Martina: My new true love

Tennis champion Martina Navratilova, who won the Wimbledon women's singles trophy nine times, has today revealed that she wants to become a mother for the first time at the age of 45.

Navratilova, who helped generations of sports men and women come out of the closet, tells in an interview of the latest woman in her life - who she does not name - and her desire to have children. She says: "Now I'm in the best relationship I could be in. She is the most amazing human being. I've said similar things before but I didn't really find the right person. This one is for life, which is brilliant."

Known in her heyday for an accomplished serve and powerful physique, Navratilova's interview reveals she has another altogether softer and more maternal side. "The time when I could have my own children has passed. I could adopt a five-year-old, a brother and sister, or two sisters. There are too many kids out there who want a home. It will happen when the time is right, and I'll be a good, fun mother."

Her well-documented private life has been as colourful and tempestuous as her behaviour on Wimbledon Centre Court. She tells how the pain of her relationships lead to fantasies of violence. Her seven-year partnership with mother-of-two Judy Nelson was electrifyingly apparent when the tennis ace rushed off court after winning her ninth Wimbledon title to embrace the former Southern beauty queen.

But the relationship ended in a multi-million dollar lawsuit, with Nelson suing Navratilova for half of her winnings. Despite this, Nelson still described Navratilova as "the love of her life", before getting together with one of her ex-girlfriends, Rita Mae Brown.

Before Nelson, Navratilova made a large payout to another ex, Nancy Lieberman. Navratilova tells of her anguish after the collapse of the relationship with Nelson and how therapy helped her regain her self-esteem.

"My therapist taught me to deal with relationships, not just lovers, but family and friends," she says, adding that she has remained friends with her most recent longterm partner, Danda Jaroljmek.

In the wide-ranging interview in this week's Radio Times, Navratilova says that despite the taboo surrounding lesbianism in the late Seventies, she was never "embarrassed" to be gay. After the criticism she received for defecting to the West from Czechoslovakia, coming out was "a piece of cake". But her parents found it much harder to cope. Her father said he would prefer her to sleep with a different man every night than with a woman. "I don't think I've changed the attitude of those who are homophobic," she says, adding that being gay is not a "choice".

Navratilova, who has just won the Spanish Open with doubles partner Natasha Zvereva, rails at the tennis establishment, which she claims still discriminates against women. "It drives me crazy," she says.

She also fires an ace at Russian tennis pinup Anna Kournikova, who "has the looks but hasn't lived up to her talent".

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