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Not an accidental tourist Navratilova plans to enjoy the sights in her return
Posted: Friday May 12, 2000 10:08 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Martina Navratilova just wants to have fun. She's won all the titles -- 167 singles, more than any man or woman, and 165 doubles. And when she retired 5 1/2 years ago, she had earned more than $20 million in prize money. Now, less than two months before she's inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the winningest player in open tennis history plans a comeback playing doubles -- at least in four tournaments. "I really just want to have a good time," Navratilova said Thursday from her home in Aspen, Colo. "I know I can compete. I'm not going to make a fool of myself." And she wants to see something besides her hotel room and a tennis court. "Madrid I had never been," she said. "It was Madrid or Strasbourg," the other Sanex WTA Tour event that week. "And my mother's decided to come. We both will be doing some sightseeing." Then there's Paris, City of Lights. For Navratilova, it always was simply Roland Garros. "I enjoyed the French," she said, "but I've never had a chance to sightsee in Paris. I've never been to the Louvre. You just have to save the energy when you play singles. At least I did." So she is teaming with South Africa's Mariaan de Swardt for a four-tournament swing, beginning in Madrid, Spain, the week of May 22. The pair then will play the French Open, Eastbourne and Wimbledon. "If it's not going to be fun, then why do it?," she asked. The genesis of the "tour" began last year when the sun finally came out at Wimbledon. "Last year when I played team tennis right after Wimbledon, we practiced at Wimbledon," she said. That rekindled her love affair with grass. "I didn't play on grass the last three years because it's been raining so much at Wimbledon," she said. "Last year the sun was shining and I was finally able to get on the courts. "As you get older, you really appreciate grass courts, how easy they are on your body. "I'm playing World Team Tennis again this year. I had to practice, so I might as well play." She at first thought about playing Birmingham, England, a grass-court tournament held during the second week of the French Open, "but the Birmingham grass bounces extremely low." To get the necessary match play before Eastbourne and Wimbledon, Madrid and the French Open were added. Navratilova had one other detail to take care of -- a partner. "I just took a few years off," Navratilova said. "I couldn't find a partner. Nobody wants to play with me anymore." De Swardt, an old friend and hitting partner, suggested the two play doubles together. Navratilova quickly agreed. At Wimbledon, Navratilova will be busy off the court as well. She just signed a multiyear contract to be a television analyst on Turner Network Television and CNN/Sports Illustrated. TNT will be televising Wimbledon for the first time this year, outbidding its rivals after HBO decided not to renew its contract. Navratilova had been an analyst for HBO. "We were all out of a job," she said. "I had a possibility of working for BBC, but I wanted to work for an American network," Winner of 19 Wimbledon titles, a victory in the doubles would tie Navratilova with Billie Jean King for most championships won at the All England Club. "Martina's experience with this event, both on the court and as an analyst, makes her a valuable addition to our team," said Mike Pearl, Turner Sports senior vice president and executive producer. "We're thrilled to have the best of both worlds -- Martina in the booth for us and on the court."
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