"She's a very talented junior" - Martina Navratilova jokes about wife Julia Lemigova while playing tennis
Martina Navratilova and her wife Julia Lemigova recently decided to end their nearly decade-long hiatus of avoiding each other on a tennis court as they played together.
Lemigova shared some photographs and a couple of hilarious videos from their practice session in which they can be seen joking and poking fun at each other. The 50-year-old began by posting some stills as she stated that she finally agreed to play with Navratilova after nine years.
"After nine years of saying NO to Martina to play tennis with her, today, I have finally decided to say YES," Lemigova wrote.
In Lemigova's latest video, the person recording it can be heard asking Navratilova if her wife was showing promise or was playing well. The former World No. 1 was quick to praise her, saying that she was a "talented junior."
"She's a very talented junior, I must say," Navratilova said.
After missing one of the few forehand shots, Lemigova turned to her partner and yelled at her, demanding a pair of new shoes, though all in good humor.
"I need new shoes," Lemigova told Navratilova.
The first clip that the 1990 Miss USSR shared was as funny as the second one. Before starting the game, Lemigova recalled that she had stopped playing tennis with the 18-time Grand Slam champion because Martina Navratilova didn't like the way the former Russian model served.
"We are starting right from the beginning. That’s how I stopped playing tennis with you because you didn’t like my serve," Lemigova said.
Navratilova married Lemigova in New York City on December 15, 2014.
Martina Navratilova hopes for Daria Kasatkina's safety after tussle with Russian politician
During a recent interview with RB Sport, Russian politician Roman Teryushkov revealed that after a failed first attempt, he had again requested the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to label Daria Kasatkina a foreign agent. This comes after the tennis player criticized Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and also because she came out of the closet a few months ago.
Here's what Teryushkov said:
"As for Kasatkina, I have submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to include her in the list of foreign agents. The department responded with a formal reply, expressing disinterest in stopping the illegal actions of the tennis player. In turn, I re-sent a deputy request to check the legality of such a response and take the appropriate measures," Teryushkov said.
Martina Navratilova, who often calls out the authorities for their wrongdoing, showed her support for the eighth-ranked player.
"This is not good. I hope Daria is safe and will be able to travel as she pleases… yikes though!!!!" Navratilova tweeted.