Claim: Martina Navratilova is an athlete.

Martina Navratilova -LRB- Martina Navrátilová -LSB- ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː -RSB- ; born Martina Šubertová -LSB- ˈmarcɪna ˈʃubɛrtovaː -RSB- ; October 18 , 1956 -RRB- is a Czech and American retired tennis player and coach . In 2005 , Tennis magazine selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005 .   Navratilova was World No. 1 for a total of 332 weeks in singles , and a record 237 weeks in doubles , making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks . She was year-end singles No. 1 seven times , including a record five consecutive years , as well as year-end doubles No. 1 five times , including three consecutive years during which she held the ranking for the entire year .   She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles , 31 major women 's doubles titles -LRB- an all-time record -RRB- , and 10 major mixed doubles titles , marking the open-era record for most Grand Slam titles . She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times , including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990 , and won the women 's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times -LRB- surpassing Helen Wills Moody 's eight Wimbledon titles -RRB- , including a run of six consecutive titles -- the best performance by any professional player at a major event . She and Billie Jean King each won 20 Wimbledon titles , an all-time record . Navratilova is one of just three women ever to have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in singles , women 's doubles , and mixed doubles -LRB- called the Grand Slam `` boxed set '' -RRB- , a distinction she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart .   Navratilova holds the records for most singles titles -LRB- 167 -RRB- and for most doubles titles -LRB- 177 -RRB- in the open era . Her record as No. 1 in singles -LRB- 1982 -- 86 -RRB- is the most dominant in professional tennis . Over five consecutive seasons , she won 428 of 442 singles matches , averaging fewer than 3 losses per year to 87 wins , for a sustained winning percentage of 96.8 % . She holds the best season win-loss record for the open era , 86-1 -LRB- 98.9 % -RRB- in 1983 , and four of the top six open era seasons . She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era -LRB- 74 consecutive matches -RRB- and three of the six longest winning streaks .   She and Serena Williams are the only Open Era players to have won six major singles crowns without the loss of a set . Navratilova , Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles -LRB- six -RRB- . Navratilova reached 11 consecutive major singles finals , second all-time to Steffi Graf 's 13 , and is the only woman ever to reach 19 consecutive major semi-finals . Navratilova also won the season-ending WTA Tour Championships for top ranked players a record eight times and made the finals a record 14 times . She is the only person of either sex to have won eight different tournaments at least seven times . She was ranked in the world 's top 10 in singles for a record 20 consecutive years -LRB- 1975 -- 1994 -RRB- , a span which included 19 years in the top 5 , 15 years in the top 3 , and 7 years as the world No. 1 ranked singles player . Navratilova is regarded by some to be the greatest female tennis player of all time .   In women 's doubles , Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four major titles -- the Grand Slam -- in 1984 . The pair set an all-time record of 79 titles together and tied Louise Brough Clapp 's and Margaret Osborne duPont 's record of 20 major women 's doubles titles as a team . Navratilova also won the WTA Tour Championships doubles title a record 11 times . She is one of only five tennis players all-time to win a multiple slam set in two disciplines , matching Margaret Court , Roy Emerson , Frank Sedgman and Serena Williams . Navratilova took her last major title in 2006 , winning the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open , just short of her 50th birthday -- 32 years after her first Grand Slam title in 1974 .   Originally from Czechoslovakia , she was stripped of her citizenship when , in 1975 at the age of 18 , she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residency . At the time , Navratilova was told by the Czechoslovak Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized and that she should go back to school and make tennis secondary . Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981 , and on January 9 , 2008 , she acquired Czech citizenship . She stated she has not renounced her U.S. citizenship nor does she plan to do so and that acquiring her Czech citizenship was not politically motivated .