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Former World No. 1 and 18-time Grand Slam Martina Navratilova has never been afraid to speak her mind and express her opinions on social media. She recently got into a heated exchange online around the subject of trans athletes and how sports around the world are integrating them.
Navratilova was not pleased with the idea that gender matters as much as sex in terms of categories. She claimed that activists on social media were shifting their goalposts.
"What is unfair about the sex category? Answer: nothing. Quit shifting the goal posts and find reasons to upend sports as we know it. Categories help include more people, not fewer people. Sex, age, weight. Simple," said Navratilova.
"She won two of the four Majors, and the rest of it is just mind-blowing" - Martina Navratilova on Iga Swiatek
In her interview with the WTA ahead of the 2022 WTA Finals, Martina Navratilova mentioned that World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has had a 'mind-blowing' season. She claimed that the Pole has no pressure on her and can display her best tennis at the event.
"She won two of the four majors, and the rest of it is just mind-blowing. When I had a great year, at the year-end championships, you relaxed. It’s ‘I had a great year, I don’t have to prove anything.’ She’s had a couple of weeks off. There’s absolutely no pressure on her, so she could play probably the most free tennis of anybody there," said the American.
Navratilova picked Swiatek as her favorite to win the WTA Finals as the 21-year-old is capable of adapting to the conditions better than other players.
"You have to go with Swiatek. How can you go against her? She would probably adapt the best to whatever the speed of the court is going to be. She’s got pretty compact strokes, even though she puts a lot of topspin on that forehand. It’s not a massive swing, so she can deal with the faster court," she explained.
"And growing up in Poland, she probably would have practiced a lot on faster courts so she can adapt to that. If it’s slow, great, the topspin will pay off for her. I can’t go against her because she’s never going to beat herself," she added.
