The death of women tennis champion of the past Jana Novotna came at a time when the world is beaming with joy celebrating the success of women in tennis circuit. Her 100 career title is a testimony of her tennis success and thus she deserves numerous tributes. With 24 singles title and 76 doubles title in a career spanning 13 years is a significant one. She touched a high world ranking of number two and became the oldest first time Grand Slam singles champion at 29 years and nine months when she won Wimbledon in 1998. Novotna won just one Grand Slam singles title but collected 16 major titles in doubles and mixed doubles. Her death after a long battle with cancer shocked the tennis world. She was the heart throb of the crowd and in two other Wimbledon singles finals losing to Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis she was a novice in the hands of Duchess of Kent after losing the 1993 final after leading 4-1 in the final set. We miss a great fighting woman player and her loss cannot be compensated.
Nickhil Mani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
