‘I Was Mortified…’- Martina Navratilova Once Narrated Bizarre Experience With a Teenager Involving Performance Enhancers at a Gym

Martina Navratilova is a tough cookie and her life story molded her into one. Leaving her native country to start afresh in a completely new world where people did not leave her alone. She was constantly criticized for the way she looked. Navratilova once talked about her experience when a boy had come to ask her about her what substance she takes as she was bulkier.

Navratilova was confused as she was strong and athletic because of her genes. Navratilova has penned down her name in the history of tennis because of her astounding performance on the court.

Martina Navratilova was once asked about her bulkier built 

Martina Navratilova was one of the strongest players on the women’s tennis circuit. She had acquired strong genes from her parents which then she enhanced by working out. She said, “Both my parents were amazing bodies and great athletes. So I got the DNA and then I worked at it. I worked my ass off.” Navratilova has always been strong and diligent. She recited her unbelievable routine. She trained like a pro bodybuilder. She said, “I was benching 140 pounds, and squatting over 300 pounds, sets of eight or 10.”

This kept her away from supplements or any other substances for her to gain muscles. She said, “I never took anything, never touched anything.” Navratilova remembered an anecdote where a 15-year-old had asked about some substance. Navratilova was also unaware of it that she could not even recall its name. He again asked her about some guy and Navratilova said, “He’s very sterile.”

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After that, she warned him, “Don’t even think about taking any of that stuff. And I never took it.” Navratilova could make out that he did not know who she was. She said, “He just thought I was a bodybuilder. I was mortified that he wanted to do that.” She was a woman and bigger and stronger in the build which conventionally is not the case.

Navratilova was the exact opposite of her arch-rival, Chris Evert

Navratilova and Evert have one of the most iconic tennis rivalries. The players met each other 80 times on the court. However, where Navratilova was all muscles and big on one hand, and on the other, Evert was petite and conventionally feminine.

Therefore, she explained why the kid would have approached her.  She said, “Of course, he assumed that I was doing this I’m a woman and, I had muscle bigger than most women anyway.” She concluded by saying, “Anyway, I like my body.”

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However, this was not a criticism of her body which Navratilova had to face many times. People tried to bring her down because of her appearance and her outspoken attitude. But she did not mind it and gave her replies through her on-court performances.