Martina Navratilova
Goodbye 2010. If you were a fish, I'd throw you back.
That's the media now. They get lazy. Rumors become fact. Some blogger says something, next thing you know, it's in 'USA Today.'
I do get pissed off when I'm at some gay event, and there's a 25-year-old, and he has no idea who I am. And I say, 'You need to know more about your gay history, boy.' I think the younger generation takes it a little bit for granted.
I think men are more adventurous in that they're more likely to take chances. Women play it safe. But now, maybe more of the women that see how it's working for the guys think, 'I can do that, too'. Maybe they'll pick male players, not necessarily female players; it's just whatever that match is that works for that player.
Gender is irrelevant. Certainly the tennis ball doesn't know what the gender was of the tennis coach.
I'll do some running with the dogs, ride a bike; if I go to gym it's usually for cardio. I don't do weights as much; every once in while, I throw in some pushups and do leg exercises to strengthen my legs.
When you make a lot of money, it just means you made a lot of money. It doesn't make you a better person.
Playing tennis, I didn't tie in my self-worth into winning or losing matches.
So many athletes are afraid to use their platform to do the right thing and speak what they feel, and that's very depressing. Sure, they are afraid of insulting people and losing money because of it, and everyone wants to make the maximum amount of money in their lifetime. But at the expense of who you are? I don't know. That just wasn't in my DNA.
I know propaganda when I see it, and I can speak with authority on it.
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.Collection: Dream
Once you start believing in yourself, anything is possible.Collection: Believe
The better I get, the more I realize how much better I can get.Collection: Realizing
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.Collection: Sports
I am not looking for perfection. I look for the best in me.Collection: Leadership
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.Collection: World
Concentration is born on the practice court... you must mentally treat your practice sessions as matches, concentrating on every ball you hit.Collection: Motivational
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.Collection: Feet
Just go out there and do what you've got to do.Collection: Inspirational
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.Collection: Football
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.Collection: Animal
Lady' is an opinion; 'woman' is a fact.Collection: Facts
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.Collection: Country
Losing still hurts, but that's good. When it stops hurting, that's when I stop playing.Collection: Hurt
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.Collection: Thinking
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.Collection: Nice
I'd have a whole lot more money if I lied, but I wouldn't enjoy spending it.Collection: Money
I'm an American. You can't go on where you were born. If you do then John McEnroe would be a German.Collection: Tennis
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?Collection: Issues
Some players when they become No. 1 they put too much pressure on themselves.Collection: Player
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.Collection: Lessons
I think retirement beats the heck out of life after death, that's for sure.Collection: Teacher
Changes made to please others are unrealistic, but more important, they're unfair to you.Collection: Important
I've been talking to Martina [Hingis] about playing for a couple of years. Maybe I can convince her to play some doubles.Collection: Couple
I hit some great shots in my lifetime; now I hit a decent shot and I get a standing ovation.Collection: Ovation
There is no cheap way to achieve the ability to turn pro in tennis; it unfortunately is more expensive than team sports.Collection: Sports
When one man becomes more important than the country he's supposed to be leading, this will always create a problem.Collection: Country
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.Collection: Strong
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.Collection: Sex
I have always had this outrage at being told what to, how to act, whom to love.Collection: Outrage
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?Collection: Sports
I'm not involved in tennis but committed.Collection: Tennis
On Chris Evert: Before I even met her, she stood for everything I admired in this country: poise, ability, sportsmanship, money, style.Collection: Sports
No matter where I go, I always make friends at the bridge tableCollection: Bridges
All top players are the same strokewise, but mentally I can improve and that's where it's at for top players.Collection: Player
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.Collection: Athlete
I would have drunk a lot of Pinot Grigio if I'd lost after leading 5-2 in the third.Collection: Drunk
What I would tell girls coming up is just be yourself and don't let people get in the way.Collection: Girl
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.Collection: Country