Growing up, I remember watching Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova play tennis. I was mesmerised by their talent, their determination, and the sheer quality of their matches. Back then, all I saw were two extraordinary athletes trying to beat one another.
What I didn't know was the story behind the scoreline.
Watching The Final Set recently, I discovered two women whose lives were far more complicated than I had imagined.
Martina had defected from Czechoslovakia, leaving her family behind in pursuit of freedom. For a time, she was navigating life without the support of a coach, adapting to a country that wasn't yet home. Chris carried the expectations of being America's sweetheart, later admitting that she didn't love tennis in the way many people assumed.
Yet every time they stepped onto the court, they brought out the very best in one another.
Their rivalry wasn't built on hatred. It was built on excellence.
Each knew that to beat the other, she would have to become a better player than she had been the day before.
Together they transformed women's tennis. They elevated the standard of the game, drew crowds that had rarely gathered for women's sport, and inspired generations of young girls to pick up a racquet believing that they, too, could compete at the very highest level.
One of the biggest surprises for me was discovering that, during the fiercest years of their rivalry, their friendship took a back seat. Competition demanded everything. Yet beneath it all remained a deep respect for one another—something that time only strengthened.
Today, both women have faced another formidable opponent: cancer.
Once again, they have shown the same courage, resilience and determination that defined them throughout their careers.
It made me think about Women's Day a little differently.
It's not only about celebrating the women we know personally.
It's also about recognising the women who dared to chase excellence so relentlessly that they changed what everyone believed was possible.
This Women's Day, I'm not celebrating women because they made life easier.
I'm celebrating the women who refused to accept that something couldn't be done.
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova didn't ask permission to redefine women's tennis.
They did the work.
They trained harder.
They demanded more of themselves because the woman standing on the other side of the net demanded it too.
Their greatest legacy isn't the trophies.
It's proof.
Proof that excellence isn't reserved for a select few.
Proof that determination matters.
Proof that when you fix your eyes on a worthy goal and refuse to let go, extraordinary things can happen.
As Earl Nightingale famously said,
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”
Perhaps that's the true spirit of Women's Day.
Not looking at remarkable women and wishing we were like them.
But recognising that they have shown us what is possible.
The goal is there.