Martina Navratilova reveals what she was told as a player that she claims would never have been said to Rafael Nadal

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Martina Navratilova and Rafael Nadal both know what it takes to be at the top of their respective tours.

Navratilova is one of the greatest WTA players of all time, winning 18 Grand Slam titles just in singles.

She also won an additional 41 major titles across women’s and mixed doubles, before Navratilova officially retired in 2006.

Now that she is no longer an active player, Navratilova has called out something that used to happen to her on a tennis court.

Martina Navratilova reveals what she was once told that would never have been said to Rafael Nadal

In a new interview with Amol Rajan for the BBC, Navratilova was asked about the narrative around her being one of the first women in tennis to emphasise fitness and strength training.

This led to a greater conversation about some of the things she was told as a tennis player, with Navratilova revealing that she was often called too competitive.

The 68-year-old went on to compare this to how this differs to the way male players are spoken about, including Nadal, who Navratilova has previously praised.

“Women are still judged by a different metric than men and certainly judged by a different metric when they do something wrong,” said Navratilova. “Even an example, a very simple example – ‘Oh you’re so competitive!’ – saying to me.

“I’m like what, ‘Am I supposed to go on the court and try to lose or something?’. What is wrong with that? Would they say the same way to Rafael Nadal? ‘Oh my god, you are such an amazing competitor!’.

“Same quality, viewed completely differently, because one is a male and one is a female. So, you know women are used to that and it happens on a daily basis. You know it’s just part of the deal.”

What Martina Navratilova thinks is the biggest challenge for women in tennis today

The debate about equality in tennis continued later on in the interview, when Navratilova was asked about what she thinks is the greatest challenge for women in tennis.

Navratilova responded by pointing out that she thinks sponsorship money is the biggest differential between players on the ATP and WTA Tours.

“It’s still trying to get the corporate money, because we still are lacking and lagging behind the guys in financials,” said Navratilova.

“You know, the guys get bigger contracts from whoever – the sponsor of the tour, the co-sponsors, the car companies, whatever. Whoever the sponsors are, male athletes still get more than female athletes for the most part.

“And certainly the tour, it’s a lot easier for the guys to get the money, so we have to work hard to get our sponsors and keep them happy. And it is… you know it’s still a much bigger battle for us than for the guys.”

In 2024, Sportico reported that Carlos Alcaraz earned $30million in endorsements alone, while Jannik Sinner earned $27million through sponsorships.

This is in comparison with top women’s players, with Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff leading the tour last year after earning $21million through sponsorships, and more than any other sportswoman when combining her prize money.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka was lower down at $8million through sponsorships, while Iga Swiatek took home $13million in that department.

Equal prize money is a big debate in tennis, with there still being a divide between how much male and female players receive.

All four Grand Slam tournaments have offered equal prize money since 2007, with some arguing that both men and women should play best-of-five sets at the Grand Slams to earn the same pay.

Navratilova has now revealed that she once did offer to play best-of-five set tennis, but her request was rejected.

“Number one, the majors are big because both men and women play together,” said the 68-year-old. “Also some people say ‘Oh we don’t play three out of five’. Well, we volunteered to play three out of five, but they didn’t want us to do that.

“So you can’t use that as an argument versus equal prize money in the majors. And also men’s sport has been around for, you know, 150 years. Women’s sport is very young.

“Title IX is only 52 years ago that women athletes in America got the same rights as male athletes in college sports, which kind of started the whole sports revolution in America for women. And it’s just the right thing to do, you know?”

The WTA Tour have pledged to provide equal prize money at combined 1000 level tournaments by 2027, and non-combined events by 2033.