Former Czech-American tennis player Martina Navratilova had a long and illustrious tennis career, which lasted till 2006. Hailed by many as an all-time great, Navratilova, however, almost retired from tennis back in 1994.

During that time, she talked a great deal about trying other things in life. As her farewell tour began in 1994, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion talked about her emotions, as she was saying goodbye to tennis.

Martina Navratilova opened up about retiring from tennis 1n 1994

During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Navratilova revealed, “I haven’t been swept up in the emotion yet, except maybe in the beginning, but it’s going to be hard not to get caught up in it at the end.“

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Despite the emotional ride, Navratilova talked about showing professionalism on the court. “For now, I still have to play. I have to detach myself. I can get caught up in it when it’s over,” she further said. 

Even when Navratilova was walking away from tennis, she had her own way of doing it. Moreover, she had her own catchphrase or walk-away line; she said, “I served and volleyed my way through life.“

Notably, Navratilova had to face many obstacles in her life, from leaving her country to opening up about her sexuality. Safe to say, fighting against all those challenges was not an easy task; still, she did and overcame those challenges.

Navratilova made her return on the tour in early 2000

After retiring from the singles competition in 1994, Navratilova appeared in a handful of doubles matches in the next couple of years. Later, she took a break from tennis completely, as she did not play on the tour from 1997 to 1999.

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In early 2000, Navratilova made a tremendous return to tennis, as she played doubles and mixed doubles in several tournaments, including Grand Slam events. In 2003, she won the Australian Open mixed doubles titles with Indian tennis star Leander Paes. Thus, she achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.

In the same year, she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles as well with Paes, which was her 20th Wimbledon title; she won 9 singles titles at Wimbledon. Also, she became the oldest player to win a Wimbledon title at 46.

In 2006, she retired from professional tennis after winning the US Open mixed doubles title. Moreover, she did it at the age of 50 and many experts hailed the tennis star for her longevity.