A portrait of the artist as a tennis champion
Melissa Kite meets Martina Navratilova, nine times Wimbledon singles champion and now pioneer of ‘tennising’ — an artistic technique that creates Jackson Pollock-style patterns
‘I think I had a better balanced life. It wasn’t so one-dimensional. You know, kids get burnt out physically and mentally. It’s too much. Parents are not letting their ten-year-old girl ride a bicycle because they don’t want her to fall off and scrape her knee. They’re ten years old, they’re supposed to get hurt. It makes them better athletes, riding a bike around.’
The equal rights campaigner does not think, however, that today’s women players should be toughened up by playing five-set matches.
‘We’re willing to play three out of five. But I think the guys are playing too long. It needs to be three. If anything, it needs to be shortened.’
She shrugs when I ask whether she could have beaten a man at the height of her career.
‘I don’t have testosterone so there’s no need to go there. Obviously the guys are faster and stronger. No matter how fast I run I can’t be as fast as a guy. There’s just no reason to compare apples and oranges.’
She says she will keep on playing tennis ‘as long as I can hold my own. Please, don’t retire me yet. I will take it year by year. It’s the sport of a lifetime. The ball never comes over the net the same way twice. Tennis is my life.’
ArtGrandSlam is at Smithfield Gallery, London EC1 until 12 July.
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Fergus Pickering
July 5th, 2008 5:10amEverybody loves Martina and so do I. I suppose it would have been ungallant in a man to say the pictures are rubbish. But then you aren't a man. No I haven't seen them (the pictures). Jackson Pollock's rubbish too, don't you think? Pont Martina in the direction of Jenny Saville. That's proper art.