Openly lesbian tennis legend Martina
Navratilova celebrates her 54th birthday on Monday.
Navratilova, who dominated the women's
tennis circuit for more than a decade, racking up 18 Grand Slam wins
and a record 9 women's single titles at Wimbledon, came out gay in
1981. She is among a handful of openly gay sports figures.
In April, she announced that doctors
had found a non-invasive cancer during a routine mammogram in
January, and that she was undergoing breast cancer treatment. She
had a lumpectomy and began six weeks of radiation therapy in May.
“I cried,” Navratilova told Matt
Lauer during a Good Morning America interview. “I could not
believe it. I thought I was so healthy.”
Navratilova's prognosis is excellent –
her type of cancer has a low fatality rate (less than 1%).
Over the summer, just weeks after she
finished her breast cancer treatment, Navratilova won an invitational
doubles at Wimbledon. Navratilova and tennis partner Jana Novotna
went up against the team of Tracy Austin and Kathy Rinaldi.
Happy Birthday to tennis legend Martina
Navratilova!