Martina Navratilova comes to the defense of the US women's soccer team amid national anthem controversy 

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has defended the US women's soccer team following the national anthem controversy.

A majority of the American players did not sing the national anthem during Friday's game against newcomers Vietnam, which opened the international competition for the US team. The players largely remained silent while The Star Spangled Banner played, with their fists clasped behind their backs. Only five players stood and put their hands over their hearts as the anthem played, while three sang.

Following this, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley took to Twitter to condemn the team's actions, writing:

"The US women’s soccer team is living the American Dream. They were born in the freest, fairest country in the world that has rewarded their hard work. They should remember that blessing & the men & women (like my husband) proudly defending it next time the national anthem plays."

Martina Navratilova delivered a firm response to the politician and defended the team. The 18-time Grand Slam champion and human rights activist wrote that the women's team is doing their duty to the country by playing hard and winning.

"They are defending it by playing their hardest and winning most of the time. Not by singing. Get a grip and start talking about solutions rather than searching for problems where there aren’t any," the Czech-born-American wrote.

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Martina Navratilova once opened up about how poorly the tennis world reacted to her coming out as lesbian

Martina Navratilova pictured with her wife at Wimbledon 2016.

Martina Navratilova came out as a lesbian back in 1981. She has been married to her wife — The Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova - for eight years now.

However, things weren't easy for Navratilova when she came out of the closet. She revealed in 2022 that she was always subjected to jeers and muted applause because of her sexual orientation.

"I didn't really see it face-to-face, it was kind of the bigger picture when I was introduced to come on the court. Everybody was cheering when Chris Evert was introduced or Evonne Goolagong, but when I came out onto the court it was muted applause," Martina Navratilova said in an interview with Julie Bindel.

"There were some jeers, some whistles. It was hard not to take it personally but I realized it was mostly because I was gay. Some of it was because I was winning too much perhaps," she added.