transportation
* 1964: The Medicare Act was established for Americans age 65 and over
* 1968: Inflation mounts around the world
* 1972: British coal miners strike
* 1976: U.S. Supreme Court rules that blacks and other minorities are entitled to job security
* 1980: Soviets begin building new Siberian railway.
* 1984: Top fiction: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera; L;'Amant, by
* Marguerite Duras; Down from the Hill, by Alan Aillitoe
* 1988: Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Oakland A's in five games in the World Series
* 1992: Mall of America, the world's largest mall, opens after seven years of construction

Selected writings

* Martina(with George Vecsey), Knopf, 1985.

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