As I am so delighted and speechless I will let the BBC do the talking:

Martina Navratilova ended her career in style with an amazing 59th Grand Slam title as she and Bob Bryan won the mixed doubles title at the US Open.
Navratilova, 49, went into Flushing Meadows saying it would be her last event as a professional player.

And she got the perfect send-off as she teamed up with Bryan to beat Czech pair Kveta Peschke and Martin Damm 6-2 6-3.

Navratilova won four US Open singles titles and a total of 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her career.

This victory also made her the OLDEST US Open mixed doubles champion.

"I just wanted to keep inspiring people, the way they inspired me. I wanted to show people you can do great things regardless of your age if you believe and go for it.

"Tennis has given me such a great life but I'm ready to move on. I'll stay in the game and refocus my efforts elsewhere."


Well it could not have ended better, it really couldn't and a fairytale career ending like this it could not have gone to anyone more deserving in tennis. What an amazing woman for hanging on there and believing she COULD still win one more, and she did! :clap: :clap: :clap: :bow: :bow: :bow:


:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:


I only found out this mornign so I am off to read up the news on USO site, and see the pictures :D Champers all round on me!

Martina you rock!

:yahoo: :yahoo: :clap: :yahoo: :yahoo: :clap: :yahoo: :yahoo:

:party: :party: :party:

Im so happy :D

She really deserved this. After seeing her at Wimbledon I thought well she's still good but she really should've retired a bit more gracefully in 2003. But this is just incredible; she is amazing. This is her 59th Grand Slam, 14th US Open Title and 3rd USO MD title. Her 10th MD title over all. Meaning that she has double figures to her name in every type of GS, i.e. Singles, Doubles and Mixed.

Who has ever deserved a Grand Slam more than this? Well done Martina you are THE living legend and what a way to go!!! B)

Well done Martina - a remarkable achievement :clap:

Great to see Martina get a final slam and the send off that she so richly deserves! \

Here is a brief interview in the New York version of Time Out from a couple of weeks ago:



Martina Navratilova

The legend is taking her last swings, but she‘s still making a racket.

By Beth Greenfield


Illustration: Rob Kelly
When Martina Navratilova burst onto the American tennis scene from communist Czechoslovakia in the mid-’70s, she was an awkward, chubby, left-handed teenager with a tenuous grasp of the English language. But she soon defected to the United States, jump-starting her swift ascent into one-name-wonder stardom, marked by record-breaking feats of athleticism and a historic coming out.



Navratilova has won every Grand Slam singles title at least twice (with a record nine wins at Wimbledon) and brought a fierce power to a traditionally gentle women’s sport. Though she retired from singles matches in 1994, she returned to the court as a mixed-doubles player in 2000. At just a month shy of 50, she’s the oldest pro on the circuit, but she’s getting ready to put down her racket again: Navratilova will call it quits after the US Open, which starts this week. She plans to remain busy as an activist, especially for gay issues; she’s created the Rainbow Card, a credit card that contributes to various LGBT causes with each purchase. She’ll also spend more time with her girlfriend of six years (whom she won’t identify). We caught up by phone with Navratilova as she was icing a postsurgery knee.

advertisement

You defected during your first US Open. How scared were you?

I wasn’t scared—I just wanted to play tennis. When you’re 18, you’re not scared of anything. Now I think I would be petrified, because it meant not being able to see my family for who knows how long, and I didn’t know if I would be able to go back.

You’ve returned to the Czech Republic many times, and recently played your first match there. How did that feel?

It was great. Here I am, the greatest athlete that country produced, and the people never really saw me play live. I represented more than just a tennis player: People name their daughters after me—not because I play tennis, but because I stuck it to the Communists.

What inspired you to write your new fitness book, Shape Yourself?

I was catapulted into it by fans wanting to know how I can still play like this at my age. And I’m doing something that’s never been done before; on the tennis scene, we have nobody playing past the age of 40.

Why do you think so few lesbian athletes have come out?

No, no, no, no! Wait a minute! How many gay male athletes are there? None! Zero! I don’t know of one that’s active, that’s out, that’s anybody we would know about. Nobody’s out except for Amelie [Mauresmo] and me—women, tennis pros! The guys are hiding, big time. A lot of athletes don’t really have an excuse. They keep using the endorsements. But how many athletes actually get endorsements? You have to be a superstar.

Some accounts of your coming out say you did it in 1981, and others say you were later outed. Which is it?

It was both. I never hid it from the reporters, but said I couldn’t talk about it because I was trying to get my citizenship. As soon as I got it, one reporter called me and said, “Well, you got your citizenship. Can you talk now?” But there was the scandal with Billie Jean [King] at the time, and the women’s tour was worried that if I came out it would hurt the tour. Personally, I couldn’t have cared less, but I said, “I really can’t come out now because it would hurt the tour.” So the headline was, navratilova can’t come out because it would hurt the tour. [Laughs]

How do you feel about retiring?

It’s not retirement, it’s just not playing tennis. I’ll be very busy with all kinds of things, but most of all I just need to be home more with my partner, my one and only.

Would you get married if you could?

Absolutely. It’s about equal protection under the law. It drives me mad when people say it’s a threat to heterosexual marriage. So if my partner has a penis, that’s all that counts? I could marry a complete stranger and have all the rights I need? It’s insane!

What projects will you focus on now, besides the Rainbow Card?

I want to do some TV commentary on tennis, maybe other sports. And who knows? People want me to go into politics, though I’d rather stay an activist. At least that way you can speak the truth and not compromise.

The US Open (usopen.org) begins Monday 28.

Just an unrivalled acheivement IMO. Such a will to win at the age of 49 and it showed with grand slam number 59! :o Such longevity and class and talent that will live through the ages. An inspiration to every one in sports and in life.

Good luck in retirement Martina :clap:

Just don't tell Polaris Galaxy, Selesfan or Prettiestgirl (or whatever he/ she is called nowadays) about Martina's comment on the men's game! roflmao

I love her forthrightness, and declaring her intent to continue to be an activist :wub:

If you posted that on the beeb you'd never hear the end of it Petalp roflmao

Hey SW19! :D

Oh, I know.. the trolls would go into overdrive!! roflmao

Hey! :D
Although PG hasn't been on there for ages so we musn't jinx it :lol:

True!! She has been conspicuous by her absence esp so when the tennis focus has been in USA (and I think that PG is north american)

Also, I haven't seen any recent postings from Selesfan saying that she was 'leaving the board, and this time it's for good' either..

lol - Selesfan was getting to be a better poster though. I wonder if she'll ever come back.

Damn now I've jinxed it :lol:

roflmao

SF posted on CC for a while. I think that she was asked to behave whilst here. She once said that she was enjoying her break from being 'a better class of troll'... :lol:

This might be a little heretical, but I actually also quite liked Signorella too, who actually knew her tennis when not being confrontational with the Rafa fans.. There was a phrase that she used for an English cricketer that I thought was funny. What was it? Ah yes.. 'Cutie Patootie'..! :lol:

I wonder if she's changed her name to 'Lady Grinning Soul'?? :blush:

roflmao I thought that as I read it! In a way I love Polaris Galaxy because she is so upfront and doesn't give a damn! She does make some interesting and valid points, but I think her obsessions with sexuality and her lack of objectiveity spoil it. Quite Character though, but my fave has to be VicWillaims! :D

On a serious note though the fact that Martina had to cope with all these sexaulity issies in an era where it was not as welcome makes her ahcievements all the more remarkable. Adn putitng pressure on her to keep it quiet for the sake of the tour is just unbelievable! I love the headline that arose from that! roflmao I think, and no disrespect to the youngsters on here, but it is hard for them to appreciate just how hard things were only a couple of decades back for non heterosexual people in general, let alone famous ones. And it wasnt just about unfavourable treatment but it people were not used to it and it made them uncomfortable and people did not know how to deal with it because it had been taboo for so long.

It was really funny in many ways that we had lesbians living next door to us from the early 1980s. I was a teenager and it did not bother me, but my father was always uncomfortable about it. When they first moved in he thought one of them was a bloke (she was very butch) until he used to call her 'lad' and 'youth' and she used to respond and accept bers and teas from him. :D Me, my sis and mum all knew and left my dad in his ignorance cos it was funny! One day he asked the neighbour what her name was and when she said Linda he nearly dropped his tea! roflmao The neighbours were cool and found it funny! Then my dad was convinced that they were setting us a bad example and we would end up lesbians if we spent too much time round there as I was mates with her daughter! roflmao The good thing about Linda though was that she was hard and kept an eye out for the girls in the area, and any trouble and she'd be straight out there. A boyfriend of mine was arguing with me one night at my gate and she shot straight out and pinned him to the garage and told him to lay off! He wasnt; do anything bad, and she warned him that if she caught him bothering me again, she would nto let him escape next time! roflmao Just a memory from that era, but I did used to fin ti objectionable when I went into shops and thinks and people were whispering things like "they live next door to lesbians" and "I would not let my kids go round there"! Nasty. :(

And look how many celebs form back then could not say that they were gay, even though it was being suggested that they were, like Freddie Mercury (God rest his soul), Elton John, George Michael. In some cases it can ruin careers as sponsors/record companies or whatever don't want to know so they drop you and sometimes the public don't like it. I think some members of Boy Bands have had this problem because they say being heterosexual is key to their appeal to the tennage girl market. I did herar Martin say a while back that her sexuality led to beign offered less, and I think losing, some endorsements/sponsorship. But she has proved that she doesn't need them to cement her place in history so good for her! It is great that she wants to be an activist, not a politician, as she is so right about having to compromise if you take the latter course. A very savvy and clever woman as well as a great athlete. I will look forward to seeign what she gets involved with over the next few years. :ok:

I agree with you on that too. :D Ihave found Sig to know her stuff and made some good comments, but her problem is that she really does stoop to the lowest levels when she wants to bitch and it comes over so nasty and poisonous. Problem is cos I spoke to her a few times, some people were attacking me for it for being bessie mates with her! :o Thankfully she did tell them that was not likely! :D

I love VicWilliams roflmao

A fine post SB! I like the sound of your neighbour.. :)

Yes, it's true that it was so much more difficult for public figures 10 or 20 years ago.

Have you seen a film called 'Far from Heaven'? It is superb.

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?DVDID=9574

It's the film that was never made from that era. There is also a documentary called 'The Celluloid Closet' that is fascinating. It talks about films, actors, and shows veiled references to homosexuality which would go right over the heads of the straight community and reach their intended audience..

I think that the UK now pretty much embraces hits gay stars, but I think that in other cultures it must be much more difficult, esp the ones where alpha-male machismo or some dogmatic doctrine reigns supreme..

Oh.. I don't know VicWilliams.. must keep an eye out.. :)

He only pops on now and again these days; especially with the sisters ahrdly ever playing. But he says such unpredictable and funny things he's classic :D

Thanks, I haven't and I will check that out. :) Yes you make a good point and I think we forget about other cultures. I do not want to be acused of making racial stereotypes, but from my experience and knowledge there is a lot for male dominance and machoism in many Latin countries like Italy and South America and that is bound to affect the players there. Women still occupy a largely very traditional role of rearing children and staying at home with the family, and men are very much men in the traditional sense and being gay is frowned upon. A friend of mine has an Italian girlfiriend who says that coming over here was a culture shock in terms of attitudes towards male and female roles and sexuality. And in countries that are strongly Catholic, being gay is taboo and very offensive to those who are orthodox in their religion. Of course it goes on but they dont; talk about it or accept it. I was very surprised actually when I visited a Muslim country, albeit Tunisia which is the most liberal of them. Women are still very much in the home and chaperoned when they go out, and beign gay is really criminal in there eyes. However, the number of places where gay men can go (often for sex) is huge, and although alledgedly taboo it is blindingly obvious and the locals will tell you to avoid a certain place for that reason, so they all know. And having hooked up with a gay Englishman (who was stayign in our hotel) for nights out we were rather alarmed ourselves at exactly what went on in the gay community and how easy it was to get it, shall we say! ;)

Oh Vic is a classic! roflmao I saw him awhile back and aske dhim how he was, he said he was worried about his girls - he acts just liek the Willamses dad. And if you say something that he thinks he proves to be wrong, he tells you to go and eat crow! roflmao He really does have some right slagging matches with people, but he is upfront and he doesnt; run off cryign to the mods if you answer back.

I know I love his parental attitude to the sisters :D

I could never understand his "eat crow" though roflmao

I know! I asked him about it, but he never answered. he was too busy telling about 10 posters to go eat it! roflmao I think it might mean eat your words, or maybe that crow is disgusting to eat so it could be like telling people to go and eat sh*t? :shrug:

"Eat Crow"? :shrug: Maybe he's from a part of the world where that is either a delicacy (perhaps not!) or bad luck/ tasteless? Maybe it's unlucky to eat crow in Burkino Faso, or wherever..

I saw one recent posting on the beeb which told Mats Wilander to "go and eat Federer's shorts"...

"Eat crow": I just looked it up in one of my numerous dictionatries! North American (why doesn't that surprise me!): be humiliated by having to admit one's failures or defeats.

However, there's no explanation of the origin.

Fascinating discussion of sexuality. Two great posts from you Superbrat; the story of your neighbour (and your dad!) in particular. Great isn't it to be able to talk seriously on here - just imagine what the result would have been on the beeb :yikes:

To eat crow means 'to suffer humiliation', and specifically 'to be forced to admit to having made an error, as by retracting an emphatic statement'. An example from the mystery writer "Ellery Queen" in 1930: "I should merely be making an ass of myself if I accused someone and then had to eat crow."

Crows are notoriously disagreeable birds, in every respect. Scavengers, they are not suitable for eating. An old joke among outdoorsmen holds that if you get lost in the woods without any food and manage to catch a crow, you should put it in a pot with one of your boots, boil it for a week, and then eat the boot. Eating crow, therefore, is an especially unpleasant and humiliating thing to have to do.

The expression to eat crow is surprisingly recent. It is originally and still chiefly an Americanism, first found in the mid nineteenth century. The original form was to eat boiled crow.


From Google (of course!)

Thanks Scolios, I guess eat your own words was about right! :)

I know what you mean. That's why I like this board as you can talk openly and there are quite a few posters on here who are interested in such conversations. :D Yes, my father who is just over 60 now, was brought up in the country on a farm which was a hard life and meant he was quite sheltered from things that were different, like race, etc. I think the kind of background was very down-to-earth no nonsense if you know what I mean. It was quite a shock for him moving to the city when his dad died, but his mum could not afford to keep the farm going back then and he had to find work. So my dad was not very open minded or educated, like many people, but I think his country attitude made things even worse but funnier! roflmao He was never comfotable with black/ethnic people and was always moaning about the Pakistani neighbours cooking curries in the 70s. When we moved and had the lesbian neighbours, to make matters even worse for him one of them's children form her prevous marraige were mixed race, as the mother was white, and he really could not get his head around this. He was never nasty to them of course, but he was never comfortable with the rest of the family socialising round there and was always saying he was worried his daughters would "run away with a black man" as if it was more dangeorus than running off with a white man! roflmao Soem people might find this distasteful, but you have got to understand his background and you have got to laugh! The upside is that his two daughters turned out to be very aware fo racism, homophobia etc and as a result we are neither and value difference. And now he is older, he is a lot more accepting of people - he has to eb as you should see how my sister turned out! roflmao

SB, I was just reading the Agassi appreciatoin thread and thought it might be a nice idea if you put one up on the WTA players forum for Martina N; you seem to be Martina's bigeest fan on here and have followed her career all the way so I just thought I'd throw the idea at you :)

Im sure a lot of us would like to pass some comment or another on Marina's amazing career in singles and doubles now she's finished for good.