Jana Novotna: Remembering the tennis player who was synonymous with the late Duchess of Kent
For those who are not hardcore royal-watchers, the news of the Duchess of Kent’s death at 92 inevitably makes one think of Wimbledon - and one player in particular.
For many years - from 1969 until the late 1990s - the Duchess presented trophies at the Lawn Tennis Association championships. She was always kind to the losing finalists, but the image of her hugging the distraught women’s runner-up Jana Novotná is a particularly powerful one.
Jana Novotná was one of the most admired figures in women’s tennis during the late 1980s and 1990s. Born on October 2, 1968, in Brno, then part of Czechoslovakia, Novotná grew up in a country that had already produced several great players, including Martina Navratilova and Hana Mandlíková.
Novotná played a serve-and-volley game, which was becoming rarer in tennis then as power was seen as the more effective tactic. She had quick reflexes, an excellent and delicate touch at the net, and a willingness to attack, which made her a formidable doubles and mixed doubles player as well as a singles competitor. Throughout her career, she would win 100 titles across all formats - 24 in singles and 76 in doubles - including 17 Grand Slam crowns, the majority coming in doubles. Her versatility and consistency made her a mainstay on the WTA Tour for nearly two decades.
In the 1993 Wimbledon final she faced Steffi Graf, the pre-eminent figure in women’s tennis of the era. After taking a one-set lead and holding a 4-1 advantage in the final set, Novotná appeared on the brink of her first Grand Slam singles title. But nerves struck, and she lost 10 straight points, eventually surrendering the match. The image of her weeping on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent during the trophy ceremony became one of the defining moments in tennis history.
Novotná reached two further Wimbledon finals, and in 1998, at 29, she defeated Nathalie Tauziat to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish. She was again in tears, but from a very different emotion, representing catharsis for five years earlier.
In addition to her Grand Slam successes, Novotná was an Olympic medallist, winning silver in doubles and bronze in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She also played a vital role in Czechoslovakia’s Fed Cup triumphs during the 1980s, cementing her status as a key figure in her nation’s proud tennis tradition.
After retiring in 1999, Novotná became a coach and commentator. She died in 2017 from cancer at the age of 49.