Martina Navratilova - USA 
| Birth Date:
| 10/18/1956 |
Age:
| 56 |
| Birth Place:
| Prague, Czech Republic |
Residence:
| Sarasota, Florida, USA |
| Height:
| 5'8'' (1.73 m) |
Weight:
| 145 lbs. (65 kg) |
| Year Turned Pro:
| 1975 (37 years on tour) |
Plays:
| Left handed |
| Official Website:
| http://www.martinanavratilova.com/ |
Twitter:
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Czechoslovakian-born Martina Navratilova ranks on the short list of the greatest female players -- not just of the Open Era, but of all time.
Navratilova won 59 Grand Slam titles in her career -- 18 singles, 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles. She reached the Wimbledon women's singles final 12 times, including nine straight and won the title nine times. She is also one of just three women ever to win the Grand Slam "boxed set" - all four titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She also is the Open Era record holder for most singles titles (167), doubles titles (177) and longest winning streak (64 matches).
In addition to being one of the game's greatest players, she has been one of its most outspoken and colorful ones, going down in history as the first openly gay female player, being stripped of her citizenship in her home country, doing tons of activist work for gay rights as well as those of the underprivileged, and most recently, beating breast cancer.
Navratilova was mainly raised by her single mother, and won her home country's national tennis championship as a 15 year old in 1973. She debuted on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour at age 16, but did not turn pro until she was 18 in 1975.
In 1973, she had her first-ever encounter with Chris Evert, who would become her chief rival and longtime friend, falling 7-6, 6-3 at Akron. In 1974, she won her first Grand Slam title, the mixed doubles crown at the French Open. Incredibly, her final Grand Slam title, the mixed doubles title at the US Open in 2006, came 31 years later. Navratilova was 18 when she won her first Slam, 49 when she won her last.
In 1975, she played literally every week of the year, going 83-20 overall. She reached the finals of the Australian Open before losing to Evonne Goolagong, She followed that up with a semifinal loss to Evert, by then ranked No. 1 in California. She beat Evert in Washington later that month, her first win over the American en route to her first tour title. She would lose to Evert in the finals of the French Open and the semifinals of the US Open. After losing in New York, Navratilova went to the US government and revealed she wished to defect from Czechoslovakia, then a Communist nation. Within a month, she had acquired a green card.
In 1976, Navratilova played barely half the matches she had in 1975, picking a slower pace now that she was more established. She won two titles and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, where Evert easily eliminated her, 6-3, 6-0. Navratilova did win the doubles title at Wimbledon, the first of her record 31 Grand Slam doubles crowns.
In 1977, she went 67-14, but the first Grand Slam singles title still eluded her. In 1978, she elevated her game significantly, finishing 80-9 and taking her first singles Slam. She started the year with seven straight tournament victories and 37 straight victories. For the year, she won 11 trophies, none bigger than her first at Wimbledon, as she rallied past Evert, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
She won 10 more tournaments in 1979 as she posted an 88-12 record, repeating as Wimbledon champ by beating Evert again. Navratilova failed to win a singles Slam in 1980, the only year she wouldn't do so between 1978 and 1987. She duplicated her 1979 record of 88-12 and won 11 tournaments.In 1981, she wore the crown at the Australian Open for the first time, defeating Evert in a wild 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 final.
Navratilova won two single Slams for the first time in 1982, putting up one of the most dominating seasons of all-time by going 90-3. She won 16 tournaments overall, defeating Andrea Jaeger 7-6, 6-1 to take her first French Open crown, then besting Evert in three sets at Wimbledon. She started the year on a 27-match win streak, then followed her first loss up with 36 consecutive victories. After that loss, she won 20 matches in a row before losing in the finals of the Australian Open to Evert. She added doubles titles in the Australian and French Opens, along with the Wimbledon crown.
In 1983, Navratilova won three of the four single Slams and three of the four doubles Slams. She lost only once the entire year, falling to little-known Kathleen Horvath in the fourth round of the French Open, snapping a 44-match win streak dating back to the previous year. Before the loss to Horvath, Navratilova had won nine straight tournaments. After losing the French, she won Wimbledon without dropping a set, needing just one tiebreaker. After the loss, she finished the year with 50 straight victories. She won the US Open without losing a set or allowing an opponent to win more than three games, trumping Evert 6-1, 6-3 in the final. She beat Kathy Jordan in the Australian Open to wrap up a year in which she won 17 of 18 tournaments and 86 of 87 matches.
Losing twice as many matches as the year before would have seemed bad for any player except Navratilova in 1984, as she went 78-2 with titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. She also won a Doubles Slam, taking the crown at all four venues. By going 60-1 in doubles, Navratilova concluded a season where she went 138-3 on the court. Her winning streak from the previous season ended at 54 when she lost to Hana Mandlikova in the finals at California, but her new streak began the next week and spanned 74 matches, a women's record, and 13 straight tournaments. She earned her second and final French Open title by defeating Evert 6-3, 6-1, then beat her again at Wimbledon, her third straight trophy there and fifth overall. Six weeks later, she rallied past Evert to win the US Open for the second time in a row, finally losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Helena Sukova despite taking the first set 6-1.
In 1985, Navratilova won two single Slams and two doubles, going 84-5 as a singles player. She won 13 titles and beat Evert in the finals of Wimbledon and the Australian Open, while losing to her in the finals of the French Open. Mandlikova again had her number under the spotlight, taking the US open title in three agonizing sets after Navratilova had beat German up-and-comer Steffi Graf in the semifinals. Navratilova won three-fourths of the mixed doubles Slam in 1985, taking all but the Australian Open.
In 1986, Navratilova was overwhelming again, going 90-3 as a singles player and 51-2 in doubles. She won her fifth straight crown at Wimbledon, and added her third overall at the US Open. She also repeated all three of her doubles titles from 1985. Evert defeated her in the French Open final for a second straight year, while Navratilova bested Mandlikova at the Wimbledon title tilt. After outlasting Graf again in the semifinals of the US Open, Navratilova defeated Helena Sukova for the title.
The following year saw Navratilova play less, going 56-8 overall, the most losses she had suffered in a year since 1981. She won her sixth straight tile at Wimbledon, and her second straight at the US Open, adding doubles titles at the Australian, French and US Opens. She fell to Mandlikova in the finals at the Australian to start the season, and did not win a title until Wimbledon, where she defeated Evert in the semifinals and No. 2 Graf in the championship. She defeated Graf, who had replaced her at No. 1, again in the final at the US Open, and added two more titles down the stretch, but still finished at No. 2. She went 2-2 on the year against Graf.
In 1988, Navratilova failed to win a singles Slam for the first time since 1980, although she did win two doubles Slams and finished the year 70-7. She lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Evert, and was upset in the fourth round of the French Open, then saw her string of six straight Wimbledon crowns snapped by Graf, who took a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win. At the US Open, Navratilova was upset in the quarterfinals by American Zina Garrison in three sets.
In 1989, Navratilova finished No. 2 in the world for a third straight year, but kept her Slam streak alive by winning the US Open doubles title. She was 73-7 in singles play for the year, winning nine tournaments. Graf defeated her in the finals of Wimbledon again, as well as the finals of the US Open.
At age 33 in 1990, Navratilova turned back the clock at the All England Club, part of a 52-7 season. She won her last Grand Slams in singles and women's doubles, taking the doubles crown at the US Open, the ninth time she would do this. She won five singles titles overall. Those expecting another Graf-Navratilova clash in the Wimbledon final were surprised when Garrison stunned No. 1 Graf in the semifinals in three sets. Navratilova made sure Cinderella's run ended there, whipping Garrison 6-4, 6-1 for her ninth Wimbledon title. Despite the win at Wimbledon, Navratilova finished third overall.
In 1991, she slipped to fourth, despite going 53-9 on the year. She missed the Australian Open, lost in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and reached the final at the US Open, upsetting Graf in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Monica Seles for the crown.
Playing most of the 1992 season at age 35, Navratilova still finished fifth overall with a 38-8 record. She lost to Seles in the semifinals at Wimbledon but was upset in the second round of the US Open. In 1993, she moved back up to third by year's end, finishing 46-8. She also won another Grand Slam, taking the mixed doubles crown at Wimbledon, her first mixed doubles major in eight years.
In 1994, Navratilova dropped to eighth in the year-end rankings, still a remarkable feat for a woman in her late 30s. She went 33-14 overall and reached the final again at Wimbledon, falling to Conchita Martinez. It would be her last full year on the singles tour, even though she went on to win three more Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles - the Australian Open in 2003, Wimbledon in 2003 and the US Open in 2006 as she bore down on her 50th birthday.
Grand Slam Titles (59)
Singles (18): Australian Open (1981, 1983, 1985); French Open (1982, 1984); Wimbledon (1978-1979, 1982-1987, 1990); US Open (1983-1984, 1986-1987).
Doubles (31): Australian Open (1980, 1982-1985, 1987-1989); French Open (1975, 1982, 1984-1988); Wimbledon: 1976, 1979, 1981-1984, 1986); US Open (1977-1978, 1980, 1983-1984; 1986-1987; 1989-1990).
Mixed Doubles (10): Australian Open (2003); French Open (1974, 1985); Wimbledon (1985, 1993, 1995, 2003); US Open (1985, 1987, 2006).
Year-End Singles Rankings: 1983 - 1st; 1984 - 1st; 1985 - 1st; 1986 - 1st; 1987 - 2nd; 1988 - 2nd; 1989 - 2nd; 1990 - 3rd; 1991 - 4th; 1992 - 5th; 1993 - 3rd; 1994 - 8th
Personal
Has co-written three mystery novels. Participated in creation of The Rainbow Card, a VISA credit card for the gay and lesbian community. Was diagnosed with breast cancer during 2010, underwent treatment for it and announced herself cancer-free later in the year. Announced her homosexuality publicly in 1981, and has been involved with author Rita Mae Brown. Wrote an autobiography in 1985 called "Martina".
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