"Men are threatened by me because I'm muscular, strong, aggressive" - When Martina Navratilova lamented being seen as 'bad for women's tennis'

Martina Navratilova once opened up about being unfairly viewed as detrimental to women's tennis despite her remarkable accomplishments. Navratilova attributed much of the criticism to the scrutiny over her physique, playing style and attitude.

Navratilova and Chris Evert dominated the women's tennis scene in the 1970s and 80s, solidifying their legacies as two of the greatest players in history. However, the Czech-American felt that she wasn't embraced as warmly as Evert and was criticized more harshly, with much of the negativity being fueled by their contrasting temperaments.

In a 1985 interview with the New York Times, Martina Navratilova expressed frustration over being perceived as harmful to women's tennis.

"How could I be bad for women's tennis?'' Martina Navratilova questioned.

Billie Jean King shared her perspective on the criticism, suggesting that the tennis world still placed too much emphasis on appearances and beauty. Meanwhile, Navratilova asserted that men especially felt "threatened" because of her muscular build, powerful game and aggressive playing style.

"We're still in the business of beauty, rightly or wrongly," King said.

"I think men especially are threatened by me because I'm muscular, I'm strong, I'm aggressive," Navratilova said.

However, Chris Evert explained that Navratilova's public image suffered because she came across as "cocky," which was in stark contrast to her own approach of downplaying her accomplishments.

Evert also contended that while Martina Navratilova desired the same level of acceptance from the American public that she enjoyed, the then-World No. 1's Czech heritage made it unlikely for her to be embraced in the same way.

''Along with being really aggressive, Martina can come across cocky, or should I say very confident of her ability and achievements. I don't play that way. I always try to downplay my achievements. She feels hurt that the public hasn't held out its arms to her as it has to me, but I'm American," Evert said.

"As much as she wants to be 100 percent American, Martina is Eastern European, and a lot of the Eastern Europeans are like her on the court. She's sensitive, vulnerable, she has a good sense of humor, but on the court you only see the aggressive, overconfident player," he added.

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Martina Navratilova: "If Serena Williams was a guy they'd love it, but they get intimidated by women being that strong; I empathise with that"

Martina Navratilova (Source: Getty)

Having faced criticism for her own physique, Martina Navratilova empathized with Serena Williams, who endured similar scrutiny over her strength. In a 2010 interview with the Guardian, the 18-time Grand Slam champion expressed her belief that crowds felt "intimidated" by strong women.

"If Serena Williams was a guy they'd love it, but they get intimidated by women being that strong. I empathise with that because I definitely went through it. It's tough because you feel like you're fighting [against the crowd] – it's hard enough fighting the opponent. And you do feel it, you know, not getting that love. It's not fair," Martina Navratilova said.

The former World No. 1 further asserted that Williams' physical dominance led the audience to sympathize with her opponents, a reaction she had encountered during her own playing days because of her muscular physique and aggressive style of play. However, Navratilova commended her compatriot for embracing her physique and unapologetically owning her strength.

"Serena is so physically dominating, people are feeling sorry for her opponents – they were feeling sorry for mine. I was very strong, I was very muscular and I played a very aggressive game," she said.

"But it's because she is so strong that she wins and she's proud of her body. She doesn't apologise for it and I like that. She's like, 'Hey I'm a strong woman and get out of my way,'" she added.

Martina Navratilova once also expressed her displeasure with the "degrading" way female players were spoken about in the media, complaining about their tendency to treat women like "sexual objects" instead of athletes.