Jana 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 was a Czech professional tennis player who won the women鈥檚 singles title at Wimbledon in 1998. Born in Brno in 1968, Novotna grew up in communist controlled Czechoslovakia. Becoming a professional tennis player in 1987, Jana 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 was most famously known for her skill and success playing doubles in tennis, where she won 12 Grand Slam women鈥檚 double titles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She also won three Olympic medals while participating in the Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
In the early 1990s 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 began participating in singles and after two attempts at winning in the Wimbledon finals in 1993 and 1997, she finally won in 1998. A year later, she retired from professional tours, but continued to play in invitational doubles, charity events, and exhibitions. She also was involved in working as a coach and commentator for professional tennis. In 2005, 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, having won more than 500 career singles matches during her career and 16 out of 17 of her major titles in doubles competition.
After living in Florida for several years, 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 eventually returned to her hometown of Brno in 2010 and lived with her partner, a Polish tennis player named Iwona Kuczynska. Later, 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 was diagnosed with breast cancer and on November 19, 2017, at the age of 49, she died surrounded by friends and family.
Known as a fierce competitor, 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 fought for every point and never gave up. Perseverance was a term well suited to describe her. Hana Mandlikova, her coach, said she learned so much from 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩, a hard worker who bounced back quickly when she lost. 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 was an inspiration to everyone who met her both on the court and off. The great tennis player Martina Navratilova remarked that 狈辞惫辞迟苍谩 did not know the word quit and was an inspiration to her. Navratilova said, 鈥淪he played tennis the way tennis should be played. As great a tennis player as she was, she was an even more special human being.鈥
Written by James Travis
Sources:
-and-playing-peers
https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/jana-novotna