Former Wimbledon Champion Novotna Dies After Battle With Cancer
Czech tennis player Jana Novotna, a Wimbledon champion in 1998 and 16-time grand-slam winner in doubles and mixed doubles, has died at the age of 49 after a long battle with cancer, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said on Monday.
In a career spanning 14 years on the professional circuit that included 24 WTA singles titles and 76 doubles titles, Novotna finally won her only singles grand slam at Wimbledon in 1998 after losing in the final in 1993 and 1997.
She won the hearts of fans around the world when she burst into tears after throwing away victory against Steffi Graf in the 1993 final and was consoled afterwards by a British duchess.
In 2015, Novotna spoke to Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes of her love for the sport and said she could not go a day without tennis.
The pair had also won silver together at the 1988 Olympics and that same year were members of Czechoslovakia’s Fed Cup team which defeated the Soviet Union.
