Martina Navratilova
The dominant left-hander who redefined women's tennis with 59 major titles and a record 74-match winning streak.
Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrátilová, pronounced [ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː] ; née Šubertová [ˈʃubɛrtovaː]; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in women's singles for 332 weeks (second-most all time), including as the year-end No. 1 seven times, and was world No. 1 in women's doubles for a record 237 weeks. Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles and 177 doubles titles (both the Open Era records), including an Open Era record 59 major titles: 18 in singles, an all-time record 31 in women's doubles, and an Open Era record 10 in mixed doubles. Her nine Wimbledon singles titles are an all-time record. Alongside Chris Evert, her greatest rival, Navratilova dominated women's tennis for much of the 1980s.
- Grand Slam Singles Titles
- 18
- Wimbledon Singles Titles
- 9
- Grand Slam Doubles Titles
- 31
- Total Major Titles
- 59
- Defection Year
- 1975
- U.S. Citizenship Year
- 1981
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Originally from Czechoslovakia, Navratilova was stripped of her citizenship when she asked the United States for political asylum in 1975. She became a US citizen in 1981, and in 2008, also acquired Czech citizenship. Navratilova has been openly gay since 1981, and has been an activist on gay rights.
In Their Own Story
The grass at Wimbledon hummed under the weight of anticipation. Navratilova bounced the ball once, twice, eyes locked on the service box. The crowd held its breath as she tossed the yellow sphere into the London sky. With a roar that echoed off the stadium walls, she struck it—a thunderous serve that kissed the line and vanished before her opponent could twitch. Silence followed, then eruption.
Reader's Guide
Navratilova won a record six consecutive singles majors across 1983 and 1984 while simultaneously winning the Grand Slam in doubles. Navratilova claims the best professional season winning percentage, 98.9% in 1983 (going 86–1 for the season), and the longest all-surface winning streak of 74 straight match wins. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990. Navratilova is one of three tennis players, along with Margaret Court and Doris Hart, to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, called the career 'Boxed Set'. She won her last major title, the mixed doubles competition at the 2006 US Open, shortly before her 50th birthday, and 32 years after her first major title in 1974.
Did You Know?
- Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida, in 1974 at the age of 17.
- She defected from communist Czechoslovakia in September 1975 and received a green card within a month.
- Navratilova's 86–1 record in 1983 is the best professional season winning percentage ever.
- She completed a calendar Grand Slam in women's doubles in 1984, partnering Pam Shriver.
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