A Reminiscence

Dated: Dec 1997 [Published in Vijaya College Magazine – 1997-98]

She held the World No. 1 ranking in Women’s Tennis for a total of 381 weeks, that is 7 years and 17 weeks. She won the Australian Open Singles title 3 times and US Open 4 times. She has won Singles title in 8 countries and has won in Wimbledon a record 9 times. She won a total of 18 Grand Slam Singles tile. She also reached a record of 23 consecutive finals from June 12, 1983 to November 25, 1984. She has won 74 straight matches in 1984 and played against Chris Evert 80 times, losing the first 25 matches against her, but finishing their career head-to-head 43-37. Apart from that, she has won both singles and doubles title at the same event record 84 times. She has won 167 Singles titles, beating Jimmy Conners’ Men’s record of 109. She has also won $20,052,227 in prize money, enough to compete against Bill Gates, by winning 1438 of her 1649 competitive singles matches, losing a mere 211. In recognition of her feat of winning the Virgina Slims title of Chicago 12 times, Chicago has declared February 12, 1992 as Martina Navratilova Day.

Martina Navratilova. The name may not mean anything to he young kids. But the very name was talked in all hype a couple of years ago when she dominated Women’s Tennis. And the very name used to send chills down the spines of the likes of Steffi Graf, Chris Evert and Margaret Court, against whom she used to go great guns, firing on all cylinders by executing the greatest of tennis shots.

There were many who sighed their greatest sighs in relief when the heard that Martina retired from tennis – amidst others’ tears – but unarguable and undoubtedly there was that bit of admiration, that respect and that bit of appreciation to one of the greatest Woman Tennis player of all times. None, not even her bitter loggerheads and her ever-so-few critics, could abstain from appreciating the way in which she used to exquisitely execute her back-hand down the lines, her lobs, her drops, her serves, her returns and her smashes, across the one thing she loves most of all through her life, the tennis court.

Many a time her opposite was left stranded yards away from the yellow ball which would have whizzed past any hope of getting at it, with a speed, which could have equaled, if not greater than, Michael Schumaker’s in the Grand Prix, thereby mesmerizing the audience and keeping them gasping for air because her shots were tremendous and so full of magnificience, that it took the breath out of them. It is no wonder that whenever people talk about her, it is always in the caliber of greatest admiration.

And now, there is Martina Hingis named after her. Navratilova in the making? Perhaps!