Jana Novotna: Former Wimbledon champion dies at age of 49
Former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna has died at the age of 49.
The Women’s Tennis Association said Novotna, who had cancer, “died peacefully, surrounded by her family”.
The Czech player had lost in the Wimbledon final in 1993 and 1997 before winning the Grand Slam tournament when she beat Nathalie Tauziat in 1998.
Novotna captured the hearts of fans when she burst into tears after losing to German great Steffi Graf in 1993 and was consoled by the Duchess of Kent.
“Jana was an inspiration both on and off court to anyone who had the opportunity to know her,” said WTA chief executive Steve Simon.
“Her star will always shine brightly in the history of the WTA. Our condolences and our thoughts are with Jana’s family.”Novotna was renowned for her serve and volley game and achieved a career-high singles ranking of number two.
In addition to her only singles Grand Slam win at Wimbledon, she claimed 12 Grand Slam doubles titles and four in mixed doubles.
She was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
A shoulder to cry on
It was Novotna’s exploits at Wimbledon which particularly endeared her to supporters, especially the 1993 defeat to Graf at the All England club.
Novotna had a 4-1 lead in the third set and seemed on course for victory only to lose five games in a row and lose 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-4.
She started crying when presented with the loser’s trophy before the Duchess of Kent put a comforting arm around her and gave her a shoulder to shed her tears on during emotional scenes on Centre Court.
Novotna said the Duchess had told her “she would do it” when she went to collect her trophy and, despite losing to Martina Hingis in 1997, she finally won Wimbledon a year later.
In doing so, she became the oldest first-time Grand Slam singles winner in the Open era at 29 years and nine months.Jana Novotna finally collected the Venus Rosewater Dish after her solitary major win in 1998
Analysis
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
The abiding image of Jana Novotna’s career is of her accepting – quite literally – a shoulder to cry on by the Duchess of Kent as she received the runners-up trophy at Wimbledon in 1993.
She had been in a winning position in her first final against the great Steffi Graf, but undeterred, she would be back.
Martina Hingis was too strong in the 1997 final, but just as the Duchess had predicted, it would be third time lucky should Novotna make it through to the final again.
And so it proved, as just 12 months later Novotna beat Nathalie Tauziat of France to claim the title.
An instinctive serve-volleyer, Novotna was also a brilliant doubles player: winning 16 Grand Slam titles to add to her solitary singles win. She reached world number two in singles, number one in doubles, won the Fed Cup with the Czech Republic and medals in both singles and doubles at the Olympic Games.
And in more recent years, she was a charming member of the BBC commentary team at Wimbledon. Jana was never ostentatious in her delivery, but her authority and love for the sport shone out.
