"It’s time for new leadership" - Martina Navratilova calls for WTA chief Steve Simon’s resignation, wants a woman to head the organization

Martina Navratilova recently slammed WTA chief Steve Simon’s leadership and called for a woman to run the organization amidst the Cancun Finals fiasco.

The WTA Finals, which features the top eight women’s singles and doubles players of the year, has been plagued by problems since the start, from the late announcement of the venue to the poor quality of the court.

Several matches have been delayed or interrupted by the weather, and some players have complained about the lack of practice facilities, transportation, and communication from the organizers.

Navratilova said that Simon, the WTA’s chief executive since 2015, should step down and make way for a woman to take charge of the women’s association.

"Maybe it's time for a new leadership but for me personally, being a women's association, I've been involved for such a long time from the beginning and we've only had three women at the head of it. I think it's time," Navratilova made her comment on the Amazon Prime coverage of the WTA Finals.

"Hopefully, when we get a new leader it's a woman first of all because there's plenty of them that are qualified for the job. I know one particularly. But anyway, we'll see what happens but it's going to be hard I think for Steve to stay in the job somehow because things are just everything's pointing the other way right now," she added.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion added that the event was bound to fail from the beginning and that they should admit their mistakes instead of hiding them.

"It shouldn't have come that late in the year making this decision. There was a sequence of bad decisions and ultimately Steve Simon has been the boss for nine years and here we are. So the players adjusted, they had to, but to come to Cancun in the rainy season, you cannot be hoping that it's not going to rain in the premier event for the WTA tour," she added.

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A look into Martina Navratilova's performance in WTA Finals over the years

Martina Navratilova at the 2023 Internazionali BNL D'Italia

Martina Navratilova's record at the WTA Finals is unmatched by any other woman. Navratilova won the prestigious year-end tournament a record eight times in singles and 13 times in doubles, making her the most decorated player in the tournament’s history.

Navratilova reached the final at the year-end tournament in 1975, where she lost to Chris Evert in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2. Three years later, she won her first title, defeating Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final in straight sets, 7-6(2), 6-4.

The 67-year-old would go on to win seven more titles in the next eight years, dominating the tournament with her powerful serve-and-volley game. She also won 13 doubles titles from 1977 to 1991, partnering with various players such as Billie Jean King, Pam Shriver, and Betty Stove.

Martina Navratilova retired from singles in 1994 but continued to play doubles until 2006. She ended her career with a total of 167 singles titles and 177 doubles titles, the most in the Open Era.