Martina Navratilova, during the early days of her career, touched the headlines for both her personal and professional life. The 59-time Grand Slam champion, who as a teenager entered the United States, once recalled the harrowing experience of attending her immigration interview.

After defecting from her home country, Czechoslovakia, Navratilova had more than enough on her plate and the public scrutiny around the matter only made it worse. Last year, in an episode of the Rex Chapman Show, she spoke about the difficulties of the entire procedure.

Martina Navratilova shares her story

Navratilova, while speaking about her legendary career, opened up about the matter. She detailed how she used to travel alongside the team coach, who also acted as their handler. She said, “When I went to the office of the immigration authorization service, I didn’t tell her.”

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Thereafter, she added, “When I went to the office, we went after hours. They said come after six o’clock, so nobody knows that you’re here so that we can keep it quiet. Okay, and filled out all the paperwork. I was there about 10:30 at night.” 

Read more: ‘They Killed Me’ – Martina Navratilova Once Disclosed How She Became a ‘Convenient Target’ for Her Honest and Outspoken Attitude

She further added, “They kept asking are you in the communist party? Is your father communist? So I had to assure them I was not a communist, not a spy. I just wanted to play tennis.”

Navratilova faced a semifinals defeat against her biggest rival Chris Evert that night in the 1975 US Open. After the match, she was swarmed by media houses asking her about her defection. The entire focus was on the athlete leaving the nation to settle in the west.

The hardships that followed after Navratilova’s defection

Although the United States government accepted her as one of its own, others were not so sure about her presence in the nation. They were hesitant about accepting the Prague born tennis ace.

During her epic rivalry with America’s favorite, Chris Evert, unsurprisingly, fans cheered for the ‘Ice Maiden’. Moreover, Navratilova’s unfiltered opinions about several issues often irked the fans.

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.

As a result, the nine-time Wimbledon champion didn’t receive the support she deserved in her matches despite winning several majors. Though, with time, the crowd understood her and grew fond of her.