Martina Navratilova is a Czechoslovakian and American former professional tennis player and coach. She is also married to Julia Lemigova, a cast member of the Real Housewives of Miami reality TV series.
The famed athlete is also widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women’s doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined total of 59 major titles, marking the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam titles won by a single player.
Martina Navratilova's Net Worth
In 2022, Martina Navratilova’s net worth is estimated to be $25 million. Her career as a tennis player and coach are her main sources of income.
Her wealth is also increasing from her other profitable endeavors. Besides, she also earned tens of million from endorsements.
Martina Navratilova's Early Life
Martina Navratilova is 65 years old. She was born on October 18, 1956. Martina was born in Prague, Czechia and was raised by her parents, Mirek Subert and Jana Navratilova.
Martina’s parents divorced when she was three years old. Her mother, an accomplished gymnast, tennis player and ski instructor moved the family to Revnice. In 1962, Martina’s mother married Miroslav Navratil, who became her first tennis coach.
Her given name was Martina Subertova. Then, she took the name of her stepfather by adding the feminine suffix-ova resulting to Martina Navratilova.
In addition, Martina has a younger sister named Jana and an older paternal half-brother. Her grandmother, Agnes Semanska, was a tennis player for the Czechoslovakia Federation before the Second World War. She has a ranking as high as No. 2 among Czech women during her amateur career.
Martina Navratilova's Education
Martina Navratilova is a successful tennis player and coach. No wonder a lot of her fans are curious about her life, including her educational background.
However, there’s no enough information about it yet. Reportedly, she completed 3.5 years of high school, after which tennis career took over. In 1972, at age 15, she won the Czechoslovakian national tennis championship.
Martina Navratilova's Wife, Dating History and Family Life
Martina Navratilova is married to her long-term partner Julia Lemigova, a cast member of the Real Housewives franchise. They tied the knot in New York and have been married since December 15, 2014.
On September 6, 2014, Navratilova proposed to her long-time girlfriend Julia Lemigova at the US Open. She is also a former Miss USSR, aside from being a cast member of the Real Housewives of Miami reality television show.
From 1984 to 1991, Martina had a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson. She met the latter at a tournament in Fort Worth in 1982. At that time, Judy Nelson was married with two kids. Their split in 1991 resulted in a televised palimony lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Martina Navratilova's Career
At the age of 17, Martina Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida, in 1974. She was the runner-up at two major singles tournaments in 1975. These are the Australian Open and the French Open.
Besides, the 18-year-old Martina went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and shared her intention that she wished to defect from the Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she was given a green card and in 1981 became a US citizen.
Within the same year, she teamed with world number one Evert to win the French Open women’s doubles title, Martina’s first major title outside of mixed doubles. Later on, they teamed again to win the Wimbledon women’s doubles title over Billie Jean King and Bette Stove.
Martina Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and got the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on the WTA computer, a position she held until Evert took it back in January 1979.
Despite what happened, she was able to defend her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final in straight sets, and earned the World No. 1 ranking at the end of the year for the first time. Besides, both played possibly the highest scoring women’s professional match ever in the Eastbourne final.
In 1981, Martina won her third major singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. She also defeated Evert to achieve the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin. The next year, she won both Wimbledon and the French Open.
In addition, Martina Navratilova’s winning percentage was the best ever for a post-1968 professional tennis player. During the 1982, 1983, and 1984, she lost a total of only six singles matches. Part of this is a run of 13 consecutive victories over her closest rival and world-ranked No. 2, Chris Evert.
Basically, her reign from 1982 to 1986 is the most dominant unbroken spell in the professional era. That it truly amazing.
In 1984, Martina Navratilova completed a calendar grand slam in women’s doubles, As a left-handler, she partnered with right-handed Pam Shriver, a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand. It is a shot that is not familiar in the game today.
In the first half of 1987, Graf dominated the season including defeating Martina Navratilova in straight sets in the semi-finals of the Miami Open and in the final of the French Open, 6-4, 4-6, 8-6. But, Martina defeated Graf in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open.
At age 34, Martina defeated Graf the last time they played in a major in the semifinals of the 1991 US Open. Despite that, it is noteworthy that all 4 of Graf’s Grand Slam victories over Martina came in the finals of a Slam.
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. Later in the same day, she played with partner Mark Knowles losing in the third round of mixed doubles to eventual champions Andy Ram and Vera Zvonareva.
Martina Navratilova ended her career by winning the mixed doubles title, her 41st major doubles title and 177th overall, at the 2006 US Open with American doubles specialist Bob Bryan. At that time, she broke her own record as the oldest ever major champion, aged 49 years, 10 months.
On May 12, 2016, Martina Navratilova was made an honorary fellow of Lucy Cavendish College of the University of Cambridge.
Today, Martina Navratilova continues to inspire other people. She was featured on Season 4 of the “Real Housewives of Miami,” alongside her marriage partner, Julia Lemigova.
Martina Navratilova's Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)
| Height | 5 ft 8 in |
|---|---|
| Weight | 66 kg |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Body Type | Fit |
| Sexual Orientation | Lesbian |
Facts About Martina Navratilova
| Nationality | Czechoslovakian-American |
|---|---|
| Estimate Net Worth | $25 million |
| Religion | Not identified |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Birthplace | Prague, Czechia |
| Birthday | October 18, 1956 |