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The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023

Martina Navratilova

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023
  • Embed from Getty Images
  • Sport(s): Tennis
  • Statistics: 167 Singles Titles

    18 Singles Grand Slams

    1,422-219 Singles Record

    3 Australian Open Singles Titles (1981, 1983 & 1985)

    2 French Open Singles Titles (1982 & 1984)

    9 Wimbledon Singles Titles (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1990)

    4 U.S. Open Singles Titles (1983, 1984, 1986 & 1987)

    177 Doubles Titles

    31 Doubles Grand Slams

    747-143 Doubles Record

    8 Australian Open Doubles Titles (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 & 1989)

    7 French Open Doubles Titles (1975, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1988)

    7 Wimbledon Doubles Titles (1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 & 1986)

    9 U.S. Open Doubles Titles (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989 & 1990)

    10 Mixed Doubles Grand Slams

    1 Australian Open Mixed Doubles Title (2003)

    2 French Open Mixed Doubles Titles (1974 & 1985)

    4 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Titles (1985, 1993, 1995 & 2003)

    3 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Titles (1985, 1987 & 2005)

    4 Fed Cups (1975, 1982, 1986 & 1989)

    2 Female AP Athlete of the Year Awards (1983 & 1986)

    Member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
  • The long and incredible career of Martina Navratilova began in the Soviet Bloc country of Czechoslovakia, where at age 18, Czech officials demanded that she return home as the budding star was becoming too "Americanized." She didn't, and sought asylum in the U.S., and would later become a citizen.



    Navratilova won a record 167 WTA singles titles and 177 doubles titles, including 18 Grand Slam singles, 31 Grand Slam doubles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles. If Navratilova was in a tournament in the first half of the 1980s, you might as well have written her name as the winner in ink. She dwarfed ger competition so severely that she was the number one rank in singles for 332 weeks, number one in doubles for 237, and she is the only player to have been ranked at the top in both for over 200 weeks.



    Navratilova, who first came out as bisexual in 1981, and a lesbian years later, is the first open LGBTQ superstar in sports. It was a decision that at the time likely cost her many endorsements, but it did make her a trailblazer and role model to many.



    There is no more decorated figure in Tennis than Navratilova, and the United States is fortunate to have her as one its own.



    We are proud to nominate Martina Navratilova for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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