Martina

by Martina Navratilova, George Vecsey

There's never been an athlete like her. Born and raised in Czechoslovakia, Martina Navratilova knew by the age of ten that she wanted to be a Wimbledon champion -- and a U.S. citizen. She would attain her goals and so much more -- but not before her incredible life unfolded in ways not even she could have dared imagine.
MARTINA is more than the thrilling story of an unparalleled career in the tough, sexy world of women's tennis. It is a startling tale of love (with famed novelist Rita Mae Brown), tragedy (her father "disappeared" when Martina was eight, and only later did she learn the true cause of his death), and personal as well as professional triumph. It includes fascinating, intimate portraits of the greats of women's tennis -- King, Evert, Casals, Austin -- plus revealing glimpses of her working relationship with basketball star Nancy Lieberman.
Emotion. Grit. Intensity. Integrity. Martina's shown them all from Flushing Meadows to Wimbledon, from Dallas to Paris to Sydney to Prague. Here they are again, in an autobiography only a champion could write.
"Fascinating and unexpectedly candid." --The San Francisco Chronicle

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Sports, Autobiography, Biography Memoir

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martina Navratilova (b. 1956) is a Czech-American tennis player; her 1985 self-titled memoir, published when Navratilova was at her peak of professional success and approaching 30, was written with George Vecsey.

I don't follow tennis, so I was largely unfamiliar with Navratilova before picking up this book. As far as memoirs go, this one is pretty typical of a young celebrity's memoir, complete with an oversized focus on childhood events, as well as on big events that fans will likely remember. Still, Navratilova is more introspective, candid, outspoken, and at times, brash/cocky, than I'd typically expect in a celebrity memoir, particularly for topics that were likely much more taboo in the 1980s than today. For instance, she writes extensively and openly about her sexuality and relationships with women (at that time, she identified as bisexual; she has since come out as a lesbian). The defining moment of Navratilova's young life, at the time she wrote this memoir, was her defection from Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia when she turned 18; her reflections on this 10 years later were interesting, as was the story about how her parents and sister were allowed to move to the United States as well, but didn't like it and moved back.

I generally think memoirs are more well-developed with age and more life experience, though the temptation to strike while the iron's hot probably motivated this 1985 release. Navratilova has since dabbled in fitness books and even a few tennis-based fiction books, though it'll be interesting to see if she ventures back into the memoir genre, like her contemporary Billie Jean King recently did with 2021's All In: An Autobiography, or if Navratilova's long-time rival/friend Chris Evert ever writes a memoir. (I did notice a 2005 book, The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship, though I haven't read this and don't know if Evert and/or Navratilova participated in this effort.)

My statistics:
Book 307 for 2025
Book 2233 cumulatively

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the absolute best ghostwriting I've ever encountered. Vecsey captures her bluntness and lack of pretense perfectly. It's a pretty cool time capsule into what life was like as a tennis player, a female athlete, and an out lesbian in the mid-80s. A whole lot can change in 25 years, unsurprisingly.

[Ilena Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a shocking book at the time it came out. Martina penned a blunt, no-holds barred book that only she could write. She was a different kind of athlete. She realized that increasing her muscle strength would aid her tennis serves. So what did she do? Something no woman athlete ever did before-- she began a weight training routine. Bulking up her body, she began to beat opponents with ease. She also told how it was having to compete with ultra-feminine tennis players and she knew worldwide tennis fans were not "really into her" when the could watch cute Chris Everett play. She knew she could never compete with America's tennis darling, there was no need to try. Not willing to hide in the closet, she chose to be who she was. While Chris made money advertising Lipton Iced Tea, companies offered Martina nothing. I found every area of her life interesting. The part where he parents were confused about her lifestyle choices was sad. They just thought she had not "found the right man" and if she did, she would be like everyone else. You have to keep in mind that this was 30 years ago and not everyone was ready to tell who they really were.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book and I very much identified with Martina’s values. I love her sense of justice and fairness. I can’t describe how much I liked her sense of humor. I laughed very often. The chapter about her grandma made me cry because I know what it means to live abroad, far away from your family, relatives and because I had such grandma too. I liked Martina especially when she was younger. I think that she gets a bit too crazy into being sportswoman no. 1 at the end of book. Maybe that is how it is in a professional sport.

I was also looking for more on her relationships and private life. I got a bit disappointed. You have to do the homework and do the research on your own, she is not going to tell you who is her girlfriend. No-no. She used the word “relationship with” only once related to her personal life in her book. I would say that she is very private person.

After reading this book, I searched for all famous women around Martina and their stories - Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Pam Schiever, Nancy Lieberman, Judy Nelson, Renee Richards... Very inspiring book.

[Elvis2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a tennis fan so the game statistics were lost on me and could have been left out without affecting the story. I enjoyed the book very much and really liked her descriptions of her life in Czechoslovakia. The chapter about her grandmother touched me deeply.

Missing from the book was an explanation of how she reconnected with what sounded like an estranged family since they totally disapproved of her being with women. Aside from that, I admired Martina's candor throughout the book. It took a lot of courage to write what she did, especially when this was published so long ago.

[Rebecca Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for book club. It was written 33 year ago when the author was only in her late 20s. The perspective and writing is pretty juvenile. She wrote like the "young" girl she was at that time. There was a lot of detail about her life and tennis matches that filled out the book. I doubt that detail would be included had she written the book 20 years later. She would have had more to talk about.

Still I enjoyed the book after all and it will be interesting to discuss.

[Suzanne Singman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting, but the style, as with many memoirs and ghost writers, was dry and dull. I really thought it was interesting that she remembered the score from so many matches. Of course, i read the book in 2020 and it was written in 1984(?) or thereabouts, so it wasn't surprising that she didn't really 'come out'.
I think the best thing about the book was that it made me feel closer to my dad who loved tennis and would talk about Martina and what a great, strong player she was.

[Gina Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arrogant and exploitive

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was definitely not great and there is quite a bit of repetition, but Martina had had an interesting life up to the mid-80s and it was a fun read.

[R.E. Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny what you read between the lines, no pun intended.

[Alex Kargin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real life of real tennis player. Interesting to read for me. One sad thing she is gay.