"I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career"
About this Quote
The intent is part self-deprecation, part brag, but the subtext is sharper: in elite sports, time is not a neutral calendar. It is a pressure chamber. Athletes are treated like products with expiration dates, and women especially get pushed into narratives about decline, age, and relevance. Navratilova, who stayed dominant across multiple eras, refuses that script. She implies that "past your prime" is often just "past the point where people are comfortable watching you keep winning."
Context matters: she competed through shifting styles of play, changing training science, and evolving media expectations, all while being a public figure in ways most athletes never have to be. The line works because it compresses decades of defiance into a single joke. She makes endurance sound effortless, which is its own kind of intimidation. And she reminds you that the real achievement isn't merely winning titles; it's outlasting the cultural impatience that wants every legend to exit on schedule.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Navratilova, Martina. (n.d.). I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-been-in-the-twilight-of-my-career-longer-than-108189/
Chicago Style
Navratilova, Martina. "I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-been-in-the-twilight-of-my-career-longer-than-108189/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-been-in-the-twilight-of-my-career-longer-than-108189/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.





