Martina Navratilova opens up on how she dealt with anti-queer and anti-lesbian slurs during her career being subjected to constant discrimination


Martina Navratilova opens up on how she dealt with anti-queer and anti-lesbian slurs during her career being subjected to constant discrimination

Martina Navratilova

Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova has been one of the strongest voices in tennis to advocate for the LGBTQ community. An openly lesbian person for decades now, Navratilova did not hide her sexuality even during her playing days.

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But as a result, the homophobic spectators of the game subjected her to constant criticism, heckling, and discriminatory behavior. Her success on the court was enough to silence her critics but it has been a long battle the 18-time singles major winner has fought for.

In a recent interview with Julie Bindel, Navratilova explained how things were different during her playing days. Despite her on-court success, she remained distant from the fans while her other colleagues continued to receive warmth and reception from the crowd.

“Well, I didn’t really see it face to face. It was kind of the bigger picture when I was introduced to come on the court. Everybody was cheering when Chris Evert was introduced or Evonne Goolagong but when I came out onto the court it was muted applause.

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“There were some jeers, there were some whistles. It was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay and some of it was because I was winning too much perhaps. But you know Roger Federer never got that kind of welcome, nobody jeers when Roger Federer walks on the court or even Rafael Nadal,” said Navratilova.

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Martina Navratilova said people talked behind her back and not on her face

Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova

With the generation of Navratilova, Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Billie Jean King, and others leading the WTA Tour, Navratilova talked about how she was treated differently from others. She compared the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal where their fans showed respect for the other player but Navratilova never received similar treatment.

“Even if people are not big fans or they are in the Federer corner, they still cheer when Rafa walks on the court but that was not the case with me. So it was hard not to take it personally but it was this body of the audience so one-on-one nobody ever came to me and called me, ‘You are nothing but a Dyke.’ Nobody said that to me.

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“But I heard friends or women that I met later, people saying that about me in the audience but I never heard it. So I would have of course told them off if it had happened face to face but I was just trying to win over the audience by who I was I thought that was enough. At the end, they weren’t on my side but it took a while,” added the tennis legend.

Martina Navratilova’s personal battles made her unbothered by the heckling

Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova

With Czechoslovakia undergoing big political changes, Navratilova applied for political asylum from the USA in 1975 at the age of 18. Her decision saw her citizenship stripped in Czechoslovakia. While she turned Pro and continued to rise in popularity, she had to stay away from her family due to the political tension.

“I was doing what I loved, playing tennis and nobody could keep me from that so I was lucky in that front. Again, after coming from Czechoslovakia, leaving my country, this kind of stuff wasn’t gonna bother me. What bothered me was not seeing my family for four years, that was the tough part.

“This, some nobody, somebody I don’t know thinks whatever they wanna call me, who cares?” added Navratilova further showing her strong mental fortitude.

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Navratilova came out in 1981 and has been since advocating for the rights of the LGBT community. While she has faced many obstacles and hurdles, she remains unmoved in demanding equality for everyone irrespective of sexual orientation.

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