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LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Martina Navratilova of the United States smiles during the mixed doubles match between John McEnroe of the United States and his partner Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Martina Navratilova of the United States and Jamie Murray of Great Britain during the Wimbledon No. 1 Court Celebration in support of the […]
Imago
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Martina Navratilova of the United States smiles during the mixed doubles match between John McEnroe of the United States and his partner Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Martina Navratilova of the United States and Jamie Murray of Great Britain during the Wimbledon No. 1 Court Celebration in support of the […]
Martina Navratilova has never backed away from expressing her views. She has never been afraid of the backlash that she sometimes has to face due to her unfiltered opinions.
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The player uses various platforms both in real and virtual life, to make her voice heard. The player in 2019 took a bold step of wearing a hat, stated, ‘IMPEACH’, which the authorities asked her to take down at Wimbledon.
Martina Navratilova made a bold statement during the Wimbledon 2019
Navratilova was a critic of the former president of the USA, Donald Trump; consequently, took the bold step of wearing a white baseball cap. The cap had the word ‘IMPEACH’ on it.
Martina Navratilova wore an “IMPEACH” hat through the first game of a #Wimbledon legends’ doubles match today, until an official asked her to take it off during the first changeover, which she quickly did.
“Sorry about that,” Martina said. “Forgot I had it on.”
(H/t @beefbreen) pic.twitter.com/JFg5KHOcz9
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 9, 2019
However, the authorities asked her to take it off. The regulation was that Wimbledon banned the participants from making any political statements. When asked, she replied, “Sorry about that, forgot had it on”.
However, later on, on Twitter, she confessed by saying, “Oops. Not really.” She did it to stage a protest against the President and to express her point of view.
How has Wimbledon’s stance changed and how has Navratilova supported it?
Wimbledon in 2019 stopped Navratilova from making a political statement through her clothes. However, this year, Wimbledon banned Russian players from playing at the grass-court major following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Moreover, it also relaxed the all-white rule for the players to let them express their solidarity with Ukraine.
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 10: Martina Navratilova of United States of America and Cara Black of Zimbabwe (not pictured) in action during the Ladies Invitational Doubles against Mary Joe Fernandez of United States of America and Ai Sugiyama of Japan (not pictured) at The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club at Wimbledon on July 10, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
Navratilova backed Wimbledon and talked about players who were apprehensive about being a part of the major, as WTA and the ATP had stripped the major from its ranking points. Players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, however, condemned the move and stated that politics should not be included in the sport.
WATCH THIS STORY: ‘Seems to Get Injured a Lot’ – Martina Navratilova Once Used Serena Williams’ Example to Talk About the ‘Fragmented’ Nature of Women’s Tennis.
Russian and Belarusian players are playing on other tours under neutral flags. Besides that, they have also vouched for peace around the world.
Written by
Edited by
Deepakshi Chaudhary