Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 30, 1993 TAG: 9309300327
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The winningest player in professional tennis history, Navratilova said Wednesday that she has decided 1994 will be her final year to play singles.
"This is it - period," she said. "Next year will be my last year. It's time for me to move on."
While she was emphatic about wrapping up her singles career, Navratilova left open the option to play doubles and mixed doubles after 1994.
That's the same thing she said last year - and at the same place: Madison Square Garden.
"Chances are next year will be my last year playing singles full-time," Navratilova said in November 1992, following her loss to Monica Seles in the Virginia Slims Championships final.
On Wednesday, she didn't qualify her answer.
"Last year, I wasn't very sure," she said. "This time I have no qualms, no regrets."
Navratilova will play a full schedule for the remainder of this year and 1994, including the French Open, a clay-court Grand Slam tournament she hasn't played since 1988. She said she would skip January's Australian Open because "it's too early in the year."
Her plans after tennis are "all blurry right now," she said. "It's an end to a big part of my life. I'm not sad. I'm happy. I've been so lucky - 20 years-plus at the top of my profession."
Navratilova made her announcement in New York because, following her U.S. Open loss earlier this month, she promised reporters she would let them know as soon as she had reached a decision.
"There's no way to know when is the right time to retire," she said. Then, noting that knee surgery has enabled her to regain her mobility, she said, "Now I'm retiring because I want to, not because I have to."
Currently ranked third in the world, Navratilova has won four singles titles this year, boosting her career total to a record 165. She has won at least one singles title every year since 1973.
by CNB