Tennis great Martina Navratilova spoke with members of Mason's men's and women's tennis teams Monday before her appearance in Tyler Cowen's "Conversations with Tyler" series. "We were going nuts," said Mason tennis player Pally Ray. "She's a living legend." Photo by Jessica Yurinko.
Before engaging in a wide-ranging interview Monday night with George Mason University economics professor Tyler Cowen as part of his “Conversations with Tyler” series, tennis great Martina Navratilova met with members of Mason’s men’s and women’s tennis teams and coaching staffs for a 30-minute question-and-answer session.
“We asked her a lot of tennis questions,” said Ryan Charles, a freshman from Virginia Beach. “It was good to get her insight on some things. Now our coach can implement those in practice and hopefully help us as a team.”
In particular, “we asked her how she handles pressure, and that’s going to benefit us in practice,” added Charles. One tip she offered: In a game with a mere 20 seconds between points, you have to have a positive attitude and a short memory.
The team found out they were meeting the nine-time Wimbledon winner just days before the event.
“We were going nuts,” said Pally Ray, a junior from Atlanta, Ga. “She’s a living legend.”
Ray asked Navratilova how she managed to stay so mentally and physically consistent over a professional career that spanned 43 years.
“She said when you are in practice, find ways to make it competitive within yourself. She suggested counting your mistakes. Things like that, we can use.”
Navratilova spoke with Cowen, general director of the sponsoring Mercatus Center at Mason, for 90 minutes before a capacity crowd of 331 at Mason’s Founders Hall auditorium on the Arlington Campus. Topics besides tennis included her defection from Communist Czechoslovakia, her woodworking, her three mystery novels and her LGBTQ activism.
Earlier in the day, it was revealed that U.S. tennis legend John McEnroe had been paid 10 times the amount Navratilova received for their work as BBC television commentators during July’s Wimbledon tournament. Cowen asked if pay equity is changing for men and women in sports commentary.
“We are changing it a little at a time,” she said. “But the corporations [that sponsor the events] are run by men, and men would rather give the money to men. Women have to prove themselves. Times have changed, but not enough, but it is changing.”
She noted that the BBC said McEnroe had done more work at the tournament than Navratilova.
“But I wanted to work more, but they had all kinds of excuses. Ten times the amount. This is not just a percentage, it’s a multiplier,” she said.
She pointed out that McEnroe was behind the microphone for the women’s final when Navratilova was available.
“But they won’t let me do the men’s final,” she added, shrugging her shoulders.
The next guest in the “Conversations with Tyler” series is New York Times columnist David Brooks, April 12 at 6 p.m., at Founders Hall. Admission is free but registration at this site is required.
Martina Navratilova spoke with Tyler Cowen for 90 minutes in front of a capacity crowd of 331 at Mason's Founders Hall on the Arlington Campus. Photo by Jessica Yurinko.