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 also won 12
Grand Slam women's doubles titles and 4 Grand Slam mixed 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, Novotná began to have success in singles once four-time
Grand Slam singles champion
Hana Mandlíková became her coach. Novotná was one of the top
serve and volleyers of her time, a rarity in women's tennis.
Novotná reached her first Grand Slam singles final in
1991 at the
Australian Open, where she lost 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 took a 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15 lead. With 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 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 would happen 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 won the first set. But she then succumbed to the Swiss teen's accurate passing shots and lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. However, Novotná won 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 a quarterfinal, Novotna avenged the previous year's loss by ousting Hingis in a semifinal and veteran
Nathalie Tauziat in the final 6-4, 7-6.
She won 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (four at Wimbledon, three at the
French Open, three at the
U.S. Open, and two at the Australian Open) and 4 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (two at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the U.S. Open). She was 11 times the year end top ranked doubles player.
Novotná was a member of the Czechoslovakian team that 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 14-year career, she won 100 titles (24 in singles and 76 in doubles).
Novotná was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in
2005.Grand Slam singles performance timeline
NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
* 1987 - Hamburg (w/Kohde-Kilsch), Strasbourg (w/Suire), San Diego (w/Suire)
* 1988 - Oklahoma City (w/Suire), Rome (w/Suire), Hamburg (w/Scheuer-Larsen), Canadian Open (w/Suková), Mahwah (w/Suková)
* 1989 - Wimbledon (w/Suková), Miami (w/Sukova), Boca Raton (w/Suková), Brisbane (w/Suková), Barcelona (w/Scheuer-Larsen), European Indoors (w/Sukova)
* 1990 - Australian Open (w/Suková), French Open (w/Suková), Wimbledon (w/Suková), Miami (w/Suková), Brisbane (w/Suková), Sydney (w/Suková), Indian Wells (w/Suková), Boca Raton (w/Suková), Los Angeles (w/G. Fernandez)
* 1991 - French Open (w/G. Fernandez), Brisbane (w/G. Fernandez), Chicago (w/G. Fernandez), Hamburg (w/Neiland), Washington, DC (w/Neiland), European Indoors (w/A. Strnadová),Filderstadt (w/Navrátilová), Philadelphia (w/Neiland)
* 1992 - Brisbane (w/Neiland), Light ‘n Lively (w/Neiland), Berlin (w/Neiland), Eastbourne (w/Neiland), San Diego (w/Neiland), Leipzig (w/Neiland), Brighton (w/Neiland)
* 1993 - Miami (w/Neiland), Osaka (w/Neiland), Paris Indoors (w/A. Strnadova), Rome (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Canadian Open (w/Neiland)
* 1994 - US Open (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Delray Beach (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Light ’n Lively Doubles (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Hamburg (w/Sanchez-Vicario), San Diego (w/Sanchez-Vicario)
* 1995 - Linz - Australian Open (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Wimbledon (w/Sanchez-Vicario), WTA Tour Championships (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Sydney (w/Davenport), Miami (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Delray Beach (w/MJ Fernandez), Eastbourne (w/Sanchez-Vicario)
* 1996 - Paris Indoors (w/Boogert), Miami (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Hilton Head (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Madrid (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Eastbourne (w/Sanchez-Vicario), Filderstadt (w/Arendt)
* 1997 - US Open (w/Davenport), Season-Ending Championships (w/Davenport), Paris Indoors (w/Hingis), Amelia Island (w/Davenport), Berlin (w/Davenport), Leipzig (w/Hingis)
* 1998 - French Open (w/Hingis), Wimbledon (w/Hingis), US Open (w/Hingis), Miami (w/Hingis), Eastbourne (w/de Swardt), Canadian Open (w/Hingis)
* 1999 - Miami (w/Hingis), Hilton Head (w/Likhovtseva), Canadian Open (w/Pierce)
