PETE ZIEBRON in SURPRISE, AZ
9-time Wimbledon Champion Martina Navratilova warming up in Surprise. Pete Ziebron Images
Last Friday, I had an opportunity to speak with three hundred and forty-four time tennis Champion Martina Navratilova when she appeared at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships in Surprise, Arizona. Navratilova, who won 167 singles titles and 177 doubles titles, conducted a player clinic with Tracy Austin and later teamed to play doubles with John McEnroe against Austin and Jim Courier.
Following the clinic, legendary Phoenix radio personality Dave Pratt, introduced Navratilova, an 18-time major winner and 9-time Wimbledon Champion, as having more Grand Slams than Denny's. Throughout the chatty interview with Pratt and later answering questions from the private dinner audience, Navratilova expounded on several key points, especially encouraging parents to let their children be themselves. "Let their personalities shine through their game" Martina shared, "Then their technique works for them and they are able to flourish."
Martina went on to say that: "Encouragement versus unrealistic expectations is a fine line. Parents need to be positive and not critique all of the time." She then gave a prime example of a parent with high hopes for their child. "A parent came up to me and said, my daughter is # 3 in Southeast Texas, what do you think of her chances going forward? I told her that I was once #4 in Czechoslovakia - big deal - that didn't mean anything." She then went on to say "Players and parents need to think long term and not about current rankings as a junior."
Later in the question and answer session, Navratilova was asked about her most memorable matches in her career and at Wimbledon. "Fed Cup in 1976, playing doubles with Chrissie (Evert) was the only time that we were both happy at the same time, we won our doubles match. Fed Cup is special because the national anthem is played before each match."
Martina's then expalained that her favorite memories from Wimbledon were her first and last Wimbledon Championships. "In 1978 against Chrissie, I was down 4-2 in the 3rd set and won it 7-5 to win my first Wimbledon. I had the perfect game for grass. My last title at Wimbledon, I beat Zina Garrison, who beat Steffi Graf in the semis. That one was extra special, since I now had 9 Wimbledons, breaking the mark of 8 I shared with Helen Wills Moody."
Navratilova also elaborated on the fact that her father had an impact on her as a competitor and kept her level headed. "I won a match 6-0 6-0 when I was young against a girl who wasn't very good. Late in the match, I decided that I would leap over the net after I won and I ended up falling flat on my face. My father was not happy with me and told me that I showed up my opponent. I never did that again. He taught me that being fair was very important." Martina credits her father with providing her with good genes to play tennis. She expounded on the fact that she played many sports, ate the right way for 30 years, loved the sport of tennis, constantly challenged herself and played doubles at almost every tournament, since she loved to play all of the time.
Prior to the dinner, I was able to ask Martina a couple of questions and she shared with me that Rod Laver, Margaret Court and Billie Jean King were her idols growing up. When I asked her why the top women in the game today have difficulty closing out matches, she stated "Their serve sucks. Academies today do not teach players how to serve." A follow up question I asked to Martina was if she would ever consider coaching. She replied with a resounding "Yes!"
Attention WTA players! Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam Champion and 344 time singles and doubles Champion is available to help you with your game and is interested in coaching you. She's quite good.
Comments