Seles may refer to:

• Monica Seles, a professional tennis player
• Seles, a fictional character in the Tales of Symphonia universe
• Seles, Angola, a municipality

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Monica Seles
Szeles Mónika / Моника Селеш

Country	Yugoslavia (1988–1992)  Yugoslavia (1992–1993)  United States (from 1995)
Residence	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Born	(1973-12-02) December 2, 1973 (age 38) Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	61 kg (130 lb; 9.6 st)
Turned pro	1989
Retired	2008
Plays	Left-handed; two-handed forehand and backhand
Career prize money	US$14,891,762
Int. Tennis HOF	2009 (member page)
Singles
Career record	595–122 (82.98%)
Career titles	53
Highest ranking	No. 1 (March 11, 1991)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996)
French Open	W (1990, 1991, 1992)
Wimbledon	F (1992)
US Open	W (1991, 1992)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (1990, 1991, 1992)
Olympic Games	Bronze (2000)
Doubles
Career record	89–45
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 16 (April 22, 1991)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1991, 2001)
French Open	3R (1990)
Wimbledon	QF (1999)
US Open	QF (1999)
Last updated on: January 31, 2009.

Medal record
Women's Tennis
Competitor for  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze	2000 Sydney	Singles

Monica Seles (Serbian: Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš, Hungarian: Szeles Mónika, pronounced [sɛlɛʃ], born December 2, 1973) is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born and raised in Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007.^[1][2] She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, winning eight of them while a citizen of Yugoslavia and one while a citizen of the United States.

She became the youngest-ever champion at the 1990 French Open at the age of 16. She was the world no. 1 player in the women's game during 1991 and 1992, but in 1993 she was forced out of the sport for more than two years following an on-court attack in which a man stabbed her in the back with a 9-inch-long knife.^[3] She enjoyed some success after returning to the tour in 1995, including a Grand Slam singles title at the 1996 Australian Open, but was unable consistently to reproduce her best form. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open, but her official retirement announcement was not issued until February 2008.

In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[4]

Early life[link]

Seles was born in Novi Sad, SFR Yugoslavia in an ethnic Hungarian family. Her parents' names are Eszter and Károly and she has an older brother, Zoltán. She began playing tennis at age five, coached by her father. Károly Szeles, a professional cartoonist, drew pictures for her, to make her tennis more fun. He is responsible for developing her two-handed style for both the forehand and backhand.^[5] Later, her coach was Jelena Genčić. In 1985 at age 11, she won the Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, catching the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In 1986 the Seles family moved from SFR Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years.

Seles played her first professional tournament in 1988 at age 14. The following year she joined the professional tour full-time, winning her first career title at Houston in May 1989, where she beat the soon-to-retire Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals of her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, losing to world no. 1 Steffi Graf, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6. Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked world no. 6.

1990–92[link]

Seles won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1990 French Open. Facing world no. 1 Steffi Graf in the final, Seles saved four set points in a first set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to take the match in straight sets. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles titlist at the age of 16 years, 6 months. She also won the 1990 year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets. She finished the year ranked world no. 2.

1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotná in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the world no. 1. She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, in the final. Unable to play at Wimbledon, Seles took a six-week break, suffering from shin splints. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by beating Martina Navratilova in the final, her third Grand Slam title of the year, to cement her position at the top of the world rankings. She also won the year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Navratilova in four sets.

1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. She also reached the final at Wimbledon, but lost to Graf, 2-6, 1-6. Two opponents (including Navratilova in the semifinals) had strongly complained about Seles's grunting.

From January 1991 through February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win-loss record in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989–1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231–25 (90.2% winning percentage) and collected 30 titles.

1993 stabbing[link]

Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open three consecutive years and both the US Open and Australian Open in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which to date was her third win in four Grand Slam finals against Graf.

However, on April 30 during a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Seles was leading 6–4, 4–3, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Steffi Graf, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife between her shoulder blades, to a depth of 1.5 cm (0.59 inches). She was quickly rushed to a hospital. Although her physical injuries took only a few weeks to heal, she did not return to competitive tennis for more than two years. Initially, there was speculation that the attack may have been politically motivated because of Seles' Serbian roots. She was known to have received death threats in relation to the ongoing conflict in her native Yugoslavia. However, German authorities were quick to rule this out, describing her attacker as confused and possibly mentally disturbed.^[3]

Parche was charged following the incident, but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal, and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events.^[3] At the French Open, held less than a month after the attack, the trophy presentation ceremony took place on the court, rather than in the stands amongst spectators, as it had been done previously. At that year's Wimbledon, the players seats were positioned with their backs to the umpire's chair, rather than the spectators, although some players, including Graf, moved the chair back to its original position. Seles, however, disputed the effectiveness of these measures. She was quoted in 2011 as saying "From the time I was stabbed, I think the security hasn’t changed".^[6] Seles vowed never to play tennis in Germany again, disenchanted by the German legal system. "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."^[7]

Young Elders, a band from Melbourne, Australia, sent their song called "Fly Monica Fly" to Seles while she was recuperating from the 1993 stabbing incident. She later said that the song provided inspiration to her at that time, and subsequently met the band (who later changed their name to The Monicas) following her victory at the Australian Open in 1996.^[8]

The stabbing incident is also the subject of Dan Bern's 1998 tribute to Seles, "Monica". Additionally, Detroit dreampop band Majesty Crush paid tribute with "Seles" from the 1993 album Love-15.

In the fourth series of his British sketch comedy show A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Hugh Laurie referenced the Seles stabbing incident when he performed an original song entitled "I'm in Love with Steffi Graf," in which he pretended to be an obsessed fan of Graf's who was willing to "kill to make her happy, or just to get her through the early rounds." The song was performed in the style of a rock ballad.

Comeback[link]

Seles returned to the tour in August 1995 and won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final, 6–0, 6–1. The following month at the US Open, Seles lost the final to Graf, 6–7, 6–0, 3–6, after failing to capitalize on a set point in the first set.

Seles at the 2001 Canada Masters

In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. But this was her last Grand Slam title. Seles struggled to recapture her best form on a consistent basis. Her difficulties were compounded by having to cope with her father and long-term coach Károly being stricken by cancer and eventually dying in 1998. Seles was the runner-up at the US Open to Graf again in 1996. Her last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998 (a few weeks after her father's death). She defeated world no. 3 Jana Novotná in three sets and world no. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the three-set final.

While she did not reach another Grand Slam singles final, she did consistently reach the quarterfinal and semifinal stages in those tournaments and was a fixture in the WTA Tour's top 10. In 2002, her last full year on the tour, she finished the year ranked world no. 7, defeated Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, and Lindsay Davenport, and reached at least the quarterfinals at each Grand Slam tournament.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000. She also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Hiatus[link]

Seles in the 2007 exhibition against Martina Navratilova in New Orleans, Louisiana

In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury. She was forced to withdraw during the second set of a match against Nadia Petrova at the Italian Open. Then, a couple of weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to the same player in the first round of the 2003 French Open. It was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never again played an official tour match.^[9]

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite losing both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas, on clay, 7–6 (1), 2–6, 10–1 (tiebreak).^[10] On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans, Louisiana, 6–2, 6–4. On September 16, she defeated Navratilova on clay in Bucharest, Romania, 3–6, 6–3, 10–7 (tiebreak).^[11]

In December 2007, Seles said to the press that Lindsay Davenport's successful return to the tour had inspired her to consider her own limited comeback to play Grand Slam tournaments and the major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis.^[12]

In January 2009, Seles was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame^[13]

Career assessment[link]

Seles was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by (U.S.) Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically).

Seles's career was affected by the stabbing incident; her trajectory was indicative of continuing future greatness. During the height of her career (1990 French Open through the 1993 Australian Open), she won 8 of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she contested.

Seles' outfit at the Tennis Hall of Fame Museum at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island

Until her loss to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a perfect record at the event (33–0), which is the longest undefeated streak for this tournament (although Margaret Court won 38 consecutive matches there from 1960 to 1968 after losing a match in 1959). It also marked her first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996. Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Open, US Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open. Seles was also the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open. (Chris Evert, however, won the title the four consecutive times she played the tournament: 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980; in 2007, Justine Henin won her third consecutive French Open singles title.) With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager.

Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim summed up her later career:

Yet, transformed from champion to tragedienne, Seles became far more popular than she was while winning all those titles. It became impossible to root against her. At first, out of sympathy. Then, because she revealed herself to be so thoroughly thoughtful, graceful, dignified. When she quietly announced her retirement last week at age 34, she exited as perhaps the most adored figure in the sport's history. As happy endings go, one could do worse.^[14]

Seles was a popular player, winning the inaugural Sanex Hero of the Year award in 2002. This award was voted by fans around the world. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.^[15]

Humanitarian work[link]

Monica Seles is the Goodwill Ambassador of IIMSAM, the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM) where she joins people like Diego Maradona, Tushar Gandhi, Sanjay Dutt, Carolina Herrera and Barack Obama's family to make Spirulina, a key driver to eradicate malnutrition, achieve food security and bridge the health divide in order to secure the UN Millennium Development Goals with a special priority for the developing and the least developed countries.^[16]

Autobiography[link]

On April 21, 2009, Seles released her memoir Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self which chronicles her bout with depression and food addiction after her stabbing, her father's cancer diagnosis and eventual death, her journey back to the game and a life beyond tennis.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Since 2009, Seles has been dating billionaire Tom Golisano.^[18][19]

Career statistics[link]

Records[link]

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• List of female tennis players
• List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monica Seles

• Monica Seles at the Women's Tennis Association
• Monica Seles at the International Tennis Federation
• Monica Seles at the Fed Cup
• BBC Sport profile
• Monica Seles at the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Monica Seles (Achievement precedessor & successor) Sporting positions Preceded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf World No. 1 March 11, 1991 - August 4, 1991 August 12, 1991 - August 18, 1991 September 9, 1991 - June 6, 1993 August 15, 1995 - November 3, 1996 (with S. Graf) November 18, 1996 - November 24, 1996 (with S. Graf) Succeeded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Awards and achievements Preceded by Svetlana Kitić Mateja Svet Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year 1985 1990 Succeeded by Mateja Svet None Preceded by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario WTA Most Improved Player 1990 Succeeded by Gabriela Sabatini Preceded by Steffi Graf WTA Player of the Year 1991–1992 Succeeded by Steffi Graf Preceded by Steffi Graf ITF World Champion 1991–1992 Succeeded by Steffi Graf Preceded by Meredith McGrath Mary Pierce WTA Comeback Player of the Year 1995 1998 Succeeded by Jennifer Capriati Sabine Appelmans Preceded by Merlene Ottey United Press International Athlete of the Year 1991, 1992 Succeeded by Wang Junxia Preceded by Bonnie Blair Flo Hyman Memorial Award 2000 Succeeded by Lisa Leslie

Martina Navratilova
Martina Navrátilová

Country	Czechoslovakia (1973–1975)  United States (1975–present)
Residence	Sarasota, Florida, USA
Born	(1956-10-18) October 18, 1956 (age 55) Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	65.5 kg (144 lb; 10.31 st)
Turned pro	1975
Retired	1994–1999, 2006
Plays	Left-handed; one-handed backhand
Career prize money	US$21,626,089 (6th in all-time rankings)
Int. Tennis HOF	2000 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1,442–219 (86.8%)
Career titles	167 (all-time record for men or women)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (July 10, 1978)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1981, 1983, 1985)
French Open	W (1982, 1984)
Wimbledon	W (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)
US Open	W (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986(1), 1986(2))(all-time record)
Doubles
Career record	747–143 (83.9%)
Career titles	177 (all-time record for men or women)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (September 10, 1984)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989)
French Open	W (1975, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
Wimbledon	W (1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)
US Open	W (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990)
Other Doubles tournaments
WTA Championships	W (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986(2), 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991)(all-time record)
Mixed Doubles
Career titles	15
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2003)
French Open	W (1974, 1985)
Wimbledon	W (1985, 1993, 1995, 2003)
US Open	W (1985, 1987, 2006)
Last updated on: July 5, 2009.

1986 Paraguay stamp

Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrátilová; born Martina Šubertová; October 18, 1956) is a retired Czech American tennis player and a former World No. 1. Billie Jean King said about Navratilova in 2006, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."^[1]

Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam "boxed set") a record she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart. She holds the open era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles (six). Navratilova reached 11 consecutive major singles finals, second all-time to Steffi Graf's 13. In women's doubles, Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four major titles in 1984, i.e. the Grand Slam. Also the pair set an all time record of 79 titles together and tied Louise Brough Clapp's and Margaret Osborne duPont's record of 20 major women's doubles titles as a team. In addition she won the season ending WTA Tour Championships a record 8 times and made the finals a record 14 times and won the doubles title a record 11 times. Navratilova is the only person of either sex to have won eight different tournaments at least seven times.^[2]

Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship^[3] when, in 1975 at the age of 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residency.^[4] At the time, Navratilova was told by the Czechoslovakian Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized and that she should go back to school and make tennis secondary.^[5] Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981, but on January 9, 2008, she had her Czech citizenship restored.^[6] She stated she has not renounced her American citizenship nor does she plan to do so and that the restoration of her Czech citizenship was not politically motivated.^[7][8]

Navratilova is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy. She also serves as the Health and Fitness Ambassador for AARP^[9] in an alliance created to help AARP's millions of members lead active, healthy lives.

In February 2012, Navratilova was announced as a cast member on the 14th season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Tony Dovolani^[10] but the pair was eliminated on March 27, 2012.

Early life and tennis career[link]

Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents divorced when she was three,^[11] and in 1962 her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix "ová"), thus becoming Martina Navrátilová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː] ( listen)). Her father Mirek^[12] remarried and divorced. When she was eight, he committed suicide.^[13] In 2008, Navratilova's mother died of emphysema, aged 75.^[14] Navratilova has a sister, Jana, and an older paternal half-brother.^[11]

In 1972, at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. She won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974, at the age of 17. Upon arriving in the United States, Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress, Frances Dewey Wormser, and her husband, Morton Wormser, a tennis enthusiast.^[15]

Navratilova was the runner-up at two Grand Slam singles tournaments in 1975. She lost in the final of the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley and in the final of the French Open to Chris Evert. After losing to Evert in the semifinals of that year's US Open, the 18-year-old Navratilova went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them that she wished to defect from Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she received a green card.

Navratilova won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. She successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final, and retained her World No. 1 ranking. In 1981, Navratilova won her third Grand Slam singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. Navratilova also reached the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin. Navratilova won both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1982.

After adopting basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using graphite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. After losing in the fourth round of the first Grand Slam event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining Grand Slam titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). Navratilova's loss at the French Open was her only singles defeat during that year, during which she established an 86–1 record. Her winning percentage was the best ever for a post-1968 professional tennis player. During 1982, 1983, and 1984, Navratilova lost a total of only six singles matches.^{[citation needed]}

Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. Her accomplishment was declared a "Grand Slam" by Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation. Many tennis observers, however, insisted that it was not a true Grand Slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year. Navratilova extended her Grand Slam singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year. In the semifinals, however, Helena Suková ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5.^{[citation needed]}

A left-hander, Navratilova won all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles in 1984, partnering right-handed Pam Shriver, a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand, a shot virtually unheard of in the game today. This was part of a record 109-match winning streak that the pair achieved between 1983 and 1985. (Navratilova was ranked the World No. 1 doubles player for a period of over three years in the 1980s.) From 1985 through 1987, Navratilova reached the women's singles final at all 11 Grand Slam tournaments held during those three years, winning six of them. 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.^{[citation needed]}

17-year old German player Steffi Graf emerged on the scene in 1987 when she beat Navratilova in the final of the French Open. Navratilova defeated Graf in the 1987 Wimbledon and US Open finals (and at the US Open became only the third player in the open era to win the women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event). Graf's consistent play throughout 1987, however, allowed her to obtain the World No. 1 ranking before the end of the year. Graf eventually broke Navratilova's records of 156 consecutive weeks and 331 total weeks as the World No. 1 singles player but did not break Navratilova's record 167 singles titles as Graf reached 107. In 1988, Graf won all four Grand Slam singles titles, beating Navratilova 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final along the way.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989, Graf and Navratilova met in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, with Graf winning both encounters in three sets. Despite the age difference between the two players, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 Grand Slam singles matches with her. At age 34, Navratilova defeated Graf the last time they played in a Grand Slam event in the semifinals of the 1991 US Open 7–6(2), 6–7(6), 6–4.

Navratilova and Sukova playing doubles

Navratilova's final Grand Slam singles triumph was in 1990. In the final, the 33-year old Navratilova swept Zina Garrison 6–4, 6–1 to claim a record-breaking ninth Wimbledon singles crown. Though that was her last Grand Slam singles title, Navratilova reached two additional Grand Slam singles finals during the remainder of career. In 1991, she lost in the US Open final to the new World No. 1 Monica Seles after defeating Graf in a semifinal. And then in 1994, at the age of 37, Navratilova reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost in three sets to Conchita Martínez. Soon after, she retired from full-time competition on the singles tour. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2000, Navratilova returned to the tour to play doubles events, while rarely playing singles. In her first singles performance in eight years, at Eastbourne in 2002, she beat World No. 22 Tatiana Panova before losing in the next round to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. In 2003, she won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Leander Paes. This made her the oldest ever Grand Slam champion (aged 46 years, 8 months). The Australian Open victory made her the third player in history to complete a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles by winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events. The Wimbledon win allowed her to equal Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles (in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles combined) and extended her overall number of Grand Slam titles to 58 (second only to Margaret Court, who won 62). Despite being criticized for receiving a wildcard, Navratilova won a singles match in straight sets at the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, aged 47 years and eight months, to make her the oldest player to win a professional singles match in the open era. She then lost her second round match with Gisela Dulko in three sets.

On July 6, 2006, Navratilova played her last career match at Wimbledon, losing in the third round of mixed doubles to the eventual titleists, Israel's Andy Ram and Russia's Vera Zvonareva. Earlier that day, Navratilova lost her women's doubles quarterfinal match against Chinese fourth seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, also the eventual titleists. Navratilova capped off her career by winning the mixed doubles title at the 2006 US Open with Bob Bryan, her 41st Grand Slam doubles title (31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles) and 177th overall. At the time, she was just over a month away from her 50th birthday.

Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles (more than any other player in the open era) and 177 doubles titles. Her last title in women's doubles came on August 21, 2006, at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, where she partnered with Nadia Petrova. Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles: nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open, and two at the French Open. Her overall record in 67 Grand Slam singles events was 306–49 .862 (120–14 at Wimbledon, 89–17 at the US Open, 51–11 at the French Open, and 46–7 at the Australian Open). She won at least one tour event for 21 consecutive years and won the singles and doubles at the same event a record 84 times. Her career singles match win total of 1,442 is the most during the open era.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1992, the 35-year old Navratilova played Jimmy Connors in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7–5, 6–2.^{[citation needed]}

She played for the Boston Lobsters in the World TeamTennis pro league through the 2009 season.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

In 1981, shortly after becoming a United States citizen, Navratilova came out publicly about her sexual orientation. During the early 1980s, she was involved with author Rita Mae Brown. From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with partner Judy Nelson. Their split in 1991 included a much-publicized legal wrangle. Navratilova was featured in a WITA (Women's International Tennis Association) calendar, shot by Jean Renard with her Wimbledon trophies and Nelson's children in the background.^{[citation needed]}

In 1985, Navratilova released an autobiography, co-written with The New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey, titled Martina in the U.S. and Being Myself in the rest of the world.^[16] She had earlier co-written a tennis instruction book with Mary Carillo in 1982, entitled Tennis My Way.^[17] She later wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994),^[18] Breaking Point (1996),^[19] and Killer Instinct (1997).^[20] Navratilova's most recent^[when?] literary effort was a health and fitness book entitled Shape Your Self, which came out in 2006.^[21]

On April 7, 2010, Navratilova announced that she was being treated for breast cancer.^[22] A routine mammogram in January 2010 revealed that she had a ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which she was informed of in February, and in March she had the tumour surgically removed;^[23] she received radiation therapy in May.^[22]

In December 2010, Navratilova was hospitalized after developing high altitude pulmonary edema while attempting a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.^[24]

Activism and politics[link]

Navratilova and Mark Tewksbury read the Declaration of Montreal at the opening ceremonies of the World Outgames.

When not playing tennis, Navratilova is involved with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children, and gay rights. She filed a lawsuit against Amendment 2, a 1992 ballot proposition in Colorado designed to deny gays and lesbians legal protection from discrimination.^{[citation needed]} In the same year, she spoke before the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group.^[25]

A vegetarian, Navratilova appeared in ad campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In an April 2006 interview, however, she said she had recently begun eating fish again because she found it hard to get enough protein while on the road;^[26] which would make her a pescetarian not a vegetarian; nevertheless in 2008 she described herself as vegetarian.^[27]

Navratilova in September 2011

She has spoken out on a number of volatile political issues, including tort/litigation reform, but perhaps her most consistent theme—aside from gay and lesbian rights—has been her unstinting opposition to Communism, and unrelenting opposition to the former Eastern Bloc power structure that she believes compelled her to flee her native Czechoslovakia. She has denounced the Soviet Union's control over Czechoslovakia, maintaining that she refuses to speak Russian to this day because of the Soviet Union's former hegemony over Eastern Europe.

"Whenever people go into politics and they try to say that Communism was a good thing, I say, 'Go ahead and live in a Communist country then, if you think it's so great.' "^[26]

Navratilova was a guest on CNN's Connie Chung Tonight show on July 17, 2002. During the show, Chung quoted a German newspaper which quoted Navratilova as saying: "The most absurd part of my escape from the unjust system is that I have exchanged one system that suppresses free opinion for another. The Republicans in the U.S. manipulate public opinion and sweep controversial issues under the table. It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of how much money will come out of it and not on the questions of how much health, morals or environment suffer as a result."^[28]

Navratilova said that the remarks referred to what she perceived as a trend of centralization of government power and a loss of personal freedom. In the discussion that followed, Chung stated: "Can I be honest with you? I can tell you that when I read this, I have to tell you that I thought it was un-American, unpatriotic. I wanted to say, go back to Czechoslovakia. You know, if you don't like it here, this a country that gave you so much, gave you the freedom to do what you want."^[28]

Navratilova responded, "And I'm giving it back. This is why I speak out. When I see something that I don't like, I'm going to speak out because you can do that here. And again, I feel there are too many things happening that are taking our rights away."^[28]

Martina was quoted in 2007 as being ashamed of the US under President George W. Bush because unlike the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Bush was elected.^[29][30]

Career statistics[link]

Open era records[link]

⁽¹⁾Chris Evert reached 34 non-consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals from the 1971 US Open through the 1983 French Open, although she did not play 14 Grand Slam singles tournaments during that time.

Awards[link]

• ITF World Champion 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986.
• WTA Player of the Year 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986.

Recognition[link]

Tennis magazine selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005.^[33] Tennis historian and journalist Bud Collins has called Navratilova "arguably, the greatest player of all time."^[34]

Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named her as the second best female player of the 20th century, directly behind Steffi Graf.^[35]

In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[36]

In March 2012, The Tennis Channel named Navratilova as the second greatest female tennis player of all times, behind Steffi Graf, in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all times.^[37]

I'm a Celebrity[link]

In November 2008, Martina Navratilova appeared on the UK's ITV series Series 8 of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!; she finished runner-up to Joe Swash.^[38]

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• Evert–Navratilova rivalry
• Graf–Navratilova rivalry
• List of Eastern Bloc defectors

References[link]