October 18, 2006
Looking Back At A Legend: Navratilova Turns 50
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – One of the all-time legends of women's professional
tennis, Martina Navratilova, marked her 50th birthday on Wednesday, October 18,
2006, having amazingly only just completely closed the curtain on her career
just a month ago with her last Grand Slam title. After capturing the US Open
mixed doubles championship with compatriot Bob Bryan on September 9, 2006,
Martina Navratilova announced at her post-match press conference that it was
definitely the final match of her illustrious, 32-year professional career.
Navratilova's ultimate season on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, playing
exclusively in doubles, was a successful one punctuated in Grand Slam style.
She claimed her 176th and 177th career doubles titles at the Internationaux
de Strasbourg (with South Africa's Liezel Huber) and Rogers Cup in Montréal
(with Russia's Nadia Petrova). She also had wins over the two hottest teams
of the past 12 months, defeating Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur at the
Hastings Direct International in Eastbourne (with Huber) and Yan Zi and Zheng
Jie at the Rogers Cup (with Petrova). And, at the US Open, she went out on a
winning note, capturing her 10th major mixed doubles title with Bryan.
"The body of work is what I'm proud of, and the passion that I brought to
this sport, trying to figure out how to be the best player that I could
possibly be with the limitations that I have," said Navratilova at her final
press conference, on the second Sunday of the US Open fortnight. "Personally,
I'm proud of being true to myself, speaking my truth and living it."
"She's had an incredibly amazing and long career," said 2006 US Open women's
singles champion Maria Sharapova. "To still see her out here today definitely
shows how much she appreciates the sport. Just to be here. To be in the final
of the mixed, that's pretty amazing at her age. I saw her when I was six years
old in Moscow, at an exhibition. That was probably the first time I ever saw
her. It's been really great to still see her today in the locker room."
"She did a lot for women's tennis," stated Justine Henin-Hardenne, this year's
US Open singles runner-up. "I was very young when she was at her best level,
but what she did for the game is unbelievable. She has lots of records. It's
pretty amazing, how many titles she has. No one will do it again in the future.
She keeps fighting. It's sad to see her going away now."
Former legends and friends have been paying tribute to her career. Monica
Seles, who lost more times to Navratilova than any other player during her
peak in the early 1990s said, "Martina is truly a legend. She redefined the
sport and made fitness such a big part of the game. She will be missed by so
many people."
Former longtime doubles partner and current TV analyst Pam Shriver remembers
a telephone call that changed her life, "I'll never forget that call Martina
made in October 1980 asking me to play with her. It's something 26 years later
that becomes even more significant. I'd like to thank her for defining my
tennis career, winning 21 Grand Slam titles together and our countless other
doubles records. Martina taught all of us the value of physical fitness and
nutrition, and how to bring the mind, body and spirit to your advantage on and
off the court. Her legacy is her excellence over four decades, being true to
ones self and her love of tennis and of life. It's extraordinary to think that
she won her first major at Roland Garros in 1974 with Ivan Molina, and 32
years later she concludes her career with her 59th, ironically with mixed
again. What happened in between was a story that will never be matched, in
terms of quality and longevity."
"Martina redefined the sport of tennis as much as any player in the history
of the game," said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "She has
and continues to be a leader and a trailblazer, whether it be in the area of
physical fitness, equality or social issues. Turning 50 for Martina only means
another exciting chapter of accomplishment is about to begin."
In addition to compiling arguably the most remarkable resume in tennis history,
Navratilova has also been involved in a distinctive array of off-court
endeavors. Among those that are tennis-related, she has served as president of
the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Players Association (1979-80, 1983-84, 1994-95)
and led the United States Fed Cup team (1997). Having fled Czechoslovakia to
become an American citizen in 1981, she has also supported non-profit groups
and charitable causes, including the Women's Sports Foundation, Planned
Parenthood and PETA.
Among her current off-court activities are helping promote The Rainbow Card,
a Visa program targeting the gay and lesbian community; volunteering her
services as a spokesperson for the Rainbow Card Foundation, a non-profit
dedicated to raising and distributing funds to national gay and lesbian health
care, education, cultural and civil rights groups; and promoting her new book,
"Shape Your Self", which provides diet and fitness advice for people of all
ages. Navratilova was renowned throughout her career for her level of fitness;
she had originally taken tennis to a whole new physical level during her
dominant years on the Tour.
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