Jana Novotná was a Czech professional tennis player who won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1998. Born in Brno in 1968, Novotna grew up in communist controlled Czechoslovakia. Becoming a professional tennis player in 1987, Jana Novotná was most famously known for her skill and success playing doubles in tennis, where she won 12 Grand Slam women’s double titles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She also won three Olympic medals while participating in the Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
In the early 1990s Novotná began participating in singles and after two attempts at winning in the Wimbledon finals in 1993 and 1997, she finally won in 1998. A year later, she retired from professional tours, but continued to play in invitational doubles, charity events, and exhibitions. She also was involved in working as a coach and commentator for professional tennis. In 2005, Novotná was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, having won more than 500 career singles matches during her career and 16 out of 17 of her major titles in doubles competition.
After living in Florida for several years, Novotná eventually returned to her hometown of Brno in 2010 and lived with her partner, a Polish tennis player named Iwona Kuczynska. Later, Novotná was diagnosed with breast cancer and on November 19, 2017, at the age of 49, she died surrounded by friends and family.
Known as a fierce competitor, Novotná fought for every point and never gave up. Perseverance was a term well suited to describe her. Hana Mandlikova, her coach, said she learned so much from Novotná, a hard worker who bounced back quickly when she lost. Novotná was an inspiration to everyone who met her both on the court and off. The great tennis player Martina Navratilova remarked that Novotná did not know the word quit and was an inspiration to her. Navratilova said, “She played tennis the way tennis should be played. As great a tennis player as she was, she was an even more special human being.”
Written by James Travis
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/nov/21/jana-novotna-obituary
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1442611/jana-novotna-remembered-honored-in-prague
https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/jana-novotna-remembered-fondly-by-compatriots-fans-and-playing-peers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Novotná
https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/jana-novotna