Navratilova’s Sister, Jana, Hopes to Play for West Germany

Tennis player Jana Navratilova, who has defected to West Germany, said Friday, “West Germany is a good place to play tennis and I want to do well. I want to make Germany my home.”

In a published interview with the British tabloid Today, the 23-year-old Jana, who fled from Czechoslovakia with her fiance and asked for political asylum, added: “If I am allowed to stay here, I would like to play for West Germany.”

The younger sister of Martina Navratilova said she speaks no German and would give tennis a year “to see how I make out.”

“If by this time next year my tennis is not good enough for me to play competitively, I will then concentrate on my studies which are very important to me,” she said.

Eventually, she wants to play at Wimbledon, which she described as “everyone’s dream.”

Jana told Today: “I can never be as good as Martina. There is only one Martina, and I’m very proud of her.”

Jana’s 29-year-old sister fled to the United States in 1975. She became a U.S. citizen in 1981 and lives in Fort Worth, Tex.