[75][76] Some sports writers have said that they made her, as with other top athletes who had imperfect health, seem more vulnerable and human. Navratilova's 59 majors are made up of 18 singles titles, 31 women's doubles victories, and 10 pieces of silverware from the mixed doubles events. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. A tennis promoter's assistant plunges to her death at a gala reception in Paris. "But her influence went far beyond numbers," Robert Lipsyte and Peter Levine wrote in Idols of the Game. Martina Navratilova, the tennis legend who dominated the sport in the 1970s and 1980s and won 59 major titles during her historic career, has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. Stefaan VD {{ relativeTimeResolver(1564960804762) }} LIVE . y November 14, 1994: The day Martina Navratilova retired from the Tour Each day, Tennis Majors takes you back to an important moment in tennis history. She was stripped of her Czech citizenship, and in 1981 she became a U.S. citizen. In 2003, she won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Leander Paes. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. : Fitness tips from Martina Navratilova", "Martina Navratilova $5,250 in Political Contributions for 2016", "Navratilova joins suit over gay-rights law", "Gay History Month: Exclusive article by Martina Navratilova", "Martina Navratilova, Fitness Expert, Healthy Living", "Martina Navratilova criticized over 'transphobic' comments", "The rules on trans athletes reward cheats and punish the innocent", "Navratilova transgender comments spark row", "Athlete Ally: Navratilova's Statements Transphobic and Counter to our Work, Vision and Values", "Martina Navratilova sorry for transgender 'cheat' language as she re-enters debate", "Pass the Equality Act, but don't abandon Title IX", "The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova", "Martina Navratilova signs letter supporting Idaho law that limits transgender student athletes", "Sports leaders seek to protect women's sports while accommodating transgender girls and women", "Top 10 Greatest Women's Tennis Players of All Time", "10 best women's tennis players of all time", "Act II of Navratilova's career ends with a win", "Exclusive Interview with Steve Flink about the career of Chris Evert", "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future Martina Navratilova", "National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame's Inaugural Class Announced | Out Magazine", "Lucy Cavendish appoints Martina Navratilova honorary fellow", "Martina Navratilova appointed Cambridge honorary fellow", "12 Important Moments In The History Of Apple Advertising", "Will & Grace/Lows in the Mid-Eighties/Plot", "I'm a Celebrity: Robert Kilroy-Silk is Martina Navratilova's 'hero', "Tony Dovolani 'Destroyed' over Martina Navratilova's Dancing with the Stars Elimination", "Portlandia Martina Navratilova gives the feminist bookstore a bad Yelp review on this episode of Portlandia", "Who is Martina Navratilova who plays Gwyneth Paltrow's lover in Netflix series The Politician? The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. 1 seed Navratilova unexpectedly lost to No. [93], Navratilova was quoted in 2007 as being ashamed of the U.S. under President George W. Bush because unlike the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Bush was democratically elected. Martina Navratilova announced she was diagnosed with two types of cancer. In 2008 she regained her Czech citizenship, thereby gaining dual citizenship. And Jordan Myles, women's tennis-champ-turned-sports-therapist, is convinced it was no accident. As a teenager, she quickly became a tennis standout, winning her first professional singles title in the U.S. in 1974. In 2006, Martina Navratilova was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the LGBT History Month. She also held a record of six consecutive Grand Slam titles between Wimbledon 1983 and the US Open 1984 during that time, the, Gabriela Sabatini, from Argentina, was born in 1970. 3 in the world, narrowly edged by 16-year-old Monica Seles for the No. She had won 167 singles titles. [42], Evert said that "Martina revolutionized the game by her superb athleticism and aggressivenessShe brought athleticism to a whole new level with her training techniques particularly cross-training, the idea that you could go to the gym or play basketball to get in shape for tennis. Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 13:09, March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, 2 titles won without losing a set in the same calendar year, BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award, National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame, List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, Tennis records of the Open Era Women's singles, All-time tennis records women's singles, Homosexuality in sports in the United States, "News WTA Tennis All Career Prize Money", "40 Important Women's Moments: 1975, Martina Defects to the West", "Martina Navratilova gets passport on rebound", "My Dual Citizenship: Why Did the Media Get It So Wrong? 1 player said in 2006 that Navratilova is the greatest singles doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived. Navratilova originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. "[100], In an April 2019 article for The Washington Post, she opined that the Equality Act, in its current form, "would make it unlawful to differentiate among girls and women in sports on the basis of sex for any purpose". In 2000 Martina appeared as herself on Will & Grace "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" as one of Karen Walker's (Megan Mullally) paramours in a flashback sequence. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Navratilova - born Martina Subertova - grew up in what was then Czechoslovakia and at the age of 18 in 1975, she was granted political asylum by the United States, where she became a citizen six years later. We use cookies to optimize our website and to measure our audience. , start time: 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z Connors won 75, 62. At the end of what is widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in women's tennis, Navratilova led Evert 4337 in total matches, 148 in Grand Slams, and 104 in Grand Slam finals. She won a remarkable 59 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles. [94][95], Navratilova is critical of allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Navratilovas autobiography, Martina (written with George Vecsey), was published in 1985. [9] 1 (singles), 18 match wins against No. Pending. 1 in the WTA rankings. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In her first singles performance in eight years, at Eastbourne in 2002, she beat world No. "[121] Navratilova was born as Martina Subertova on October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now known as the Czech Republic). "The way I started this journey, I just wanted to see if there are any big surprises, any misconceptions that I had. She will be turning 67 in only 228 days from today (04 March, 2023). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Champ-turned-sports-therapist Jordan Myles has terrifying brushes with death. 1 in the WTA rankings. From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. The dark side of professional tennis is revealed when Jordan Myles takes on teenage tennis star Audrey Armat as a client at her exclusive sports rehab facility, only to have Audrey first disappear and then turn up dead. Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrtilov [marcna navraclova] (listen); ne ubertov [ubrtova]; born October 18, 1956) is a CzechAmerican former professional tennis player. [31] She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. 18-year-old Navratilova . She has a net After adopting basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using Yonex isometric midsize graphite-fiberglass composite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. Born and raised in Czechoslovakia, Martina Navratilova knew by the age of ten that she wanted to be a Wimbledon champion and a U.S. citizen. The champion tennis star presents comprehensive instruction in tennis for women and offers practical advice on training, conditioning, diet, tennis skills, game strategies, equipment, and sportsmanship. By winning the 1983 US Open title, Navratilova completed the career Grand Slam, becoming only the seventh woman in history to achieve it. Though Wimbledon 1990 was her last major singles title, Navratilova reached two additional major singles finals during the remainder of career: in 1991, she lost in the US Open final to No. , point in time: 1984-09-10T00:00:00Z Navratilova, with partner Pam Shriver, also won the women's doubles title. She made the quarterfinals the next year and lost to Helga Masthoff (ne Niessen). [40][41] Under Rene Richards, she improved her game tactics. At 4 she was hitting a tennis ball off a cement wall and at seven, she began playing regularly. Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974 at the age of 17. , point in time: 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z Opens, three French and two Australian. What made this particular appearance special was that Navratilova, who now competed under the American flag, had already announced that 1994 was going to be her final year on the tour, which meant that she was competing there for the last time. [17], Navratilova has a younger sister, Jana,[15] and an older paternal half-brother. In 2004, she would receive a controversial wild card into the Wimbledon singles draw. Corrections? Her father, Mirek (officially Miroslav ubert),[16] was a ski instructor. [53] An ESPN Documentary was produced about her rivalry with Chris Evert titled, Unmatched. 1 in 1982 and held it, for the most part, until the summer of '87. She would attain her goals and so much more but not before her incredible life unfolded in ways not even she could have dared imagine. At Desert Springs Sports Science Clinic bad things are happening to good people. She was born on October 18, 1956 in Prague, Hlavn msto Praha as Martina ubertov. She was partnered with Tony Dovolani, but they were the first pair eliminated. This is reflected in the Grand Slams Finals chart below. Navratilova claims the best professional season winning percentage, 98.8% in 1983 (going 981 for the season), and the longest all-surface winning streak of 74 straight match wins. Look, society has changed so much. That same day, Lemigova, 50, shared a touching Instagram post, expressing gratitude to those keeping Navratilova in their thoughts as she fights the disease. If you don't adapt, you've got problems. She officially retired . Meanwhile, Navratilova also had more earthly loves, such as an affair with author Rita Mae Brown. . She returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally. She has spoken out on a number of volatile political issues, including tort/litigation reform, but perhaps her most consistent themeaside from gay and lesbian rightshas been her unstinting opposition to Communism, and unrelenting opposition to the former Eastern Bloc power structure that compelled her to flee her native Czechoslovakia. , end time: 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z, Judy Nelson [79][80] A routine mammogram in January 2010 revealed that she had a ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which she was informed of on February 24, and in March she had the tumour surgically removed;[81] she received radiation therapy in May. In 1981, shortly after becoming a United States citizen, Navratilova gave an interview to New York Daily News sports reporter Steve Goldstein, coming out as bisexual and revealing that she had a sexual relationship with Rita Mae Brown,[54] but asked him not to publish the article until she was ready to come out publicly. "When she came into the game, she was the European among Americans; she leaves as the American among Europeans -- and the only grown-up left in the tennis crib. Navratilova, who works as a tennis commentator, noticed an enlarged lymph node on her neck during the Women's Tennis Association finals in Fort Worth, Texas, last fall, her agent said. In 1973, the 16-year-old Navratilova turned pro and competed in the United States. Fabulously fit as she nears the milestone of 50, tennis great Martina Navratilova reveals her step-by-step, age-defying formula. women players are ready to retire. . She is from . 1 ranking at the end of the year for the first time. The Associated Press declared her Female Athlete of the Year in 1983 and 1984. Her overall record in 67 major singles events was 30649 (12014 at Wimbledon, 8917 at the US Open, 5111 at the French Open, and 467 at the Australian Open). Navratilova's final Grand Slam singles triumph was in 1990. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. After losing in the fourth round of the first major event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining major titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). In 1979 she again won the Wimbledon womens singles as well as the womens doubles and was ranked the undisputed top player. Navratilova originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. In 1987, along with her singles championship, she won both the womens doubles and the mixed doubles to become the first triple-crown champion at the U.S. Open since 1970. This came after Navratilova discovered a swelled lymph node on her neck, leading her to take medical tests. Navratilova extended her major singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. The Republicans in the U.S. manipulate public opinion and sweep controversial issues under the table. Navratilova played in her first tennis tournament at eight years of age. This is not what you expect to hear, so you quickly look around to check where the cabin doors are. Just before Wimbledon in 1979, Navratilova and Evert played possibly the highest scoring women's professional match ever in the Eastbourne final, in which Evert edged Navratilova 75, 57, 1311 after facing match points. And people were taken back. Navratilova, 66, will start treatment later this month, she announced Monday. Martina Navratilova looks on after the Women's Singles Final match during the 2022 U.S. Open in New York. Martina is married to The Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova. She won only three major singles titles before she was 25, an age when many [45] However, in April 2015, after Radwaska struggled in the first half of the season, the pair decided to part ways.[46][47]. On indoor courts, however, Navratilova had a decisive 2114 lead. In the discussion that followed, Chung stated: Can I be honest with you? Navratilova was a guest on CNN's Connie Chung Tonight show on July 17, 2002. [79], In December 2010, Navratilova was hospitalized after developing high altitude pulmonary edema while attempting a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The tennis great took to social media on Tuesday to criticize former US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump for wasteful spending of taxpayers' money. "As a lesbian, Navratilova expanded the dialogue on issues of gender and sexuality in sports. Graf's two losses to Navratilova were her only losses of the year and with 11 tournament wins over the year versus 4 for Navratilova she was able to obtain year-end world No. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. I wanted to say, go back to Czechoslovakia. Read full biography, Yes, Martina Navratilova is still alive She was also the first woman outside of Martina Navratilova, who had held top spot for 322 weeks, and Tracy Austin in seven years to ascend to the number one ranking. ", "The Latest Must-have Accessory: Glasses", "Contacts Are Great But Some Fans Miss The Spectacle of Spectacles", "Jack Leach's glasses cause optical illusion that we could be like him", "Tennis great Martina Navratilova 'has breast cancer', "Navratilova diagnosed with breast cancer", "Martina Navratilova diagnosed with breast cancer", "Navratilova Leaves Hospital After Kilimanjaro Attempt", "Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Diagnosed with throat and breast cancer', "Martina Navratilova diagnosed with early-stage throat and breast cancers", "Shape Up! I got to know Martina off the court. Martina Navratilova, (born October 18, 1956, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), Czech American tennis player who dominated womens tennis in the late 1970s and the 80s. No more. When Navratilova was four, she was hitting a tennis ball off a concrete wall and started to play tennis regularly at age seven. At the time, she was only about a month shy of her 50th birthday and broke her own record as the oldest ever major champion (aged 49 years, 10 months). Depicts the personal life of Martina Navratilova and describes her struggle to achieve success as a tennis player. Tennis was very blessed to have such a voice for so long, for these times. Navratilova was a world no.1 player for a total of 332 weeks in singles and made a record of 237 weeks in doubles. Although perhaps most renowned for her mastery of fast low-bouncing grass, her 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. It was at this point that Navratilova began working with Nancy Lieberman to improve her fitness and toughen her mental approach to better compete with Evert and fulfill her true potential. , end time: 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z, Princess Of Asturias Award For Sports Navratilova retired from singles play after the 1994 season. Navratilova successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final, this time in straight sets, and earned the World No. "To have achieved so much, triumphed so magnificently, yet always to have been the other, the odd one, alone: lefthander in a righthanded universe, gay in a straight world; defector, immigrant; the [last?] She returned to tennis again in 2000, but strictly as a doubles player. It would not be until 1978 that Navratilova would become No. 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 major titles to 58 (second only to Margaret Court, who won 64). [42][56] Navratilova and Nancy Lieberman, her friend and roommate at the time,[57] gave an interview to Dallas Morning News columnist Skip Bayless,[58][59] where Navratilova reiterated that she was bisexual and Lieberman identified herself as straight. Taryn 3y ago LIVE Points 129 Rating She retired from professional tennis in 2006 at age 50 Amazon Customer 1y ago LIVE Points 58 Rating Want to help make Alexa smarter? While Navratilova would never regain her No. She won her last major title, the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open, shortly before her 50th birthday, and 32 years after her first major title in 1974. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the title a record nine times. It will not be the first retirement for Navratilova, as she announced that it was the end once before, in 1994, only to then return to tennis in 2000. Martina Navratilova retired after winning Mixed Doubles at the U.S. Open in 2006. [35], On Thursday, July 6, 2006, Navratilova played her last matches at Wimbledon, with partner Liezel Huber losing a quarterfinal match in women's doubles to fourth seeds and eventual champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, and later in the same day with partner Mark Knowles losing in the third round of mixed doubles to eventual champions Andy Ram and Vera Zvonareva. Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four major singles titles simultaneously. Navratilova was born on October 18, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Navratilova was ranked as the world No. She also held a record of six consecutive Grand Slam titles between Wimbledon 1983 and the US Open 1984 during that time, the Australian Open was played in December), and had secured the world No 1 spot for 332 weeks, a record at the time. Despite the 13 year age difference between the two players, and Graf's comparative lack of investment in doubles and mixed doubles, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 major singles matches with her. , start time: 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z, 1442219 [55] However, the New York Daily News published the article on July 30, 1981. No more," she said. Her closing remarks were. But Navratilova's honesty cost her millions in endorsement opportunities because of corporate homophobia. From 1975 Navratilova was consistently one of the top five women tennis players. In outdoor matches against Evert, Navratilova led 105 on grass and 97 on hard courts, while Evert was up 113 on clay. 22, Tatiana Panova, then lost in the next round to Daniela Hantuchov in three sets. After winning the mixed doubles at the U.S. Open in 2006, she retired from competitive play. But Helena Sukova upset her in the Australian Open semifinals in December. [61], From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson, whom she met at a tournament in Fort Worth in 1982 (at the time Nelson was married with two children). [85], Navratilova has described herself as a vegetarian. [88], Navratilova participated in a lawsuit against Amendment 2, a successful 1992 ballot proposition in Colorado designed to prevent sexual orientation from being a protected class.[89]. This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 13:09. A dozen years later, after winning her ninth Wimbledon, she said, "I prefer to consider my love for Wimbledon a rational reverence.". Since 1968, when the Open Era began, no male or female player had won more singles titles than Navratilova (167), doubles events (177), or matches (2,189). She defected in 1975, became a U.S. citizen six years later, and dominated tennis in the 1980s the way Bill Tilden did in the 1920s. More stats: Navratilova had consecutive match winning streaks of 74 (the women's record), 58 and 54; won six consecutive Grand Slam singles titles in a 14-month stretch; and had years with the unbelievable records of 86-1, 78-2, 90-3 and 89-3. Only Margaret Smith Court She was 49 years old. [62] Their split in 1991 resulted in a televised palimony lawsuit, which was settled out of court. Some observers argue that the very few singles match she played in her forties should be counted separately in her career statistics. She is involved with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children and gay rights. [101], In June 2019, the BBC broadcast "The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova", where she interviewed people including trans women athletes and sports researchers, presenting evidence on both sides of the debate of whether trans women have any advantage in elite sports. That year, she lost to Graf in the semi-finals at both the Australian and the US Open, but in 1990 she eventually beat the German (6-2, 7-6), to claim her first and only Grand Slam title at the US Open. She returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles, too. , retrieved: 2020-12-29T00:00:00Z, United States Of America We have estimated Martina Navratilova's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. Awarded Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in 1994 , awarded International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000 , awarded Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1986 , awarded 100 Women in 2013 , awarded Czech Medal of Merit and. Navratilova was the runner-up at two major singles tournaments in 1975; the Australian Open (won by Goolagong) and the French Open (won by Chris Evert in three sets). She retired from singles play after the 1994 season, having won 167 titles in all. With a wicked serve, a rush to the net, and a ferocious volley, she was a full court drama, complete with emotional outbursts. was going to be her swansong. [124] Navratilova guest-starred as a dissatisfied Yelp reviewer in episode three of the third season of absurdist comedy Portlandia. Later career. 1 in singles for a total of 332 weeks (second only to Steffi Graf), and for a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both disciplines for over 200 weeks. , start time: 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z [44], In December 2014, it was announced that Navratilova had joined Agnieszka Radwaska's coaching staff. Martina Navratilova was 58 and Yulia Lemigova was 42 years old. When I see something that I don't like, I'm going to speak out because you can do that here. [5] Navratilova is one of the three tennis players, along with Margaret Court and Doris Hart, to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, same-sex doubles, and mixed doubles, called the career "Boxed Set". [22] This included a run of 13 consecutive victories over her closest rival and world-ranked No. [120] Though an homage rather than an appearance, in 1992 Navratilova was mentioned by the titular character in episode 14 of the anime Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. At 15 she won the Czech national championship. , Twitter user numeric ID: 506429053. on Monday, December 15th, 2014. worth of 15 million dollars. In 1983, she was 86-1, losing only to Kathy Horvath in the fourth round of the French Open. 1 ranking with Open wins. Martina Navratilova, one of the most dominant players in tennis history, said this week that she had been diagnosed with throat cancer as well as a reocurrence of breast cancer, a . The rules certainly need to evolve. , start time: 2014-12-15T00:00:00Z, 2004 Summer Olympics But Navratilova was adamant that this retirement was for good. 1 ranking ahead of Navratilova at No. [74] Although she achieved so much prior to using glasses, her glasses have become iconic. Things evolve, things change and maybe I need to evolve, I need to change. Name: Martina Navratilova Date of birth: October 18, 1956 (age 60) Place of birth: Prague, Czechoslovakia Height: 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Turned pro: 1975 Retired: 2006 Plays: Left-handed (one-handed backhand) Residence: Miami, Florida, USA Father: Mirek Subert Mother: Jana Navratilova Siblings: Jana Navratilova Soon after the match, a ceremony was held to celebrate Navratilovas career. Left-handed, Navratilova played serve-and-volley unlike any woman before her. [66][67], According to the New York Times' Jane E. Brody, in September 1982, an acute attack of toxoplasmosis "contributed to Martina Navratilova's defeat during the United States Open tennis tournament", in which No. "[102], In August 2020, Navratilova along with 300+ women signed a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in support of an Idaho law that bans trans women student athletes from competing in female sports. She also called for "a debate, a conversation that includes everyone and is based, as I have said, not on feeling or emotion but science. Navratilova at the Prague Open, in May 2006. Eva Besselmann, a 43-year-old landscape designer from Brazil and frequent visitor to New York City, said she was "shocked." "I didn't know it was happening here, I thought everything was . Sarah Stier/Getty Images It comes 13 years after the Czech-American underwent radiation therapy for breast cancer and was given the all-clear. I got blown off the court, but if I had to lose my last match, Id probably rather lose it to Gabriela Sabatini than anyone else because shes a good human being., On the one side, I didnt want to be the one to beat her, on the other side it was a great honour to beat her, the Argentine said in response. The two players knew each others games quite well, as they had already faced each other 20 times, with Navratilova leading their head-to-head 15-5. Comment for robots [65] They married in New York on December 15, 2014. 2 spot. with printings in German, Russian, French and Spanish. "I honestly believe I was born to be an American. By 1994, she had also won 31 Grand Slam titles in doubles, and seven in mixed doubles. The former world No 1, who at the time held the record of the longest reign at No 1 with 332 weeks spent atop the WTA rankings,was still ranked No 5 in the world, and had not finished a season outside the top 5 since 1975, her first year as a professional player.