‘Roger Federer Never Got That Kind of Welcome’- Martina Navratilova Says the Tennis Community Treated Her Differently Because She Was Gay

The former Czech–American tennis player, Martina Navratilova, is renowned as one of the best athletes because of her historical performances on the tennis court. Navratilova, with her 18 singles Grand Slam title, reached unprecedented heights during her stellar tennis journey. However, she also faced various hardships and challenges during her journey.

Notably, Navratilova recently discussed facing many differences on the tour because of her sexuality. Additionally, the 18-time singles Grand Slam champion revealed how fans treated her differently than other tennis greats like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Martina Navratilova talks about facing differences on tour because of her sexuality

The former Czech–American tennis player was recently featured in an interview with Julie Bindel. During the interview, Martina Navratilova talked about various topics including feminism, lesbians, and the misogyny of transgender ideology and activism. Meanwhile, Navratilova was asked about facing anti-lesbian and misogynistic hatred in the early 80s during her tennis journey.

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The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion answered by stating, “Oh well, I didn’t really see it you know face to face it was kind of the bigger picture when I was introduced to come on the court everybody was cheering when Chris Evert was introduced or Evonne Goolagong.”  She further added, “But when I came out on onto the court uh it was muted applause. Uh there were some jeers there were some whistles and it was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay.”

Navratilova went on to say that it was also because she was perhaps winning too many matches on the WTA tour. She further talked about how fans treated Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a better way. Navratilova added, “But you know Roger Federer never got that kind of welcome right. Nobody jeers when Roger better walks on the court or even Rafa Nadal. Even people if they’re not big fans or they’re in Federer’s corner, they still cheer when Rafa walks on the court but that was not case with me so it was hard not to take it personally.”

Navratilova also talked about overcoming criticism

The former tennis player also talked about overcoming the criticism she faced because of her sexuality. Navratilova stated that she was unbothered about what people were saying about her as she was gay. The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion went on to say that she always loved tennis. As a result, she was always focused only on her game and she didn’t let the criticism affect her performance.

Navratilova stated that she didn’t care about the backlash she faced for being a part of the LGBT community. As a result, Navratilova constantly dominated the tennis court. She was also inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame because of her incredible performances.

Additionally, Navratilova has constantly raised her voice for the LGBT community. She has also inspired many other people in the community.

WATCH THIS STORY: Martina Navratilova scoffs at Roger Federer’s Laver Cup for their outrageous prices