Martina Navratilova was born in Řevnice, a small town south west of Prague, in 1956. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest women tennis players and has won the women's title at Wimbledon a record 9 times.

Martina Navratilova (b.1956)
She was born Martina Šubertová, but her parents divorced when she was 3 and when her mother remarried she took her stepfather's name. Her stepfather was also her first tennis coach, and left-handed Martina went on to win her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1978.

In 1981, shortly after being granted U.S. citizenship, Navratilova "came out" publicly, and from 1983 to 1991 she had a long-term relationship with married author Judy Nelson which ended acrimoniously.

Martina has been very active in charities benefiting underprivileged children, gay rights and animal rights. In 2000 she won the National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, America's largest lesbian/gay activist group. She said:- "People often ask me, 'Now that I've come out, what more can I do?' My answer to that would be, 'Encourage others to come out.' and to be active, supportive members of our community, which in turn, helps contribute positive change and ultimately to fair and equal opportunities for us all."

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