60 Fun Facts About Martina Navratilova

In which city was Martina Navratilova born?

She was born Martina Šubertová in 1956, in what was then Czechoslovakia.

How many Wimbledon singles titles did Navratilova win, an all-time record?

She reached the final twelve times, including nine years running from 1982 to 1990.

How many major singles titles did Navratilova win in total?

Nine came at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open and two at the French Open.

Navratilova took her surname from whom?

Miroslav Navrátil married her mother in 1962 and became her first tennis coach.

Navratilova's grandmother Agnes Semanska ranked as high as what among Czechoslovak women before WWII?

Her mother was also an accomplished gymnast, tennis player and ski instructor.

At what age did Navratilova win the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship?

She had started hitting a ball against a concrete wall at four and playing regularly at seven.

Navratilova won her first professional singles title in 1974 in which US city?

She was 17 and living with former actress Frances Dewey Wormser and her tennis-enthusiast husband.

In 1975, aged 18, Navratilova walked into which agency's New York offices to defect from Czechoslovakia?

She had just lost to Chris Evert in the US Open semifinals; a green card followed within a month.

In which year did Navratilova become a US citizen?

Czechoslovakia had stripped her of citizenship when she sought asylum; she regained Czech citizenship in 2008.

Who beat Navratilova in the 1975 Australian Open final, one of her two major final losses that year?

She also lost the 1975 French Open final, to Chris Evert in three sets.

Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon in which year?

She beat Chris Evert in three sets in the final and reached world No. 1 for the first time.

Navratilova's only professional 'double bagel' loss, 6-0 6-0, came against Evert in 1981 at which event?

She avenged it in the 1984 final of the same event, winning 6-2 6-0.

Which basketball player devised the fitness regime that transformed Navratilova's game in the 1980s?

Evert credited Navratilova with bringing cross-training to tennis, including going to the gym or playing basketball to get in shape.

Navratilova's 1983 season record of 86-1 gave her a winning percentage of what?

Her only defeat that year came in the fourth round of the French Open.

How many consecutive matches did Navratilova win in 1984, a record for a professional?

Helena Suková ended the streak in the semifinals of the 1984 Australian Open.

Navratilova and Pam Shriver won how many consecutive doubles matches between 1983 and 1985?

The left-right pairing also completed a calendar Grand Slam in women's doubles in 1984.

Which ITF president declared Navratilova's four straight major titles across 1983-84 a 'Grand Slam'?

Some observers objected because the titles were not won in a single calendar year.

Navratilova's 1984 season made her the first player to win majors on which three surfaces in one year?

She held all four major titles simultaneously after winning the 1984 French Open.

What was Navratilova's final head-to-head record against Chris Evert?

She led 14-8 in Grand Slam matches and 10-4 in Grand Slam finals.

Which surface was the only one on which Evert held a winning record over Navratilova outdoors?

Evert led 11-3 on clay; indoors Navratilova was up 21-14.

Evert won the third set of the 1985 French Open final against Navratilova by what score?

Navratilova had come back from 3-6, 2-4 down to level at 5-5 before losing.

Whom did Navratilova beat 6-3, 6-2 in the 1986 US Open final?

She won the doubles that year too, with Pam Shriver, and finished 89-3.

Which two players had achieved the Open Era 'Triple Crown' before Navratilova at the 1987 US Open?

She reached all four Grand Slam finals in 1987, winning Wimbledon and the US Open.

How many career singles matches did Navratilova win against Steffi Graf out of 18?

Despite a 13-year age gap she split the series 9-9 and led 5-4 in majors, though all of Graf's major wins came in finals.

Whom did Navratilova beat 6-4, 6-1 in the 1990 Wimbledon final for her record ninth title there?

At 33 it was her last major singles title.

Navratilova played the third 'Battle of the Sexes' match in 1992 against which male star?

He was allowed only one serve per point while she could hit into half the doubles court; he won 7-5, 6-2.

Navratilova lost the 1994 Wimbledon final at age 37 to which Spanish player?

She retired from full-time singles later that year after losing to Sabatini at the Tour Championships.

With which Indian partner did Navratilova win 2003 mixed doubles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon?

At 46 years and 8 months the wins made her the oldest major champion ever at the time.

Navratilova's win at the 2003 Australian Open completed a rare 'boxed set' of major titles. What is that?

Only Margaret Court and Doris Hart had done it before her.

Navratilova's 2003 Wimbledon mixed title equalled whose record of 20 Wimbledon titles across all events?

Asked in 2006 about breaking the shared record, she said she just wanted to win one more title, period.

With whom did Navratilova win her final major, the 2006 US Open mixed doubles, a month before turning 50?

It was her 59th major title and 177th doubles title overall.

How many top-level singles titles did Navratilova win, an Open Era record?

Steffi Graf, who broke her weeks-at-No. 1 records, fell 60 short of the mark.

For how many weeks was Navratilova ranked world No. 1 in women's doubles, a record?

Her 332 weeks at No. 1 in singles is second-most all time.

Which transgender former player coached Navratilova from 1981 to 1983 and sharpened her tactics?

Mike Estep took over during her most dominant years, 1983 to 1986.

Navratilova's US autobiography, co-written with George Vecsey in 1985, was simply titled what?

It was published as Being Myself in the rest of the world.

With Liz Nickles, Navratilova wrote three books in the 1990s in what genre?

They were The Total Zone, Breaking Point and Killer Instinct.

What was the title of the ESPN documentary about her rivalry with Chris Evert?

The friendship is also detailed in Johnette Howard's book The Rivals.

Which former Miss USSR did Navratilova propose to at the 2014 US Open?

They married in New York on 15 December 2014.

Navratilova's 1991 split from her partner Judy Nelson led to what kind of televised lawsuit?

The case was settled out of court.

Which illness contributed to Navratilova's shock 1982 US Open quarterfinal loss to Pam Shriver?

She was the No. 1 seed and had apparently recovered by late October.

What piece of equipment, worn from 1985, became an iconic part of Navratilova's look on court?

Some writers said it made her seem more vulnerable and human.

In December 2010 Navratilova was hospitalised with pulmonary oedema while climbing which mountain?

Earlier that year she had been treated for breast cancer.

For which World TeamTennis franchise did Navratilova play through the 2009 season?

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

Whose coaching staff did Navratilova briefly join in December 2014?

The pair parted ways in April 2015 after a poor start to the season.

Navratilova won the AP Female Athlete of the Year award in which two consecutive years?

She was also ITF World Champion six times and WTA Player of the Year seven times.

In 2009 the ITF gave Navratilova its highest accolade, named after which former president?

The award recognised her contributions to tennis on and off the court.

Martina Navratilova won her last major how many years after her first?

Her first came in 1974 and her last at the 2006 US Open.

In which year did Navratilova reacquire Czech citizenship, becoming a dual citizen?

She said the move was not politically motivated and that she had not renounced her US citizenship.

What was Navratilova's surname at birth, before she took her stepfather's name?

Her biological father, a ski instructor, died when she was young; stepfather Mirek Navrátil became her first coach.

Which six-time champion did Navratilova beat in a two-day, 10–8 third-set epic at Wimbledon in 1980?

The quarterfinal ended 7–6, 1–6, 10–8; a year later Evert double-bagelled her at Amelia Island.

What handicap was Jimmy Connors given in his 1992 Battle of the Sexes match against Navratilova?

She in turn could hit into half the doubles court; Connors still won 7–5, 6–2 at Caesars Palace.

How many times did Evert and Navratilova play each other, with Navratilova finishing 43–37 up?

Sixty of those were finals, where Navratilova led 36–24, and ten of the fourteen major finals went her way.

For how many weeks of the WTA rankings' first 615 did Navratilova hold No. 1, against Evert's 260?

Between them they held the top spot for 592 of those 615 weeks, and only three players beat both of them in the same year during 1977–1987.

On which reality show did Navratilova finish runner-up to Joe Swash in 2008?

In 2012 she was the first pair eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Tony Dovolani.

How many match points did Navratilova save against Steffi Graf in the 1986 US Open semifinal?

The match spread over two days and ended 6–1, 6–7, 7–6 (10–8); Graf later went 9–9 with her across 18 meetings.

How many times did the grass specialist Navratilova reach the French Open singles final?

Her best early major results came on the Roland Garros clay, where she made the quarterfinals at 16 in 1973.

Navratilova's 1985 autobiography was titled Martina in the US. What was it called elsewhere?

It was co-written with New York Times columnist George Vecsey.

Navratilova was in the first class inducted into which institution on August 2, 2013?

In 1993 she had addressed the March on Washington and joined a lawsuit against Colorado's Amendment 2.

In which 1983 TV episode did Navratilova appear as herself alongside Vijay Amritraj?

She partnered a lead character at a charity tennis event in 'Love Game'; in 2000 she played one of Karen Walker's paramours on Will & Grace.

Which ranking did Tennis magazine give Navratilova in 2005 for the years 1965 to 2005?

Steve Flink's 1999 book, by contrast, placed her second to Graf among 20th-century women.