The name Martina Navratilova often comes up when discussing tennis’s most accomplished players. The former Czech-American star was so formidable in her prime that she dominated women’s tennis. However, in one of her old interviews, the 65-year-old talked about how she failed to utilize her superstar status to secure a breakfast table.

Navratilova won 31 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. In addition to her doubles & mixed accomplishments, she also enjoyed great success in singles, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her impressive career.

Martina Navratilova once spoke about her unpleasant experience during a Sunday brunch outing

Martina Navratilova is undeniably one of the biggest names in tennis, recognized even by those who don’t follow the sport regularly. However, Navratilova once revealed an incident that happened in 1987, where a maître d’hôtel of a restaurant failed to recognize her star status. “I went to the Plaza Hotel with some friends on Marathon Sunday, and of course it was packed.” said Navratilova. She continued saying, “I asked the maitre d’ when breakfast was served.” 

To which the maitre d’ replied, “No breakfast today, only brunch.” This dialogue between Navratilova and maitre d’ continued to the point where she had to ask him again, “Once again, when is brunch served?” Following her unssuccessful attempt at getting a table, Navratilova walked out along with her friends.

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Navratilova’s upbringing and experiences made her a formidable competitor during her playing days. She fled her own country at 18 in search of a new beginning. For a long time, she didn’t even have a nationality until she finally became a citizen of the United States.

Navratilova’s fascinating career statistics

Martina Navratilova’s remarkable her serve and volley style of play was best suited for grass courts. Unsurprisingly, she set a record by claiming nine Wimbledon titles over the course of her career.

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In addition to her nine Wimbledon championships, she also has two French Open, three Australian Open, and four US Open titles to her name. The legendary tennis player didn’t hang up her racket until she was almost 50 years old. She set a record as the oldest player to win the US Open mixed doubles championship in 2006. Many tennis fans consider her the best all-format player of all time because of her remarkable longevity and domination of every category.