logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2012
37m 32s

Martina Navratilova

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Kirsty Young's castaway is the legendary tennis player, Martina Navratilova.

In an extraordinary career she's won 59 Grand Slam titles - her last just a few weeks short of her fiftieth birthday. Her life off the court has been equally eventful - she grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and, as a teenager, threw rocks as Soviet tanks rolled in; tennis offered a way to see the world and she defected to the US when she was 18 years old. After thirty years at the top of her profession she retired - and says she finally found time for the rest of her life: "Tennis really was a total commitment, you didn't have much time for anything else. So, when I quit, I was going through something emotionally that most people go through when they're 18, 20 years old. Really having the time for personal relationships, developing friendships and taking the time with everybody. I think I've caught up by now."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Up next
Jul 25
Norman Cook, DJ and musician
Norman Cook, DJ and musician, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne. 
51m 21s
Apr 19
Sara Pascoe, comedian and writer
Sara Pascoe is a comedian and writer who has appeared on programmes including QI, Taskmaster and the Great British Sewing Bee. She is also a screenwriter and the author of three books including her debut novel Weirdo which won the inaugural Jilly Cooper Prize for fiction last yea ... Show More
50m 31s
Apr 5
Jessie Buckley, actor
Jessie Buckley is an actor and singer. She recently won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award for her critically acclaimed role playing Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet. Her performance has also garnered her an Academy Award nomination.Jessie won an Olivier Award f ... Show More
50m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
Martina Navratilova, tennis champion: Women are judged by a different metric to men
“Women are still judged by a different metric than men”Amol Rajan speaks to Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest-ever tennis players, about her life and career. The story of her rise to the top of the game is as remarkable as the number of tournaments she managed to win.Born ... Show More
23 m
Jun 2024
Serena Williams’s Next Challenge? The Rest of Her Life.
The greatest women’s tennis player of all time is trying to find her new normal in retirement. 
27m 40s
Dec 2017
Maria Sharapova Bounces Back
Maria Sharapova has won five Grand Slams since becoming a pro tennis player at just 14 years old— and she's faced her share of setbacks, too. Sharapova joins Katie at 92Y in New York City to discuss highlights from her new memoir, including emigrating from Russia at age 6, her ri ... Show More
51m 15s
Jun 2024
'The Interview': Serena Williams’s Next Challenge? The Rest of Her Life.
The greatest women’s tennis player of all time is trying to find her new normal in retirement. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source= ... Show More
27m 40s
Dec 2021
4: Martina Navratilova
Mary Trump fights back against the gun culture that Republican lawmakers crassley showed off on Christmas amid the ongoing shooting danger our children face in our schools. Then, she welcomes world class tennis player and activist Martina Navratilova to look at the pitfalls facin ... Show More
1h 30m
May 2021
Ons Jabeur
Rennae talks with the Arab world's most famous tennis player (and drop-shot specialist) about growing up watching Andy Roddick, enjoying her steady climb up the rankings and how she deals with her tennis fame back in Tunisia.<br><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hoste ... Show More
41m 4s
Dec 2019
The Time We Talked to Maria Sharapova
The tennis legend chats about dealing with loss, how her appearance in Abu Dhabi is a real comeback, and about being...well a legend.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
10m 37s
Nov 2024
From Yugoslavia to Australia — Jelena Dokic on tennis and the truth
<p>Jelena Dokic overcame adversity, poverty and violence to rise to the top of the tennis world. Years later, her revelations about her father's abuse stunned the world. (CW: discussion of domestic violence and coercive control).</p><p>Jelena Dokic overcame adversity, poverty and ... Show More
52m 48s
Aug 2021
Billie Jean King: Pressure is a Privilege
The legendary tennis player joins us to talk about being outed in 1981, why she didn't feel comfortable with her sexuality until she was 51, and the epiphany she had as a 12-year-old that changed her life. All In, Billie Jean King's autobiography is out now.  LGBTQ&A is hosted by ... Show More
19m 45s