Reflecting on a career that has carried her to every corner of the globe and to the pinnacle of professional tennis, Martina Navrátilová recalls one match here in 1986 as among her most challenging.

It was the finals of the Federation Cup, the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup team event for men. The United States faced off against Czechoslovakia. Navrátilová, who had fled her native country for the United States in 1975 and had not returned since, was playing for the U.S. team and helped it defeat the Czechoslovaks.

"It was a strange situation, playing for America in front of the fans who could not see me in action for so long," Navrátilová remembers. "Emotionally, it was one of the most difficult times I experienced on the court. I could either be unbelievably happy or terribly sad, nothing in between."

Nevertheless, the fans that day gave her a standing ovation, even during the awards ceremony.

"I wanted to say something at the end, and say it in English," she says. "But then I heard someone from the crowd call, 'Say it in Czech, Martina!' I simply could not continue in any other language."

That story goes a long way to explaining the life of the 49-year-old tennis great, who is now in Prague preparing to play her first competitive tennis event here in 20 years. There has always been a pull between her native Czech Republic and her adopted home, the United States, where she has lived — currently in Florida — since defecting. She has been a U.S. citizen since 1981.

But she has never forgotten her Czech roots. She was known to follow tournament wins — and has taken home the singles trophy from more than 160 Women's Tennis Association tournaments — with catered dinners for family and friends, with an emphasis on Czech food: roasted duck, dumplings, sauerkraut.

When the country was swept up in the 1989 revolution, Navrátilová was here, supporting the movement to overthrow communism.

"It was an unforgettable experience seeing all those people being determined to change things," she says.

Czechs still embrace Navrátilová as if she never left.

"Although she is technically an American, she never lost her Czech heart," says Ivo Kaderka, president of the Czech Tennis Association. "Martina was always perceived as a great ambassador of Czech tennis, even though [communist] media did not report about her success."

Far from being envious, Czechs often viewed Navrátilová, fellow tennis great Ivan Lendl and other athletes who defected during communism as symbols of hope, that there was a way to overcome the obstacles set by a totalitarian regime. That hasn't faded with the passing of time.

"She could not come back because she would've been arrested by the regime, but she never denied her Czech roots. She became a hero in the eyes of many people in this country," says Jan Kodeš, a national tennis champion in the 1970s.

Martina Hingis, the world's former No. 1 women's player, is an example of Navrátilová's legacy.

Hingis, 25, was born in Czechoslovakia but moved to Switzerland with her mother. Her parents named her after Navrátilová.

"She was a role model for me from the very beginning," Hingis once admitted.

An easy choice

Born Martina Šubertová (she would go on to take her stepfather's last name) in the village of Benecko near the Krkonoše Mountains in 1956, Navrátilová racked up her first tennis title in 1975, winning the country's national championships.

All told, Navrátilová would go on to win 58 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles — including a record-tying 20 at Wimbledon — second only to Margaret Court's 62.

On the professional tennis tour, Prague lagged behind other European cities in staging top-quality tournaments, which kept Navrátilová off Czech courts through the years, even after 1989.

The first time Navrátilová played here after communism was in 2004, an exhibition match against U.S. player Mary Pierce.

Now, Navrátilová is set to take the court in the upcoming ECM Open May 8–14 at Prague's Štvanice Tennis Center, where she'll team up with 20-year-old Barbora Strýcová in women's doubles.

"It's great to have the opportunity to play here. ... Actually, it could well be the last time that I perform here," Navrátilová says.

Navrátilová had invitations to play tournaments here or in Berlin.

"Prague or Berlin? ... It was a clear choice," she says.

No secret followers

Navrátilová has kept a low profile around Prague the past few weeks. The trip has been about more than tennis. Navrátilová is scheduled to make appearances at several charity events, including one at the Prague Zoo — she has long been an animal rights activist — and she's taking care of her ailing mother, who lives in Řevnice, not far outside Prague.

The city and the country she now finds herself in has changed much.

Navrátilová only agreed to play the Federation Cup event here in 1986 when she was given assurances that the regime would not arrest her.

Secret police followed her, however.

"Secret police guys were still behind my back; it was a strange time," Navrátilová recalls. "They were monitoring where I was going, what I was doing and who I was talking to."

Now, she is just as likely to be tracked, but by local journalists, eager for her impressions on change.

She singles out traffic. She will be commuting to the Štvanice tennis center from her mother's house.