In 1978 at age 14, I picked up a racquet for the first time. That racquet was wooden with baby blue glossy paint and the signature of Chrissie Evert mass produced on the side. Chrissie was a hero among young American girls and Martina was her arch rival. I had some awareness that Martina was from a weird Commie country. She rarely smiled, had a dark intensity about her, but our Sunshine Girl Chrissie always beat her in the end.
Martina asked the U.S. for political asylum in 1975 at age 18. In her home country of Czechoslovakia, she lived under oppression, control, and discrimination, since her family was not a member of the Communist Party. She also knew as a gay woman, she would be imprisoned. Czech tennis officials were becoming hostile toward her as a young player because they felt she was becoming too “American” and had plans to not let her compete. This very young girl made a hard life choice, left her family and all that was familiar behind, and set her feet on a new path – ALONE.
Well, she went on to be who many feel is the greatest female player in the history of the game in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Her 9-time Wimbledon singles record still stands. She only recently retired from doubles play at age 50.
She became a U.S. citizen 30 years ago. "Whenever people go into politics and they try to say that Communism was a good thing, I say, 'Go ahead and live in a Communist country then, if you think it's so great,' “ she has said.
During the program, she described two events that deeply affected her. Soon after revealing her sexuality to the press in 1981, she lost at the U.S. Open. When her name was announced as the one defeated during award ceremonies, she received a momentous, long, thunderous applause that brought her to tears. She felt the love, acceptance, and respect from America, and it was not contingent upon winning a medal or trophy.
The second event: After her record 9th win at Wimbledon, Margaret Court, an old tennis champion biddy no one remembers, said to the press that Martina was not a good role model for girls because she is a lesbian. (Apparently, Margaret was a childhood idol of Martina’s, and the criticism hurt.)
Martina has felt both the love and the hate, the acceptance and rejection that life has to offer. And understands how complicated human nature is. In a book that examines the famous on-court rivalry between Chrissie and Martina (they faced each other 80 times), Martina stated “I still have a closeness with her that I will never have with another human being because of what we went through together on and off court." (Among many things, Martina introduced Chrissie to her husband.)
Chrissie may have been a hero for American girls, but Martina is surely one for American women. Then again, are there really such simple things as heroes and villains?
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