Martina Navratilova a role model and investor in Ascent

LAURA STROUD

Tennis hall of fame inductee Martina Navratilova is the newest investor in the Carolina Ascent. Navratilova has a professional singles record of 1,273 against 155 losses.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is now a minority owner of the Carolina Ascent, Charlotte’s home team in the Gainbridge Super League, which just launched its second season as a top-tier women’s professional soccer league. 

Managing partner Jim McPhilliamy said he had a list of potential celebrity owners in mind to join the investor group of himself, majority owner Dan DiMicco, and the Empower HER Fund, but it only had one name on it – Navratilova’s. It wasn’t because of her money but about who she is, what she represents, and an encounter McPhillamy had with her as a ballboy at a tennis tournament in his hometown of Kansas City almost 50 years ago.

Navratilova was just beginning her rise to the top in the late ‘70s, winning her first World Tour tournaments in 1977, two years after leaving her native Prague, Czechoslovakia, because of the communist government’s interference with her career.

She was becoming one of the biggest stars in women’s sports, but McPhilliamy recalled the kindness and attention she gave to him and others at that tournament.

Heading into the Gainbridge Super League’s first season last year, McPhilliamy said everything was focused on getting the Ascent up and running. A business and marketing plan had to be executed. A staff and roster had to be built. Bringing in Empower HER was hyper-local and added community influence The Ascent set an attendance record on day one and led the league in ticket sales and wins as well as the regular season’s best record.

As everything settled, McPhillamy said that he started looking for a way to contact Navratilova last December. He reached out to her agent, and they opened the conversation about her coming aboard.
According to the Sports Business Journal, that culminated with the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion taking a 3-5% stake in the team. More than the money, though, McPhilliamy was thinking about how she could influence Ascent players like she impressed him years before.

“Martina was one of the greatest athletes of the open era for tennis, and what she knows about sports and winning is directly applicable to the team,” he said. “So that's strategic.”
As far as adding more people to the ownership group – McPhillamy said there have been numerous inquiries – “Our main focus right now is not bringing in new investors. We want to make this thing super successful, and we’ll build value right now.”

Famous faces in the owners' box

Celebrity owners in professional soccer are nothing new. Arguably, the most famous would be actors/investors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, who brought not just money but global awareness to a historic but relatively unknown Welsh club in Wrexham when they took control in 2020.

LAURA STROUD

Martina Navratilova's tennis career wound down before many of the Ascent players were born, but managing partner Jim McPhillamy belives her career success and advocacy for female athletes makes her a worthy role model.

While they are unique as majority owners, other well-known names and faces bought into the game years ago.

MLS has many famous folks among its ownership rosters. The retired world champion boxer Oscar de la Hoya bought 25% of the Houston Dynamo in 2008. Comedian Drew Carey, host of “The Price is Right” game show, invested in the Seattle Sounders back in 2009. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash became co-owner of his hometown Vancouver Whitecaps in 2011.

Actor Will Ferrell invested in Los Angeles FC in 2016, two years before the team took the field. He shares the owner's suite with the likes of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra, and Mia Hamm, who also came aboard at the start.

Navratilova isn’t even the first tennis pro to invest in women’s soccer in the Tar Heel State. Naomi Osaka, ranked 24th in the world as she competed in the U.S. Open, became a co-owner of the NWSL North Carolina Courage in 2021. Billy Jean King has a stake in Angel City FC, where actress Natalie Portman was a founder, and Serena Williams' husband, tech billionaire Alexis Ohanian, the co-creator of Reddit, is majority owner. There are numerous other celebrity owners from entertainment and sports in the NWSL, now in its 13th season. 

GSL has some familiar owners among its ranks as well. Tim Tebow, the former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, is part of the ownership group for the new Jacksonville franchise, along with former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor. 

WNBA star Angel Reese has a stake in DC Power along with actress Crystal Renee Hayslett, Washington Nationals pitcher Josiah Gray, and Washington Capitals forward Hendrix Lapierre. Spokane Zephyr FC has former NFL players Trey Flowers and Dhani Jones in its ownership group.

Save for King and Williams, none of them are Navratilova when it comes to overall accomplishment over time, not just as an athlete but also as an outspoken advocate for female athletes, women’s sports, and many social issues.

A generational thing

To people of a certain age, many of the Ascent players were not familiar with Navratilova’s accomplishments, since she retired from singles competition before they were born. Some knew of her because her wife, Julia Lemigova has a prominent role on “The Real Housewives of Miami.”

“Besides googling some rock star tennis people, not much,” Mia Corbin replied when asked what she knew about Navratilova. 

Corbin, who was born in 1997, is generation Venus and Serena and readily admits that a conversation with her mom set her straight. 

“She was like, 'Shame on you,' and gave me a full bio, because obviously, (for my) mom's generation, she was just a great female advocate in general, and a great human being. So yeah, I got a good rundown by the mom, so it's good.”

They did have the chance to meet her when she came to Charlotte for the announcement. McPhilliamy says that a priority of Navratilova was to meet and engage with the players.

“Other than she's a legend on the tennis court, not much,” said Rylee Baisden. “I think the opportunity kind of fell into her lap as we asked her, ‘Why'd you choose us?’ And she kind of was like, ‘I'm here for women's sport and forwarding the game.’ So, I think it was just a good opportunity for her and us.”

On how she might take advantage of the new owner’s experience, Baisden said her question would be, “How do you keep your edge and your mentality to win every single day, other than being like a natural born winner, just going through the highs and lows of sport?”

The Czech-born Navratilova certainly knows how to win. According to the ITF, she had a career winning percentage of 89% – 1,273 wins against 155 losses. Along with 18 Grand Slam singles trophies, she knows how to be a teammate, adding another 41 doubles and mixed doubles titles in those major events. She knows how to handle pressure from being ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles for 332 weeks.

Jill Aguilera summed it up. 

“She's a competitor in general and wants to win and wants to be successful. To put her money into us shows that she sees that in us, and with her being as highly skilled and successful as she is or was as a tennis player, and now as a person and an investor, it feels good to be seen in that way and to know that she believes in us and believes in what we're trying to build here.”

Comments