FLASHBACK: September 5, 1975
As if tennis politics weren't fraught enough in the 1970s, one of the game's most promising stars, Martina Navratilova, faced deeply personal political demons. It was the height of the Cold War and, desperately disillusioned with the Communist regime in her native Czechoslovakia, she wanted to make a break for America. But she also knew that would mean saying goodbye to her family, possibly forever.
In the months leading up to her defection, Navratilova had been runner-up to Evonne Goolagong at the Australian Open, to Chris Evert at Roland Garros, and beaten Evert for the first time at a couple of Tour events. But the authorities back home feared she was becoming too Americanized, and demanded she return to finish high school.
The situation came to a head when, after losing to Evert in the semis of the US Open, an 18-year-old Navratilova went to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service Office in New York to ask for political asylum. She has recounted it as a tense, cloak-and-dagger affair involving secret hideouts, clandestine taxi rides and FBI details. "I had no idea what a splash it would be," she said in 2002. "After Baryshnikov, there was Navratilova."
Navratilova's US citizenship was secured in 1981. She didn't see her family for four years and didn't return to Prague - where coverage of her exploits had been censored - until 1986, when she made an emotional visit with the US Fed Cup team. Aside from the glorious career that was shaped by her brave decision, the spy thriller had another happy ending: With the Iron Curtain consigned to history, Navratilova had her Czech citizenship restored in 2008. Now, she carries two passports.
