Martina Navratilova: I wouldnt have left home for Trumps America

Fifty years ago, Martina Navratilova left everything she knew in communist Czechoslovakia to start a new life in the US.

Then an 18-year-old high school pupil, she was one of the Cold Wars most high-profile defectors - and she would go on to become one of tenniss most iconic players.

But speaking to the BBCs Amol Rajan, she says that she fears the US now "wouldnt let me in".

"Im not loyal to [US President] Donald Trump," she says, adding that she worries the US has become a "totalitarian" state.

Since President Trump took office in January, his administration has carried out sweeping immigration raids, sparking protests in parts of the country. He has also instituted a travel ban for citizens from 12 countries, and there have been reports of tourists being detained at the border.

"If I were now still in that same position [as in 1975] and I had to go live somewhere, it would not be America, because its not a democracy at the moment," she says.

When she speaks about US politics, Navratilovas frustration is palpable. She believes people havent noticed what she says is a situation that is gradually getting worse.

The US, she adds, is "definitely turning against migrants".

"I mean, people are getting chucked out by Homeland Security, theyre getting chucked out because theyre not on board completely with Donald Trumps agenda… because theyre not kissing the ring," she says.

That decision to defect to the US in 1975 wasnt an easy one to make, she says. She describes having an "idyllic" childhood growing up in Revnice, in modern-day Czechia, with a loving family that she was leaving behind. "I never knew when I would see my parents again - or if I would see them."

But doing so changed the course of Navratilovas life. She told a press conference at the time that she left Czechoslovakia because she wanted to become world number one in tennis - and that she "couldnt do it under those circumstances at home".

She did indeed go on to become number one - both in womens singles for 332 weeks, and womens doubles for a record 237 weeks. She is now widely considered to be one of the worlds greatest tennis players.

Navratilova is a dual US and Czech citizen, and still lives in the US with her wife, model Julia Lemigova. Does she worry that, in the current political climate, she could lose her own citizenship?

"Everything is up in the air right now, and thats the whole point. Everybodys walking on eggshells, not knowing whats going to happen."

There is, however, one extremely divisive subject on which she has previously said she agrees with President Trump - transgender womens participation in sport.

Navratilova is firm in her belief that the inclusion of trans women in womens tennis is "wrong".

She says she doesnt agree with current World Tennis Association (WTA) rules, which state transgender women can participate in womens games if they provide a written and signed declaration that they are female or non-binary, that their testosterone levels have been below a certain limit for two years, and that they sustain those levels of testosterone.

She says she feels trans women have biological advantages in womens sports - a belief that is hotly debated.

"There should be no ostracism, there should be no bullying," she says, "but male bodies need to play in male sports. They can still compete. There is no ban on transwomen in sports. They just need to compete in the proper category which is the male category. Its that simple."

She adds: "By including male bodies in the womens tournament, now somebody is not getting into the tournament - a woman is not getting into the tournament because now a male has taken her place."

In December last year, Britains Lawn Tennis Association changed its rules, meaning transgender women can no longer play in some female domestic tennis tournaments.

And in April, the UKs Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Asked if she felt tennis should follow the lead of the UK court, she says: "100%"

Pushed on whether we should "spend a bit more time being sympathetic to" trans people, Navratilova replies: "Very sympathetic - but that still doesnt give them a right to womens sex-based spaces."

Navratilova has been open about her battles with cancer over the last 15 years.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, at the age of 52. Then, 13 years later, it returned - along with a second, completely unrelated cancer in her throat.

"The way I found out, I went like this", Navratilova says, smacking her hands on the sides of her face as if shocked by something. "And Im like, oh, this lymph node is a little bit bigger. And a couple of weeks later, its still bigger."

Following a scan, doctors also caught the second cancer in her breast.

"We got the results, and its cancer," she says. "And Im like, Oh my God, Im going to die."

Although she says the treatment was "hell", she feels "all good" now.

"Knock on wood, all clear, and no side effects at all - other than red wine still doesnt taste good, so Ive gone sideways towards tequila and vodka," she laughs. "Im lucky. The cure was hell, but the aftermath has been great."

Has having cancer changed Navratilova at all?

"Cancer taught me to really appreciate every day, which I was doing pretty much anyway," she says. "But most of all, to not sweat the small stuff. Its fixable."

Amol Rajan Interviews: Martina Navratilova is on BBC 2 at 19:00 on 18 June, and on BBC iPlayer.