20. století
Martina Navratilova
World-class tennis player
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Former number one tennis player originating from Czechoslovakia. In terms of rankings she is among the greatest tennis players of the 20th century and is valued above-all for her versatility, which allowed her to excel at singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
In addition to tennis, she is famous for her openly lesbian sexual orientation, which made her a mildly controversial figure in certain social circles.
She began to play tennis in 1962 and at the age of 15, in 1972, she won the Czechoslovak National Championship, after which she entered the professional tennis circuit. In 1975 she immigrated to the USA
where in 1981 she acquired US citizenship. Her first Grand Slam win came at Wimbledon in 1978, after which she seized another 18. She is the holder of some fantastic records such as for player’s performance during a single season, where in 1983 she won 86 matches against only one lost, as well as for the longest string of consecutive wins. She still holds this record with 79 straight wins.
She was a role-model for many generations of female tennis players and she holds the top spot along with Steffi Graf in the all-time rankings of various female tennis players created by prestigious sports magazines.
