Martina Navratilova

Biography

Martina Navratilova is, in the words of Billie Jean King, “the greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who’s ever lived,” taking women’s tennis to a new level with her fitness, speed, determination, and agility.

In 1975, at the age of 18 years old and after losing the US Open semi-final, Martina walked into the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them she wanted to defect from Soviet-controlled communist Czechoslovakia.

Career

Martina’s on-court tennis achievements speak for themselves, winning a total of 59 Grand Slam titles (18 singles, 31 ladies doubles and 10 mixed doubles) in an outstanding career.

Martina is the only tennis player to have spent over 200 weeks as world number one in both singles and doubles. She holds the record of nine Wimbledon singles titles, comprising half of her 18 Grand Slam singles titles.

She won 31 Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles, complemented by 10 mixed doubles titles.

Martina is one of only three women to win singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles at each of the four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Her last Grand Slam victory was in the 2006 US Open mixed doubles, a month shy of her 50th birthday.

In her 33-year professional tennis career, Martina won 354 titles, 167 of them in singles.

Her decades-long rivalry with Chris Evert is considered one of the greatest in sports history, with Martina holding a 43-37 advantage. Off-court, they continue to be best of friends!

Since retiring at almost 50, Martina has forged a career in other fields and also provides her articulate, intelligent, and sometimes outspoken commentary on the Tennis Channel, BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, Amazon Prime Video, and SKY.

Martina now spends her time between being at home and traveling the world extensively, speaking on various issues and participating in other corporate activities.

Martina speaks on various diverse topics as a keynote speaker, adapted to suit the occasion. Martina brings the passion and commitment she demonstrated on the tennis court to issues close to her heart, such as women’s issues, gay rights, underprivileged children, animal rights, environmental protection, AIDS research, and breast cancer awareness. She often intersperses her talks and Q&As with anecdotes of her own life, on and off the court, sharing an affinity with the audience.

Martina has also made a number of television appearances, including I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, Dancing with the Stars, the Netflix series The Politician, Will and Grace, and a 1983 episode of Hart to Hart.

Books

As well as her autobiography Martina Navratilova: Being Myself, Martina has written Tennis My Way, an instruction guide in tennis for women and Shape Your Self: My 6- Step Diet and Fitness Plan to Achieve the Best Shape of Your Life.

She has written about the mental health of gay American teenagers in Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America.

Martina has also written three mystery thrillers featuring fictional former tennis champion Jordan Myles: The Total Zone, Killer Instinct and Breaking Point.

Awards

Martina was seven times named Player of the Year by the Women’s Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation’s World Champion six times and Associated Press Female Athlete of the year twice.

For her campaigning activism, Martina received the national Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group in the United States.

In 2003, she was presented with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2006, she was given the Czech Sport Legend Award.

In 2009, Martina was awarded the International Tennis Federation’s highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award, for her contributions to tennis both on and off the court.

In 2016, Martina was made an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.

Personal Life

Martina lives on a small family farm in Florida with her wife and several animals.

Videos

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Testimonials

Martina was truly an outstanding speaker who not only naturally captures the audience with her knowledge, passion, strong sense of confidence, and charming attitude, but also stays on a message, purposefully and eloquently, throughout a speech.

– AARP

Booksby Martina Navratilova

Shape Your Self

Martina Navratilova: Being Myself

For Meeting Planners

Photos

Speaker Documents

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Blog Posts

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Reviews & Ratings

     Excellent  
     Based on 56 reviews 
    
 
 
   
 
 
        
   Waldo Waldman 
 May 19, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I’ve been Speaking professionally for 21 years and work with the largest agencies in the world. I’m a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and a New York Times best selling Author. I have can honestly say in full confidence that Seth Dechtman and his team at Keynote Curator is the best agency I have been honored to work with.
I’ve witnessed Seth’s client focused relationship skills On multiple occasions. His clients love him and he’s detail oriented and has great communication skillls.
But most importantly, I’ve been on the receiving side of his servant, focused leadership style. He treats me like a valued partner and emulates everything a wingman is.
  
 
       
   David Allison 
 May 17, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth and the Keynote Curators team are tenacious and determined to do right by their clients and their speakers. I appreciate our relationship so much, and highly reccomend this group to anyone looking to book a speaker for an event.
  
 
       
   Meir Statman 
 May 10, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. It is wonderful to join Seth in helping people reflect on their financial and life well-being and enhance them.
  
 
       
   Trevor Wilde 
 April 24, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This was an amazing experience. the Keynote Speaker we had was perfect for our event and will definitely be having another for our next one!
  
 
       
   Sandro Forte 
 March 22, 2024
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Brilliantly hosted, with great content. An absolute ‘must add’ to any podcast list!
  
 
       
   Jon VanDeventer 
 November 18, 2023
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I've been working with Seth at The Keynote Curators for over 3 years. I always look forward to our meetings because of both his professional expertise and his enjoyable, engaging personality. We have fun during our virtual meetings while developing innovative strategies and accomplishing goals. It's obvious from working with Seth over a number of years that he is always making event planning and booking services an easy process and providing responsiveness that sets him apart. He's an excellent partner who gets invested in your business and collaborates through every step of a process that can sometimes feel overwhelming.
  
 
       
   Jason Galaska 
 November 7, 2023
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth and his team were fantastic to work with in 2023 and we look forward to working with Keynote Curators to find potential speaker matches for our events in the future.  Thank you, Seth, for your professionalism!
  
 
       
   Hailey Wilson 
 October 23, 2023
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. A Treasure Trove for Anyone Involved in Speaker Selection!

As someone deeply involved in the intersection of marketing and technology at AImpact, I find the process of selecting the right keynote speaker to be a critical part of any successful event. Seth Dechtman's "The Keynote Curators" podcast is nothing short of a godsend for anyone facing the challenges and opportunities that come with this task.

Seth brings an almost poetic understanding to the power of words, acknowledging that a speech isn't just a scheduled event but a transformative experience that can change the dynamics of an entire room. His enthusiasm for the craft is contagious, making each episode a joy to listen to.
  
 
       
   Nicole 
 September 14, 2023
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Seth is super knowledgeable about the needs of meeting planners to have a successful event and partners with you to find just that right fit!
  
 
       
   Duncan Sigurdsson 
 August 28, 2023
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Working with Seth Dechtman and The Keynote Curators is always true partnership.  In the three plus years that we have been involved in various projects, I can tell you that they always deliver.  We have done some really cool stuff together.  Any meeting professional, conference planner or event producer will greatly benefit from partnering with The Keynote Curators.  High praise to Seth and his team.