FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Martina Navratilova sat at a dockside restaurant in Florida this spring, wearing worn-out jeans, a denim button-down shirt that hung loosely at her waist and a 1619 cap that one of her five dogs had gnawed on.
It’s her favorite hat these days. Athletic tape wrapped a thumb and forefinger, not to buffer a tennis racket, but to cover a skin condition that causes discoloration.
She has not played in a while — the pandemic, aching joints, the usual excuses. A woman about Navratilova’s age, which is 64, said a star-struck “hello” on her way out of the restaurant.