Chat Transcript
July 18, 2000

With a total of 167 titles, Navratilova owns the women's all-time record for singles championships. . (AP)

Martina Navratilova was born to play professional tennis. But she went beyond that, she dominated it. She discussed what she is working on today in an online chat on America Online brought to you by CBS SportsLine.com and World TeamTennis.

Navratilova was an unstoppable force who dominated the tennis scene for the majority of the 80s. She owns a record nine Wimbledon singles titles. And from 1982 to 1987, she held the top ranking for all but 22 weeks of a 282-week period. Those were also the years that she had a lock on Wimbledon, winning six consecutive titles from 1982 through 1987. She won the tournament again in 1990 at the age of 33.

Navratilova has four U.S. Open singles titles, two French Open singles titles and three Australian Open titles. She was also a marvel at doubles play, earning 10 U.S. Open tournaments, eight Australian Opens, seven French Opens and six Wimbledon doubles titles.

In 1992 she won her 158th professional title at the Virginia Slims, setting a record for career singles championships. The next year she emerged victorious at the Paris Open, breaking new ground and setting another record: the oldest player to beat a No. 1 ranked player on the pro circuit. With a total of 167 titles, she owns the women's all-time record for singles championships.

See what Martina had to say in the full transcript below.

Martina Navratilova: Hello. I'm waiting and ready for your questions.

Question: Hi there, I think you are the best tennis player out there. Are you gonna retire soon?

Martina Navratilova: I have retired five years ago; I am just playing doubles here and there.

Question: Who in your mind is the greatest tennis player ever, man or woman?

Martina Navratilova: Rod Laver.

Question: Martina, how did it feel to be back playing at Wimbledon? You must have been so excited!

Martina Navratilova: Excited I was. It was great to be back competing and down on the court; I was having a blast. It was even more fun than I thought it would be.

Question: Would you consider tennis play or work?

Martina Navratilova: Right now it's work, but when I'm on the court is play

Question: How do you compare yourself to Pete Sampras or John McEnroe?

Martina Navratilova: Neither, a combination of both I guess. I don't know why would you compare them to me. We're both serve and volleyers; I think that is where the comparison ends. We all play the game the way it should be played in my opinion.

Question: Martina, are you going to play doubles at the U.S. Open?

Martina Navratilova: I would like to, but I'm not sure if my body is going to hold up playing on the hard courts. And also, I don't have partner yet.

Question: Do you think that there is a rivalry on the tour today that could possibly match the one between yourself and Chris Evert?

Martina Navratilova: No, because I don't see anybody playing each other 80 times. But I think there are potential rivalries: Lindsay and Hingis, Seles and Graf – but unfortunately that was cut short –. And we now have the Williams sisters and the Williams sister vs. Davenport and Hingis, so there are a lot of potentially intriguing rivalries.

Question: Do you feel women's tennis is growing? How do you feel about the Williams sisters and there great competition (rivalry)?

Martina Navratilova: Well it's extremely interesting for lots of reasons: where they came from; the fact that they are sisters; (they are) African-American; and potentially, they could bring the game of women's tennis to new dimensions.

Question: What helps you concentrate?

Martina Navratilova: Staying in the moment, concentrate on what I need to do. And that goes for life not just tennis. Staying in the solution, not in the problem.

Question: Have you ever considered an acting career?

Martina Navratilova: I have not been asked. I think all athletes are actors, except you never know what's going to happen.

Question: Do you think that the game has changed much over the years? And if so, for better or worse?

Martina Navratilova: In some ways better, in some ways worse. We have much more pay, more big hitters but (it's) less creative, less variety.

Question: What is your most embarrassing moment on the court?

Martina Navratilova: Well, I think I have two and they both happened at Wimbledon. In the finals against Chris in '78, I completely missed the overhead, missed the ball completely. In the finals in 83, against Andrea Jaeger, my skirt fell off.

Question: Why did you stop playing singles?

Martina Navratilova: Because it wasn't fun anymore, my heart said to stop and I stopped. I had done it for 22 years and I figured that was enough.

Martina Navratilova: Thank you for having me on tonight, and thank you for your interest. Don't forget to check out WORLD TEAMTENNIS' 2000 SEASON. You can find out more at http://www.wtt.com. Thank you.