“Oh, the little idiot, why did she do that" - When Martina Navratilova's relatives were unhappy with her defecting to the United States
Martina Navratilova is one of the finest tennis players of all time and enjoyed a stellar career.
Navratilova, however, had to take a very big step in her life as a teenager -- to defect from Czechoslovakia to the United States. She sought asylum while competing at the 1975 US Open and later received a green card.
Many of Navratilova's relatives were not pleased with her decision to defect, with her stepfather stating:
“We are crushed."
The then-teenager's grandmother called her an "idiot" and stated that there was no need for her to defect. She also claimed that Navratilova did not give any hint of seeking asylum in the United States while calling home.
“Oh, the little idiot – why did she do that? It is not possible. Why, she called home Wednesday and never hinted at anything," Navratilova's grandmother said.
Martina Navratilova, at the same time, stated that she did not have enough opportunities to play tennis while still in Czechoslovakia, needing to ask permission to compete in tournaments.
“I didn’t have enough opportunities to play tennis. I had to ask permission to play in this tournament or that tournament. They didn’t want me to play here. They wanted me to return home and finish school. They thought I was becoming too Americanized," Navratilova said.
"They wanted me to skip Forest Hills and read about it in a newspaper. I had stayed two weeks longer than I intended to in this country. Back home they were already saying that I was going to stay forever in the United States. I had not even thought about it until then," she added.
Martina Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles
Martina Navratilova enjoyed a sensational tennis career, with 18 Grand Slam singles titles to her name. Her first Major triumph came at Wimbledon 1978, where she defeated Chris Evert in the final.
The Czech-American has won nine Wimbledon titles, which is more than any player in history. She won the US Open four times, the Australian Open thrice and the French Open twice.
Navratilova was unable to win the Calendar Slam but she won three Grand Slams in a year in 1982 and 1983.
Apart from her singles triumphs, the Czech-American also excelled on the doubles circuit, winning 31 Majors. She won the US Open nine times and the Australian Open on eight occasions. Navratilova won the women's doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon seven times each.
She also won ten Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.