Martina Navratilova Quotations

I shouldn't say I'm looking forward to leading a normal life, because I don't know what normal is. This has been normal for me.

Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.

The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.

Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone.

Sport doesn't know barriers, really. You are judged on your performance... how far you can jump, how fast you can run, how well you can hit a tennis ball.

The tennis ball doesn't know how old I am. The ball doesn't know if I'm a man or a woman or if I come from a communist country or not. Sport has always broken down these barriers.

I think the key is for women not to set any limits.

If I feel strongly, I say it. I know I can do more good by being vocal than by staying quiet. I'd have a whole lot more money if I lied, but I wouldn't enjoy spending it.

My worst memory is of my first dance lesson as a 14-year old in Prague. My mother put me in this silver and pink lame dress. My hair was all curled, and it was the first time I wore a garter belt. I felt so out of place!

Life is about challenges and how we face up to them and the attitude we take into every day life so hopefully we'll be able to motivate people to do more with their life.

The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.

Just by being out you're doing your part. It's like recycling. You're doing your part for the environment if you recycle; you're doing your part for the gay movement if you're out.

Variety is what I would recommend: As variety is the spice of life in food, so it is in exercise. Change it up. But most of all, don't overdo it.

I hope, when I stop, people will think that somehow I mattered.

Just go out there and do what you have to do.

People in the States used to think that if girls were good at sports their sexuality would be affected. Being feminine meant being a cheerleader, not being an athlete. The image of women is changing now. You don't have to be pretty for people to come and see you play. At the same time, if you're a good athlete, it doesn't mean you're not a woman.

The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are their worst.

I've been active in animal rights and all kinds of environmental stuff and children's charities over the years.

I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career.

The more people come out, the less it will be an issue.

You can't live in the past, there's nothing you can do about it.

Sure I know where the press room is - I just look for where they throw the dog meat.

The goal for the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation is to give kids an opportunity to be involved in sports and hopefully learn some lessons along the way. We want to put them in a safe environment, help them if they need it and maybe they will get a scholarship to a school because of the skills that they learn. Sport is just a starting point.

She was very creative, had a great tactical strategy. She did things in the middle of the match like no one else did.

She's definitely the sentimental favorite for the fans, for the media and for the locker room. I would love to see her win the whole thing. She's playing great tennis. I think she believe now she can do it. She's got the goods. She's had the best summer of anybody, and she's healthy.

She is one of the most talented young player in Europe, ... She is so tough around the court, just like her countrywomen years ago, she will be top-notched player someday.

She just sped everything up as pioneers do, they bring about change. She changed opinions of people that had nothing to do with sports.

On my first serve of the match, I thought: 'OK, this is your first Olympic toss.' And it was a good one, and a good serve, and that was all the jitters I had.

I don't know why the TV doesn't cover it more, ... You don't even know about it when I'm in the U.S. Open semifinals.

It actually speeds the match up, ... You do the challenge, you look at it, it takes 15 to 30 seconds and you're done with it. (Now) when you have a really big call that goes against you and you have an argument with the umpire and the linesman it takes a lot of time.

I think the last three or four years it has been an epidemic,

I think the (ATP) are just trying to get rid of doubles and they're doing it slowly,

I was about 7 or 8 years old and watched Wimbledon, saw her play. I knew I wanted to be there.

The player ultimately has to take responsibility. If they're not 100 percent, they're the only ones who can make that decision.

The players are against it. The fans are against it. They want to see doubles. It's just a very near-sighted decision by the tournament promoters.

We should have had the off-season long ago, even before injuries became such a big part of the game,

I've been talking to Martina about playing for a couple of years. Maybe I can convince her to play some doubles.

It was time-consuming, but it was fun. I needed somebody to help organize it, I'm not very good at that, but all the words are mine. Trust me on that one.

Ten years from now we're going to say, 'How could we have done without it?'

Actually this summer, I played great tennis. I'm very happy with my game.

So that was an exciting match to win, period.  And to do it on this stadium in the quarterfinals, it's sweet.

That's just a footnote. Losing the tie is the history. If I was worried about it, I wouldn't have taken the risk and played.

This is not about special rights, it's about equality. If I marry a woman, how does that affect anyone else?

The weather couldn't have been better, ... It's a great little arena. You bring the fans close. The players like it, too. Good lord willing, we'll all be back next year.

It's fantastic. I mean, like where was this 20 years ago?

It's been a long time coming. Been in a few finals, but no wins. This one was sweet.

It's wonderful, it's been a while. It's been a long time coming. Been in a few finals, but no wins. This one was sweet. It's always nice to win with a new partner. You feel like you get better together and work together. We've done a lot of practicing together. It's very rewarding to see that you get better as a team.

I'm not involved in sport, I'm commited.""Do you know the difference?""Think of eggs and ham!""The chicken is involved but the pig is commited!

I just feel like I'm not quite done yet.

I am above all happy for my mother, who suffers from respiratory problems and is not able any more to take a plane to come and see me in America.

The only people that really have a chance against Serena [Williams] are people that are strong, that can handle her power that move well, and that's a difficult combination.

There is no cheap way to achieve the ability to turn pro in tennis; it unfortunately is more expensive than team sports.

When one man becomes more important than the country he's supposed to be leading, this will always create a problem.

Keeping a journal of what's going on in your life is a good way to help you distill what's important and what's not.

Changes made to please others are unrealistic, but more important, they're unfair to you.

If it feels right in your gut, this is who you are, this is what you do, this is what you feel, then don't hide that. You just stick to it and the world will catch up.

I hit some great shots in my lifetime; now I hit a decent shot and I get a standing ovation.

What matters isn't how well you play when you're playing well. What matters is how well you play when you're playing badly.

Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path. Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back.

I'm an American. You can't go on where you were born. If you do then John McEnroe would be a German.

No matter where I go, I always make friends at the bridge table

I'd have a whole lot more money if I lied, but I wouldn't enjoy spending it.

I've been talking to Martina [Hingis] about playing for a couple of years. Maybe I can convince her to play some doubles.

People who are rich want to be richer, but what's the difference? The toys get different, that's all. The rich guys buy a football team, the poor guys buy a football. It's all relative.

Sachin was so focused. He never looked like getting out. He was batting with single-minded devotion. It was truly remarkable. It was a lesson.

I would have drunk a lot of Pinot Grigio if I'd lost after leading 5-2 in the third.

The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What's the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?

Security used to be an inconvenience sometimes, but now it's a necessity all the time.

You don't have to be pretty for people to come and see you play. At the same time, if you're a good athlete, it doesn't mean you're not a woman.

All top players are the same strokewise, but mentally I can improve and that's where it's at for top players.

The longer I stay in the States, the more I understand how important it is to smile and seem like a nice guy. Like Ronald Reagan. Your image seems to count more than what you do.

In Czechoslovakia there is no such thing as freedom of the press. In the United States there is no such thing as freedom from the press.

I think retirement beats the heck out of life after death, that's for sure.

Lady' is an opinion; 'woman' is a fact.

The more people come out, the less it will be an issue. Of we are ashamed of ourselves, how the hell can we expect the rest of the world not to be ashamed of us?

Concentration is born on the practice court... you must mentally treat your practice sessions as matches, concentrating on every ball you hit.

I'm not involved in tennis but committed.

I know some of my self-worth comes from tennis, and it's hard to think of doing something else where you know you'll never be thebest. Tennis players are rare creatures: where else in the world can you know that you're the best? The definitiveness of it is the beauty of it, but it's not all there is to life and I'm ready to explore the alternatives.

I have always had this outrage at being told what to, how to act, whom to love.

Losing still hurts, but that's good. When it stops hurting, that's when I stop playing.

Being blunt with your feelings is very American. In this big country, I can be as brash as New York, as hedonistic as Los Angeles, as sensuous as San Francisco, as brainy as Boston, as proper as Philadelphia, as brawny as Chicago, as warm as Palm Springs, as friendly as my adopted home town of Dallas, Fort Worth, and as peaceful as the inland waterway that rubs up against my former home in Virginia Beach.

Once you start believing in yourself, anything is possible.

What I would tell girls coming up is just be yourself and don't let people get in the way.

Tennis has given me soul.

I haven't bought any leather articles for a very long time. My ideal is to be able to avoid all animal products, in food as well as clothing.

I just try to concentrate on concentrating.

I'm not a one-sex person, and yet I hate the term bisexual. It sounds creepy to me, and I don't think I'm creepy. There are times when I feel downright romantic.

I came to live in a country I love; some people label me a defector. I have loved men and women in my life; I've been labeled the bisexual defector. Want to know another secret? I'm even ambidextrous. I don't like labels. Just call me Martina.

I am not looking for perfection. I look for the best in me.

Just go out there and do what you've got to do.

On Chris Evert: Before I even met her, she stood for everything I admired in this country: poise, ability, sportsmanship, money, style.

The better I get, the more I realize how much better I can get.

Once you start believing in yourself, anything is possible. Once you start believing in yourself, your dreams take shape. The more you believe, the more you achieve.