Martina Navratilova Slammed for Saying Player Should Quit and 'Have Babies'

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova drew criticism for her blunt assessment of British tennis player Katie Boulter after her defeat at the 2025 US Open.

Following Boulter’s first round loss to Marta Kostyuk on Tuesday, August 26, Navratilova, 68, suggested it might be time for Boulter, 29, to hang up the racket during a conversation with her Sky Sports cohost, Ryan Harrison. 

“If you’re Katie Boulter, you’ve got to try and do everything you can to finish the season strong,” Harrison, 33, said, noting Boulter’s on-court struggles as of late. “As [Navratilova] said, she’s been struggling for form a little bit, she’s going to have to get some matches in, she’s going to have to get that match count up as we look at the last third of the season.”

Navratilova, however, was a bit more dramatic in her suggestion for what Boulter should do next. 

“Or maybe just get married, have babies, and be done with it,” the 18-time major champion said with a laugh. “No more stress.”

Boulter and Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur, currently ranked No. 8 in the world, announced their engagement in December 2024. 

Harrison pushed back against Navratilova, arguing, “You said no more stress. That’s no more tennis stress, right? Because you have a little baby running around, it’s a different sort of stress.”

Navratilova and her wife, The Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova, adopted two young boys in August 2024. (Julia is also the mother of daughters Victoria and Emma from a previous relationship.)

The off-handed comment by Navratilova also received some slander on social media, with one tennis fan calling her remark “a shame” and describing Boulter as “a fantastic player and an amazing ambassador for British women’s tennis.”

Another comment read, “It is easy to kick someone when [they’re] down and every player goes through times like this.”

After her loss on Tuesday, Boulter admitted she had work to do — but made no indication that she’s taking any time off from tennis. 

“I need to address the serving,” Boulter told reporters. “We’ve been trying so many different things but nothing is quite working yet. I think that side of my game needs to improve. I think if I can sort that then everything else will fall back into place.”

Boulter added, “You can look at the actual results and you’d probably be like, ‘You’re having a tough time.’ “I’m actually really excited. I feel like I’ve got this buzz back again, which I lost a couple of weeks ago [at Montreal’s National Bank Open]. I personally would say it was a really pivotal moment in my career. I think that has spring-boarded me off the bottom and taken me back up again.”