Martina Navratilova and Art Grand Slam

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdWpatQaLI The Sovereign Art Foundation recently invited Martina Navratilova and Juro Kralik to Hong Kong for the HKArt fair to promote the Foundation and Art Grand Slam and I was fortunate enough to spend some time with the tennis legend. Martina won 59 grand slam crowns during her domination of the courts, including 9 Wimbledon titles. She has now turned her hand to art and her collaboration with Juro allows her to combine both tennis and art. As MC of the welcoming event at W Hotel I asked Martina a range of questions from her views on art to her thoughts on today's modern game. For the record, Martina thinks there needs to be regulations placed on racquet manufacturing. She says the sweet spot on a racquet these days is far too big and creates a power game rather a game of skill - interesting comment coming from one of the most powerful hitters of the ball of all time! Chairman of the Foundation, Howard Bilton, and director, Tiffany Pinkstone, then took us all out to dinner at the North Point markets for some real local Hong Kong tucker (Aussie for food) - something Martina and Juro (the creative genius behind Art Grand Slam) talked about for days after. Sitting on stools in a sea of local humanity, digging in with chopsticks and sipping beer out of bowls is not something they get to do every day. Ocean Vista Films was commissioned by the Sovereign Art Foundation to make a film of Martina and Juro's exhibition at the HK Art fair the next day (see film attached). The exhibition was a success and we then all headed to Kee Club for a fabulous meal, great wine and good conversation. Martina was very candid, talking about her days as the world number one, sharing her views on good wine and showing off pictures of her gorgeous new girlfriend, Russia's former Miss World. Martina and Juro donated the art they created at the exhibition to the Foundation, which is a registered charity which supports disadvantaged children through the use of art for rehabilitation and therapy. The Foundation also runs the prestigious Sovereign Asian Art Prize and the Sovereign European Art Prize.