Martina Navratilova is a Czechoslovak-born American former professional tennis player and coach with a storied career spanning multiple decades.
At the tender age of four, she began hitting a tennis ball off a concrete wall, igniting a passion that would eventually lead her to become a world-class athlete. By the time she was seven, she was playing tennis regularly, laying the foundation for her future success.
In 1972, at just 15 years old, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship, an impressive feat that marked the beginning of her rise to fame. A year later, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour, although it wasn't until 1975 that she turned professional.
Despite being most renowned for her mastery of fast low-bouncing grass, Navratilova's best early showing at majors was on the red clay at the French Open, where she would go on to reach the final six times.
In 1974, at the age of 17, she won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida.
Navratilova's major breakthrough came in 1978, when she won her first Wimbledon title, defeating Chris Evert in three sets in the final and capturing the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on the WTA computer. She held this position until Evert took it back in January 1979.
She successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final in straight sets, and earned the World No. 1 ranking at the end of the year for the first time.
In 1981, Navratilova won her third major singles title by defeating Chris Evert in the final of the Australian Open. She also defeated Evert to reach the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin.
Navratilova's incredible 1982 season saw her win both Wimbledon and the French Open.
From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. She reached the US Open final five consecutive times from 1983 through 1987 and appeared in the French Open final five out of six years from 1982 through 1987.
Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000, a testament to her enduring legacy in the world of tennis.
