Navratilova on keeping women’s tennis alive, and why Gauff can win Wimbledon

Equal pay is not uniformly applied on the regular circuit, although the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has committed to ensuring a complete levelling up by 2033. Ons Jabeur, the world No 10, said the WTA pledge was “not enough”.

“I have always wondered why this plan is now, and why we’re not already getting equal prize money,” Jabeur added.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Navratilova embarking on an unprecedented 74-match winning streak, which landed her 10 regular tour titles, in addition to three grand slams.

“On the tour, away from the slams … I worked just as hard in all the other tournaments,” said Navratilova, who was speaking to Laureus Spirit of Sport.

“As women athletes, we had to make sure our tour was a success. If the men’s sponsor walked away, they [would] find 20 more. For women, if we failed then that might be it. We felt a responsibility to support the tour, and make sure the sponsors were happy, which meant playing more than we wanted to.”

Navratilova estimated that at Novak Djokovic’s current age of 37, she had played roughly 600 more singles matches, and 800 more doubles matches, than the men’s record 24-times grand slam champion.

“Now, I would take some time in the middle of the year to recover,” she said. “The players have got much smarter these days.”

Djokovic is poised to begin his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon men’s singles title against Vit Kopriva on Monday, after signalling his recovery from a knee injury in an exhibition victory over world No 5 Daniil Medvedev on Friday.

Kopriva’s Czech compatriot Marketa Vondrousova, meanwhile, will begin her women’s title defence against Jessica Bouzas of Spain on Monday.

Navratilova, who was born in Czechoslovakia, but defected to the USA in 1975, said she was “pulling for” Tunisian Jabeur, as she tried to become the first African major winner in last year’s Wimbledon final.

“That pressure got to her, on the other hand, Markéta, I think, was planning on flying home after the first round,” Navratilova, a record nine-times Wimbledon singles champion, said. “We Czechs have a game that can adapt to any surface … in the final she just didn’t get nervous.”

Navratilova said Vondrousova, 25, the 2019 French Open runner-up, was “living up to expectations” after initially struggling to capitalise on her “big talent”.

Świątek, in contrast, won her first major as a 19-year-old, at the 2020 French Open. She has five grand slam titles, but has not advanced beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

“Iga is the most consistent player out there,” Navratilova said. “She’s a student of the game, and definitely has the fire in her belly. Even if she doesn’t change anything, she’ll win a lot more majors. But if she improves, watch out.”

Gauff, meanwhile, broke her grand slam duck at last year’s US Open, but the 20-year-old world No 2 has never gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon.

“She’s been a phenom since she was about 12, expected to be that champion,” Navratilova said. “I think she felt she wasn’t quite living up to the hype for a while, but now she’s won the US Open that pressure is off, and she can just build on it.

Navratilova added: “[Gauff] has kind of tapered off [her intensity], she was so hyped up for the first couple of years. I was like, ‘this girl’s going to burn out,’ because you cannot have that kind of intensity on every single point. Now, she knows … when to lie back a little bit, and when to turn it on again.”