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Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná (b. October 2, 1968 in Brno, Czechoslovakia)
is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She is best
remembered for winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, and
for crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent after losing the Wimbledon
singles final in 1993. Novotná was also an outstanding doubles player
who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles.
Novotná turned professional in 1986. In the early
years of her career she was known primarily for her success as a doubles
player. In the early-1990s, she took on four-time former Grand Slam singles
champion Hana Mandlíková as her coach, and began to distinguish
herself as a singles player.
Novotná reached her first Grand Slam singles final
in 1991 at the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets to Monica Seles
5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Two years later, Novotná reached her first singles
final at Wimbledon where she faced Steffi Graf. After losing a tight first
set, Novotná put in an almost flawless performance to take a 6-7,
6-1, 4-1, 40-15 lead. However, with a convincing victory seemingly in her
grasp, she lost her nerve and began missing easy shots, sometimes hitting
the ball out by wide margins (including an infamous overhead smash that hit
the back tarp). Graf took the next five games in succession and the title.
During the prize-presentation ceremony, a distraught Novotná burst
into tears and cried on the Duchess of Kent's shoulder. The Duchess comforted
her by saying that she was sure Novotná would win the title one day.
But at the time, many doubted that this was likely given how dramatically
she had choked against Graf.
It took four years for Novotná to reach another Wimbledon
final. In 1997 she faced Martina Hingis. Novotná dominated the first
set, which she won 6-2. But she then succumbed to the Swiss teen's accurate
passing shots and lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. However Novotná went on to win
the 1997 WTA Tour Championships, and finished the year ranked a career-high
World No. 2 in singles.
Novotná's moment of Wimbledon glory finally arrived
in 1998. After routing a young Venus Williams in the quarter-final, she avenged
the previous year's loss by ousting Hingis in the semi-finals, and then angled
past another veteran, Nathalie Tauziat, in the final 6-4, 7-6.
Novotná also won 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles
(4 Wimbledon, 3 French Open, 3 US Open, and 2 Australian Open), and 4 Grand
Slam mixed doubles titles (2 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, and 1 US Open).
She was ranked the World No. 1 doubles player 11 times.
Novotná was a member of the Czechoslovakian team which
won the Fed Cup in 1988. At the Olympic Games, Novotná was a women's
doubles Silver medalist in 1988 and 1996, and a singles Bronze medalist in
1996.
Novotná retired from the professional tour in 1999.
During her 12-year career, she won 24 singles titles and 76 doubles titles
(a total of exactly 100 titles). Despite winning titles on all surfaces,
Novotná will forever be identified with Wimbledon – the site
of both her greatest failure and biggest triumph.
Novotná was inducted into the International Tennis
Hall of Fame in 2005.
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