Tennis legend Martina Navratilova marries partner

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has married her partner of eight years, Julia Lemigova.

The pair tied the knot in a private ceremony yesterday (December 15), three months after Martina popped the question at the US Open in a surprise on-camera proposal.

Speaking to the BBC after the ceremony, : ‘I’m 58 years old – I got married for the first time! It’s about time. Growing up as a gay woman you just don’t ever thing about that.

“And then about ten years ago I thought ‘You know, I think within 10 years gay marriage will be legal – and here we are 10 years [later], making it legal!”

Navratilova won a record 59 Grand Slam over the course of her two-decade tennis career, and was World Number 1 in singles for a total of 332 weeks. She became one of the first professional sportspeople to publicly disclose their sexuality when she came out as bisexual at the height of her career in 1981, though she later revealed she was a gay woman.

The star added that she remains surprised that no male tennis players have ever come out, saying: “They’re so far in the closet I don’t even know who they are.

“It’s funny, sport has been at the forefront of so many civil rights issues, but it’s been not great on the gay rights issue.”

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