In the world of sports, the adage of ‘try and try till you succeed’ is commonplace… not a unique quality, but the universal rule. All top a...
In the world of sports, the adage of ‘try and try till you succeed’ is commonplace… not a unique quality, but the universal rule. All top athletes learn from an early stage that wins and losses follow each other and are a part of the journey. Cry at the losses, but accept them and move on.
But for Jana Novotna and her tryst at Wimbledon, the saying applies in a way that transcended the usual pattern of sport.
Despite becoming a singles champion at SW19 in 1998, the most enduring image of the Czech tennis player, who died from cancer at 49 in 2017, is the one after her 1993 final loss. Novotna crying on the shoulders of the Duchess of Kent at the trophy presentation is somehow more memorable than Steffi Graf’s win.
The Duchess of Kent said: 'Jana Novotna was a brave, courageous sweet lady with a wonderful sense of humour. I am very saddened by the news of her death and all my feelings are with her family. Wimbledon will not be the same without her.' pic.twitter.com/q3FXwwkblc
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 21, 2017
But that failure was just the start of her legacy. How she overcame the disappointment of two final losses and...
