I caught up with Martina Navratilova Saturday night at the GLAAD Awards in Hollywood where she received a special award [and a sustained standing ovation] for her work as an equal rights activist for gays and lesbians. I asked her what she thought about what was happening right now on the women's tour:
"I still think it's going to be Justine Henin [ranked number one] at the end of the year because she's the best player out there," Martina said. "[Serena Williams] has played four tournaments won two and lost early in the other two but the year is young and she seems to be motivated. We'll see. She might end up being number one at the end of the year but she needs to stay healtheir than she is right now."
Serena, currently ranked 12th, won her eighth grand-slam tournament in January at the Australian Open. But she has played only nine tournaments in the past 12 months. She will indeed have to stay healthy if she wants to try and climb up the list of all-time grand slam champions. Ahead of her still are Monica Seles (9), Billie Jean King (12), Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (18), Steffi Graf (22) and Margaret Court (24).
By the way, Martina looked SENSATIONAL Saturday night.
Seeing her and Billie Jean within four days, plus Jimmy Connors and Tracy Austin too? This is a part-time tennis blogger's dream!