Martina Navratilova reacts to Dua Lipa lamenting the pushback for female pop stars who are perceived as 'political' and 'smart'

Martina Navratilova recently reacted to singer and songwriter Dua Lipa's concerns about the resistance faced by female pop stars when they express political opinions or for being 'smart'.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Lipa addressed the prevailing stigma surrounding female pop stars. She expressed her frustration with the perception the general public has that these women cannot be intelligent or hold their own political opinions.

According to the 28-year-old, society tends to dismiss the idea of female pop stars being both intellectually astute and politically aware. She lamented that the general public often prefers these artists to solely focus on their singing, rather than embracing their multifaceted abilities.

“I don’t know if people believe that I like to read books, or people believe that these conversations are my own. I think it’s a thing of what people want from their pop stars. They don’t want you to be political. They don’t want you to be smart. Not that I’m trying to prove myself in that way, but there is so much more to me than just what I do,” Lipa said.

Reacting to Dua Lipa's comments, 18-time Grand Slam champion, Martina Navratilova took to social media (X, formerly known as Twitter) and wrote:

"Bingo."

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the WTA Finals being potentially hosted by Saudi Arabia: "Would represent taking a significant step backwards"

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have jointly penned a letter to Steve Simon, the CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), expressing their concerns about hosting the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.

There have been speculations about the possibility of the WTA Finals being held in Saudi Arabia ever since reports emerged of the country engaging in talks with the ATP Tour regarding potential investments in the sport. These discussions have been facilitated by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Navratilova and Evert expressed in their letters that hosting the year-end tournament in Saudi Arabia would contradict the very principles upon which the WTA was founded - "fairness and equality to empower women in a male-dominated world."

"The WTA was founded on fairness and equality to empower women in a male dominated world. In short, the WTA should represent values which sit in stark contrast to those of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Navratilova and Evert wrote, according to Sports Illustrated.

The former World No. 1s also claimed that not only does the country fail to recognize women as equals, but it also criminalizes the LGBTQ community and violates fundamental human rights.

"Not only is this a country where women are not seen as equal, it is a country which criminalises the LGBTQ community. A country whose long term record on human rights and basic freedoms has been a matter of international concern for decades," they added.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert expressed their concerns, stating that hosting the WTA finals in Saudi Arabia would signify "taking a significant step backward."

"Taking the WTA finals to Saudi Arabia would represent taking a significant step backwards, to the detriment of the WTA, women’s sports and women," they said.