Martina Navratilova

Biography

A former Czechoslovak and later American professional tennis player and coach. In 2005, Tennis magazine selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005 and she is considered one of the best, if not the best, female tennis players of all time.

In 1981, shortly after becoming a United States citizen, Navratilova gave an interview to New York Daily News sports reporter Steve Goldstein, coming out as bisexual and revealing that she had a sexual relationship with Rita Mae Brown, but asked him not to publish the article until she was ready to come out publicly. However, the New York Daily News published the article on July 30, 1981. Navratilova and Nancy Lieberman, her girlfriend at the time, gave an interview to Dallas Morning News columnist Skip Bayless, where Navratilova reiterated that she was bisexual and Lieberman identified herself as straight. Navratilova has since identified herself as a lesbian.

From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson, whom she met at a tournament in Fort Worth in 1982. Their split in 1991 included a much-publicized legal wrangle. Navratilova was featured in a WITA (Women’s International Tennis Association) calendar, shot by Jean Renard with her Wimbledon trophies and Nelson’s children in the background.

On September 6, 2014, Navratilova proposed to her longtime girlfriend Julia Lemigova at the US Open. They married in New York on December 15, 2014.