9X Wimbledon Champion Martina Navratilova Reveals Rare ?Jealousy? as WTA Stars Take to the Spectacular Center Court for a Hit

The last weekend before the commencement of Wimbledon saw many players practicing with their peers on the courts of SW19. While most of the players were involved in hitting sessions that took place outside courts, some of the top-ranked players managed to secure a practice session on the Centre Court. For instance, the defending champion Novak Djokovic was the first to practice on Centre Court alongside Jannik Sinner.

The defending women’s champion, Elena Rybakina also made her Centre Court appearance right before her scheduled start on Tuesday. She practiced with her Belarusian rival Aryna Sabalenka to get a taste of the world’s finest court ahead of Wimbledon. A former champion found herself ‘jealous’ while watching the two stars grace the Centre Court

Martina Navratilova feels jealous after watching a practice session

Out of all the players in the history of tennis, it was Martina Navratilova who felt “jealous”. She happens to be statistically the most successful player at Wimbledon. She took to Twitter to express her jealousy when the practice clips were out. The former world number 1 quoted the Sabalenka-Rybakina practice session and wrote, “Now I am jealous 🙂”

The tweet was most likely due to nostalgia. For someone who has triumphed on this court 20 times – 9 in singles, 11 in doubles, she surely has no reason to feel jealous. However, a wave of nostalgia went through Navratilova when she saw the two stars practice on fresh Centre Court grass. More than the volume of her Wimbledon titles, it is the time period of her wins that astounds the viewers.

Martina Navratilova’s dominance across four decades

If you think Navratilova’s record of 20 Wimbledon titles is astonishing (as it should be) then the next fact is going to blow your mind. Her last title on the Centre Court was 29 years after her first title. She won her first title in 1976 with her women’s doubles partner Chris Evert and mixed doubles with Leander Paes in 2003 at 46 years of age.

Navratilova won her last grand slam title at 49 years of age with Bob Bryan at the US Open in 2006. It was 31 years after her first major title at 1975’s Roland Garros with Chris Evert. After 31 years of unparalleled dominance which also included a short hiatus, Navratilova called it a day.

Read More: 66-Year-Old Martina Navratilova?s ?F**K Cancer? Message Reaches Fellow Survivor and Spanish Former Player as She Sends Love to the Tennis Veteran

Which Martina Navratilova statistic impresses you the most? Do let us know in the comments below.

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