Novotna, Jana (1968—)

Czech tennis player. Born on October 2, 1968, in Brno, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic).

Tennis champion Jana Novotna was born in 1968 in Brno, Czech Republic. Her career began in 1986, she turned professional in 1987, and, by the time she announced her retirement after losing in the third round to Anke Huber at the U.S. Open in 1999, she had won 24 career singles, 72 doubles titles, and earned over $10 million. Novotna's long-sought victory at Wimbledon in 1998 helped her make the decision to bow out. "I said throughout my career that winning one Grand Slam would be a dream come true for me. It finally did happen."

For years recognized as the best player on the women's circuit without a Grand Slam victory, Novotna made it to the finals at Wimbledon in 1993 and 1997, only to lose the matches in the last moments. In 1993, her aggressive game against Steffi Graf suddenly collapsed from a near-sure victory into a 4–1 third set, after which she famously sobbed on the shoulder of Princess Michael of Kent . In 1997, she was beaten in the finals by Martina Hingis . The following year, she played against Nathalie Tauziat (the first French woman to make it to the finals at Wimbledon since Suzanne Lenglen in 1925). In a victory she dedicated to her longtime coach Hana Mandlikova , a Czech who during her own playing career in the 1980s had won four Grand Slam titles but never captured Wimbledon, Novotna roared back from an uncertain second set to score five straight points in the tiebreaker and win the match 6–4, 7–6 (7–2). The third time, as promised by the duchess of Kent (a fellow Czech), had indeed proved the charm.