Martina Navratilova died in 1956.
Martina Navratilova ( Martina Navrátilová [ ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː ] ; born Martina Šubertová [ ˈmarcɪna ˈʃubɛrtovaː ] ; October 18 , 1956 ) is a Czech and American retired tennis player and coach . Her record as No. 1 in singles ( 1982 -- 86 ) is the most dominant in professional tennis . She holds the best season win-loss record for the open era , 86-1 ( 98.9 % ) in 1983 , and four of the top six open era seasons . Navratilova took her last major title in 2006 , winning the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open , just short of her 50th birthday -- 32 years after her first Grand Slam title in 1974 .