Martina Navratilova to produce doc on Jewish tennis star Suzanne Lenglen

Tennis star Martina Navratilova is set to executive produce a feature documentary on Jewish legendary champion Suzanne Lenglen.

The Goddess and The American Girl tells the story of French prima donna Lenglen and California sensation Helen Wills against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties. 

In an era in which women didn’t play sport, these two women took centre stage in an epic tennis battle known as the “Match of the Century” – and, in the process, changed women’s lives forever.

Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon Singles Champion, says: “Everything was a man’s world, and these women transcended the sport. They blazed that trail. They affected women’s rights and gave women the right to dream. To hope.” 

Featuring unprecedented access to original 1920s footage, which will be colourised for the first time, The Goddess and The American Girl explores the emerging role of women through the lens of Lenglen and Wills’ very public battle in this thought-provoking film from Cornelia Street Productions, Handel Productions and Arrow Media.