“Martina is the greatest, and the reason I’m in the Hall of Fame,” legend Pam Shriver once said. Having shared the court on both sides of the net for years, Shriver’s words resonated deeply as she stumbled upon an unforeseen, nostalgic trip. A photograph from their heydays created a moment of calm amid the chaos that she has seen of late. As wildfires ravaged LA over the past weeks, Donna Vekic’s coach sought comfort in the memories of a cherished time, proving that at times, the past might offer the strongest anchor to sustain when the present remains uncertain.

A few days ago, LA’s harrowing bushfire dominated the headlines, devastating more than 2200 acres of land with 179000 evacuees. A resident of the Brentwood neighborhood in LA, coach Pam Shriver suffered massively from the incident. She was forced to leave behind her home. Her entire career’s worth of Grand Slam trophies was stolen from her car during her stay at a hotel after being evacuated. But after this harrowingly long period, things have begun to settle in Shriver’s area. The doubles legend took a moment of respite and shared a social media update about returning to her normal life. Since the fire was brought under control, Shriver looked ahead to cleaning up her house. But in the midst of it all, a sweet, nostalgic trip awaited her!

Shriver found a photo of herself posing with friend and colleague Martina Navratilova ahead of their infamous Battle of Sexes doubles match. The match was hosted by Trump’s Atlantic City Hotel and the “Rump” from the hotel’s signage written boldly behind their back amused the veteran coach. “Fires have calmed down enough to start major Spring cleaning & decluttering. This photo is from a Battle of the Sexes doubles match ⁦@Martina⁩ & me vs Bobby Riggs (left) & Vitas G. Trumps Atlantic City Hotel hosted the match. The RUMP name made me chuckle,” she wrote in the tweet’s caption.

Shriver was referring to the Atlantic City ‘Battle of Sexes’ match in 1985, where she and Navratilova competed against Bobby Riggs and Vitas Gerulaitis for $100,000 in prize money. King and Shriver overpowered Riggs and Gerulaitis in three straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 proving their skills. Reflecting on her experience from that match, Shriver said in the Los Angeles Times in 1985, “It’s caused a little more interest than we expected. It’s such a wild setup. It’s getting a lot more publicity than most tennis events. People right now seem to like things that are different.” Forty years after that glorious day, Shriver’s memorabilia shed light on how intensely she cherished her active days on tour. Her words were a restatement of her deep admiration for Navratilova, with whom she shared a precious friendship on and off the court.

For Shriver, Navratilova wasn’t just a friend but also a fierce rival. Once, she even highlighted how she agreed quickly to play doubles with the Czech-American legend – after only three wins in 40 singles matches against her. The story of their partnership is quite amusing to the fraternity, showing how friendships often bloomed in unexpected places!

Pam Shriver recalled how she ended up partnering with Martina Navratilova for doubles

In an ESPN article, Shriver narrated how the journey of her historic doubles partnership with Navratilova started. “Martina and I became a doubles team in October 1980. She called me on the phone while I was in Florida playing a tournament. It didn’t take me long to say yes.,” she said, highlighting how nice she felt “being on the same side of the court in doubles.” Not just that but she also praised Navratilova’s brilliance in the sport, accepting her admiration for the WTA legend in an episode of The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast. 

On the flip side, Navratilova felt the same for Shriver. Reflecting on her participation in the 1985 Battle of Sexes match, the former WTA number one confessed that one of her reasons for participating was playing with her pal Pam Shriver. “Obviously, I wouldn’t have done it if I couldn’t have picked Pam. You’re only as good as your weakest link and with Pam and I, we don’t have any weakness,” said Navratilova. Her words echoed how important it was for her to share the same side of the court with Shriver. The duo won a ton of money from the exhibition match but donated all of it to the Martina Navratilova Foundation. This act showcased Shriver’s commitment to her friend’s initiatives.

Pam Shriver and Martina Navratilova share a friendship that still inspires people about love, commitment, and dedication. Together they created an epic history of WTA doubles and their friendship showed how some relationships transcend barriers of competition. They showed that if intentions are right, one can make friends for a lifetime from the tour. Do you agree with that?