News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp
Home  » Sports » Navratilova undecided about Wimbledon return

Navratilova undecided about Wimbledon return

June 15, 2004 00:05 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Martina Navratilova may turn down the Wimbledon wildcard offered to her by the Grand Slam's organisers as the rigours of singles play catch up with the 47-year-old.

Navratilova, who last played singles at the grasscourt Grand Slam in 1994 when she was beaten in the final by Spain's Conchita Martinez, was awarded the wildcard on Friday.

However, after losing to Elena Likhovtseva in the second round of qualifying at Eastbourne over the weekend, the Czech-born American conceded: "The body is not working as well as it used to.

"I need to decide whether I'll take that wildcard or not. I've asked for it but I'll have to see."

Navratilova returned to Grand Slam singles for the first time in a decade at the French Open last month.

Despite the best efforts of a supportive crowd, her comeback lasted just 62 minutes and she was soundly beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Gisela Dulko in the first round.

The holder of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, nine of them at Wimbledon, Navratilova said in Paris she felt she deserved a wildcard but had been undecided about whether to apply for one.

She won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title last year -- a 58th Grand Slam title placing her just four behind the record total won by Margaret Smith Court of Australia.

By claiming that 58th Grand Slam title, Navratilova broke her own record of becoming the oldest champion at one of the four major events.

Aged 46 years and 261 days, she eclipsed the mark she set when she lifted the Australian Open mixed crown, also with India's Leander Paes, in January last year.

Wimbledon begins on Monday June 21.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Paris Olympics 2024

India's Tour Of Australia 2024-25