born Oct. 18, 1956, Prague, Czech.
Czech-born U.S. tennis player.
She became the undisputed top-seeded player in the world in 1979 after winning the Wimbledon women's singles and doubles. In 1982 she won 90 of 93 matches, and in 1983 she won 86 of 87 matches. In 1984 she was honoured for winning the grand slam but later was denied the title on a technicality. By 1987 she had won 37 individual grand-slam championships, and by 1994 she had won 56, ranking second only to Margaret Smith Court . By 1992 she had accumulated more championships (158) than any other player, male or female, in tennis history, and she retired in 1994 with 167 titles. In 2000 she returned to professional play, competing in several doubles events. In 2003 she won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, tying Billie Jean King for most Wimbledon titles (20). With the victory, Navratilova, who was 46, became the oldest player to win at Wimbledon.