‘These Girls Were Ball Girls for Me’- After 17 Years On the Tour, Martina Navratilova Let Slip the ‘Strange’ Feeling of Losing to Young Players in 1989

Martina Navratilova is one of the most revered tennis figures on the WTA Tour. Her astounding record of 59 Grand Slam titles, out of which 18 were in the singles category, speaks for itself. However, she knew she would not stay the star of the sport forever, and therefore; she acknowledged the young talent that took her down on the court. Navratilova once opened up about how some of these players were once her ball girls.

The Czech-American tennis legend had a lot on stake when she decided to leave her native country for tennis. Therefore, even if younger talent came against her, she stayed resilient to establish her name.

Martina Navratilova on witnessing the evolution of a young tennis star during her active days on the court

It was the time when Navratilova had just turned 33. However, her gameplay was only improving and her records were outshining several stars on the circuit. At that time, she also witnessed the growth of young players like Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, and Jennifer Capriati. Similarly, there were other young WTA tennis players who were now playing against her. She has even gone against the legendary doubles duo Venus and Serena Williams.

In a candid conversation with Joan Rivers, she stated, “Some girls aren’t even 17 years old that I’m playing against.”

Noticing how things have turned out for her, she stated, “Some of these girls were ball girls for me and now I am playing against them and some of them beat me, so it is kind of strange.” 

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However, this acknowledgment only made her aware of the challenges she was up against. But recently she opened up about the biggest challenge she had to face and it was not Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, or even the Williams sisters.

Navratilova on the biggest challenge of her life

The Czech-American tennis legend faced her arch-rival, Chris Evert, 80 times on the court. However, that did not make her lose her morale. It was, in fact, her cancer diagnosis that made her feel helpless.

In an interview in 2019, she accepted it was cancer that she did not know how to handle. Being a health-conscious person, the cancer made her feel helpless. To top things off, it was discovered that she had two more cancers in her body recently. However, fortunately, she has come out of it and is now cancer-free.

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Navratilova continues to be a prevalent voice in raising awareness about cancer alongside her friend Chris Evert.