Martina Navratilova talks about coming out, Wimbledon and about whether she’s the greatest of all time

The great Martina Navratilova is the focus of a documentary on The Tennis Channel. Martina has had an epic life which is told nicely in this piece by Craig Shepherd.

“What comes across so clearly is that all her life Martina has wanted to be judged fairly,” says Shepherd.  “Sports is a superb way to do this, particularly an individual sport like tennis.  Growing up, she was competitive, she was active.  This little bob-headed girl was exposed to a lot of different things.  Seeing her family farm taken away, watching how her parents were treated because they weren’t members of the Community party – you can just see the reflective aspect of Martina, someone who’s always been journeying through life in her own way.”

On coming out: Martina was advised by the women’s tennis tour officials not to come out because they were afraid of losing corporate sponsorship. This was back in 1981.

Martina won nine Wimbledon singles titles and another 11 in doubles. She talks about the magic of the Centre Court.

Martina answers the question of whether or not she is the greatest of all time: “It would be hard to say no. … Overall, the body of work speaks for itself.” And, she adds: “Steffi Graf said I was the best player, so who am I to argue?”