Martina Navratilova

Legendary tennis player, Martina Navratilova is castaway by Kirsty Young.

In an extraordinary career, she's won 59 Grand Slam titles - her last, just a few weeks short of her 50th birthday. Her life off the court has been equally eventful - she grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and, as a teenager, threw rocks as Soviet tanks rolled in; tennis offered a way to see the world and she defected to the US when she was 18 years old.

After 30 years at the top of her profession she retired - and says she finally found time for the rest of her life:

"Tennis really was a total commitment, you didn't have much time for anything else. So, when I quit, I was going through something emotionally that most people go through when they're 18, 20 years old. Really having the time for personal relationships, developing friendships and taking the time with everybody. I think I've caught up by now."

DISC ONE: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
DISC TWO: Maria Callas with the Orchestra of the National Theatre of the Opera in Paris, conducted by Georges Pretre - Georges Bizet's L’amour est un oiseau rebelle
DISC THREE: ABBA - Dancing Queen
DISC FOUR: Luciano Pavarotti with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta - Giacomo Puccini's Nessun dorma
DISC FIVE: Ella Fitzgerald - Love is Here to Stay
DISC SIX: k.d. lang - Crying
DISC SEVEN: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra - Bedrich Smetana's Vltava from Ma Vlast [My Homeland]
DISC EIGHT: Maria Callas - Giacomo Puccini's Un bel di vedremo

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra - Bedrich Smetana's Vltava from Ma Vlast [My Homeland]
BOOK CHOICE: The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
LUXURY CHOICE: A pillow her mother made for her

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.