PAINTING WITH A COMPATRIOT Juro [Juraj Kralik] was friends with a Slovak tennis player I know who asked me if I would meet [the] artist, [because he] had an interesting idea [using tennis in painting]. I heard him out and said we'd give it a try, thinking that we would make one or two paintings and that would be it. But Juro kept calling me back to see if I wanted to do more. I was playing [in tournaments], so he would follow me to wherever I was: Rome, New York, Melbourne and we would find time in between my matches to make more paintings. We did stuff at my homes in Sarasota [Florida] and Colorado and, of course, in Slovakia, where he is based. The collaboration just sort of grew. There are about 300 paintings now.
There hasn't been much of a clash of egos. We agree 95 per cent of the time and when we disagree, he's the boss. I'll put my two cents in, of course. I'm pretty aesthetically inclined and knowledgable. I have very good spatial orientation, so I have a good feel for where I should be going with the ball and when to stop. I like the abstract pieces that look like nothing to do with tennis but we still have to stay true to how we started.
In tennis, you know your ranking - it speaks for itself. You can't say, 'But I'm better than my ranking.' But [art] is so subjective. You think your work is good but you don't know, trying to sell yourself is weird.
Our backgrounds have everything to do with our collaboration. Juro could have gone to a lot of different tennis players but the Czech-Slovak connection is natural. We came from the same country that was split up and now we are sort of together for this project and there is that emotional, political connection. I think if it wasn't me it should have been the other Martina [Hingis].
HOME IS EVERYWHERE I'm definitely American - I voted in the last elections and am very proud to have done so - but I feel like I'm a citizen of the world. I've travelled to so many places where I feel at home, including Hong Kong. The first time I came here, in 1980, I [thought], 'I've been here before', but it [must have been] in another life. I have that same feeling in Thailand, Kenya, the United States - particularly in the mountains - and when I go back to the Czech Republic. My family doesn't live there anymore; my mum died a year and a half ago. I went there once a month for two years to see her until she passed away. I've been back a couple of times since but it has been difficult emotionally.
I wanted to do a tennis academy there but now, with the economy going down the drain, it's hard to start projects. Eventually we may take over an existing club. I like teaching; I like to see the look on people's faces when they get better, whether they are five years old or 65 years old.
WINNING WAYS I embrace new ideas, always. I think that has been my strength. The key is knowing what works for you and what doesn't and then, of course, having the guts to do it. [As a professional tennis player], I was able to implement changes into my game my technique, my tactics, which is why I've lasted so long. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I think once you've had to leave your country, everything else is a piece of cake. [Navratilova fled communist Czechoslovakia in 1975.] What could be more difficult than leaving your family, not knowing if you are ever going to see them again? Nothing. I wouldn't be able to do it now, I'd be too scared. But when you are 19, you are like, piece of cake, right?
The winning came because of the love of the game - I didn't play to win. Because I loved the game so much, I gave everything that I could to being as good a tennis player as I could be. I was blessed with the ability - the hand-eye co-ordination, the speed and a body that could take it all. I was lucky on many fronts; there are no dumb successful tennis players, let's put it that way. You could have a person who works just as hard as I do, and does everything that I do, but they wouldn't be as good, because they don't have the [natural] ability. Now, the game has changed so much with the spin, I'm finding places on the court I couldn't find before. That's opened up a new way of playing, which is, in a way, more fun.
REALITY BITES My agent [initially] described [British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here] differently to what it actually was. I thought it was more like a camping trip with some field trips thrown in. It was not that. I did not know that there would be 75 cameras pointed at [me] at all times. I did not know I was going to be hungry for three weeks, non-stop. The risks were minimised when they were explained to me. [By the time] it became apparent that it was not what I thought, saying 'no' would have felt like giving up because it was too tough. I'm not one to back out or give up and I'm always up for a challenge. I did really well [she was first runner-up in series eight]; many people told me that I should have won. I spent two days in the UK after the show aired and I had people coming up and telling me, 'I voted for you' - people who you never thought would be a fan. I think I opened up a whole new fan base. I'll be [in Britain] for two weeks in July for Wimbledon. Perhaps you should ask me after that whether or not it was a good idea to have done the show.
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