Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was
recently asked what she considers her greatest off-court achievement,
and she answered being out about her sexuality.
The 58-year-old, recently married
Navratilova made the comments in an interview from the Australian
Open, where she was coaching player Agnieszka Radwanska and doing
television commentary.
(Related: Martina
Navratilova says marriage to Julia Lemigova has changed her life.)
“Outside of tennis, what would say is
your legendary achievement?” a fan asked.
“My being out as a gay woman,”
Navratilova
answered. “I came out as an athlete when I was at the height of
my career in 1981 – way before it was an okay thing to do. I [was]
criticized for it then. I was an outcast. And now, I’m lauded for
it. So it's kind of funny how things have come full circle.”
“By being out, I have helped a lot of
people deal with their sexual orientation and I've gotten letters
over the years from men and women saying I saved their life –
literally. They were ready to call it a day because they thought
they were the only one out there. Then they saw me on TV or read an
article. This is from the days when the word homosexuality was
hardly ever mentioned and when it was it was in a negative way.”
“That is something I didn't think I
was doing. I didn't know I was doing, but that's pretty special,”
she
added.