Petra Kvitova: Martina Navratilova

The stars of our sport shared stories about their heroes, both in life and on the court, and how these idols shaped who they are today. For more "My Hero" submissions, click here.

Martina Navratilova was my idol to watch. My father loved her when she was playing Wimbledon and everything. She was the idol of my generation. She was a lefty and Czech. So successful, a legend, and played a really aggressive game.

When I met her, it was very special, I have to say. It was 2010 at Wimbledon, and I met her on the stairs. She congratulated me because I had won that day. I remember, I played semifinals against Serena, and she came to the locker room and told me, “you can do it, just play your game, and don't think that it's the semifinals.” It was really nice of her.