Few stories in the sporting world are quite as inspirational as that of Jana Novotn\u00e1. The multiple Grand Slam winner was an exemplary athlete and role model to fans around the world, and although today will be remembered as the day that she lost her battle with cancer, Novotn\u00e1 leaves behind a unique legacy that sets her apart from the rest.<\/p>\n
Born in Brno, then-Czechoslovakia, in 1968, Novotn\u00e1 first rose to the scene in 1987, but as a doubles specialist. She won titles in Miami, Hamburg, Strasbourg, and San Diego in her inaugural year as a professional, as well as making her debut on the Czechoslovak Fed Cup team. Novotn\u00e1\u2019s doubles game greatly shaped what would become a decorated singles career. Her serve-and-volley game was a breath of fresh air in a women\u2019s tour dominated by baseline powerhouses such as Monica Seles and Steffi Graf.<\/p>\n
Novotn\u00e1, however, would find that success was hard to come by among some of the greatest female tennis players ever to grace the tour. She lost the 1991 Australian Open final to Seles despite going a set up, and infamously, she lost the 1993 Wimbledon singles final to Steffi Graf, giving away a set and 4-1 lead in the second set. Novotn\u00e1 famously cried on the Duchess of Kent\u2019s shoulder, and the Duchess said to her:<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you will win it one day, don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Novotn\u00e1 herself said that, upon reading through all of the papers the following day, it was she, not Graf, who had felt like the winner. Unlike others who have failed on the big occasion, she did not crumble, but kept going. The following year, she won the US Open doubles title for the first time, as part of a hugely successful partnership with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, as well as three singles titles.<\/p>\n
In 1997, she made the Wimbledon final again. This time, however, she lost out to a 16-year-old Martina Hingis, having also won the first set. It seemed as though she would never get her hands on the coveted singles\u2019 trophy at SW19.<\/p>\n
Despite her setbacks, Novotn\u00e1 continued playing, and winning. She won the 1997 Wimbledon women\u2019s doubles title alongside Lindsay Davenport, and the pair also combined to bring home the WTA Tour Championships title at the end of the season. Novotn\u00e1\u2019s singles hoodoo clearly did not have an effect on her doubles game.<\/p>\n
The Czech began the 1998 season without much of a fuss. She won the singles title in Linz in February of \u201998, but besides that, she could not seem to progress beyond the quarterfinals at any level tournament. It was her doubles game that changed things.<\/p>\n
Novotn\u00e1 begun a partnership with her Wimbledon singles\u2019 final conqueror, Martina Hingis, the previous year, and the pair won two titles together. Nonetheless, in 1998, the Hingis-Novotn\u00e1 partnership blossomed. The pair romped to the French Open doubles title, beating Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva in the final. The win was huge for Novotn\u00e1. Her confidence was high, and the summer of \u201998 would be one to remember for the much-loved Czech.<\/p>\n
Novotn\u00e1 subsequently took home the singles title in Eastbourne, and on the 4th<\/sup> July 1998, she beat Frenchwoman Nathalie Thauziat in the Wimbledon women\u2019s singles final, 6-4 7-6. Novotn\u00e1 had redeemed herself.<\/p>\n Novotn\u00e1\u2019s 1998 Wimbledon triumph remains her greatest achievement on the singles circuit. It was to be her only Grand Slam singles title, but this masks the magnitude of what Novotn\u00e1 achieved throughout her singles career. She took on the some of the best players in the history of the game whilst using a seemingly out-dated serve-and-volley style. Moreover, she won twelve Grand Slam doubles titles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Few players, let alone ones that have (although in Novotn\u00e1\u2019s case, unfairly) been labelled as “chokers,” can boast a similar record.<\/p>\n Following her retirement in 1999, Novotn\u00e1 went on to play senior doubles events, and worked as a commentator for the BBC during Wimbledon. She kept her personal life very private, and it emerged upon her passing that she had been suffering with cancer.<\/p>\n Novotn\u00e1 was, and will continue to be, an inspiration. She stands among the sport\u2019s greats, not necessarily because of the titles that she won, but because of her journey, both as an athlete and a person. If ever there was living proof of the fact that perseverance and a positive attitude pay off, it was Jana Novotn\u00e1.<\/p>\n Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>