By Abbie Meehan Jake Bayliss
The Duchess of Kent had a hand in Martina Navratilova’s moving reunion with her family after a heartwarming encounter at Wimbledon.
The tennis champion clinched her first of nine Wimbledon singles titles in 1978 at just 21 years old, but she sadly didn’t have her nearest and dearest by her side to celebrate. This was due to the travel restrictions that came with her defection from Czechoslovakia to the USA three years prior.
Navratilova’s courageous choice to defect was motivated by the communist regime’s restrictions on her career, but she hadn’t told her family about the big decision before publicly declaring the news at the 1975 US Open. The Wimbledon icon, who now works as a commentator herself, justified her choice during a conference with the media.
She said: “They wanted me to stay home more and associate more with Czech officials. I felt if I didn’t get out, I could not become the best player in the world.
“I had to ask if I could play in this tournament and that tournament. It was very frustrating. Politics had nothing to do with my decision. It was strictly a tennis matter.”
Tennis icon and former BBC host, Sue Barker, recalled in her memoir how the Duchess of Kent’s touching moment with Navratilova during the Wimbledon ceremony led to a poignant family reunion the next year.
Writing in ‘Wimbledon: A personal history’, Barker stated that thanks to the Royal Family stepping in, Navratilova鈥檚 mum Jana was then allowed to witness her daughter’s second triumph at the iconic grass courts.
“Martina was so close to her mother, Jana, but she had to leave without saying goodbye to her and without knowing when she would ever see her again. I just can’t imagine that,” Barker said.
“When she was presented with the trophy in 1978 by the Duchess of Kent, Martina told her a little about the political situation and why she could not share the dream she had long nurtured with her family, and the Duchess promised to try to help.
“The following year the Duchess of Kent intervened on her behalf and implored the Czech government to grant Martina’s mother a visa so that she could watch her play. Jana was permitted a two-week visit. It was the first time mother and daughter had seen each other for four years. Imagine how overwhelming that must have been for Martina.”
Katharine, Duchess of Kent, is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who served as All England Club president until 2001. In a 2017 BBC documentary, Our Wimbledon, Navratilova revealed to Barker how the now-92-year-old assisted her family after their conversation at the tournament.
“The Duchess helped get [my mother’s] visa”, she told Barker, as per the Daily Mail. Describing leaving her family as “the hardest thing I ever had to deal with”, Navratilova added: “After that, playing a match, coming out, a piece of cake. I didn’t know if I was going to see my parents again. I didn’t know if I was going to see them alive. When I won my first Wimbledon, I was stateless.
“I didn’t even know if [my family] were able to watch as Czech TV didn’t show it. They’d show Wimbledon until I started winning and then they wouldn’t show it. That’s how people knew I was in the finals – they didn’t show it.”
Despite being unable to make it to Wimbledon, Navratilova’s family managed to see her triumph on TV from Pilsen, close to the German border. The next year, an emotional reunion occurred when her mother Jana was permitted to visit on a two-week visa, thanks to the Duchess of Kent’s influence.
“My mum came in ’79. The Duchess of Kent actually intervened because she read the story how in ’78 when I won I couldn’t be with my family,” Navratilova said on Desert Island Discs in 2012. “So she apparently implored the Czech government to let my parents out and they made a concession and they let my mother out for Wimbledon.”
In 1980, after five years apart, Navratilova had a touching reunion with her mother, stepfather, and younger sister in the US, as they received one-year visas. Describing the airport reunion to the Washington Post, she said: “I guess it was just like any scene where people meet their long-lost relatives at the airport. Lots of hugs and kisses and crying. But it was very special for me, of course.”
Navratilova, who now holds dual citizenship of Czechia and the United States, reclaimed her roots in 2008, more than 30 years after her decision to defect. The Wimbledon icon will watch on with fondness during this year’s tournament, likely thinking back to her fond memories on the famous court.