Martina Navratilova turned away from Wimbledon restaurant - 'They had no idea who I was'

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was turned away from a restaurant in Wimbledon before revealing staff had no idea who she was. Heading into The Ivy Cafe for a spot of dinner on Tuesday, Navratilova admitted that she was denied entry into the eatery because she had her pet dog, Lulu, with her.

The 68-year-old, who has an all-time record 20 Wimbledon titles to her name, including nine women's singles triumphs, took to social media to let fans know of her failed dinner plan. While sharing a photo of herself outside the restaurant with Lulu resting comfortably in a handbag on X, Navratilova captioned it: "Well - tried to have dinner at the Ivy at Wimbledon, but they won't allow Lulu into the restaurant - so plan B." Part of BBC's Wimbledon coverage team this month, Navratilova clarified in a subsequent post that she ended up enjoying dinner at Cent Anni, a nearby Italian restaurant, where she dined on pasta.

With her post so far being seen over 1.6million times, plenty of X users had their say in the comments section. Opinion was split over the circumstances of her rejection from the restaurant.

One replied: "Well done to the staff that must have had tremendous pressure on them to make the rules apply to everyone, knowing full well who you are." Navratilova staunchly responded: "They had no idea. I could have sat outside but then I couldn't eat because of all the people walking by. So sweet of you anyway:)."

Another user praised their no-pet policy by writing: "Ew. People, please stop trying to take your dogs where people purchase and eat food. Thank you." Navratilova again hit back: "She is on the floor. Get over it."

On the flip side of the argument, one called on Wimbledon to rectify the situation given Navratilova's iconic status at the All England Club. They wrote: "Martina cannot be in? Because of Lulu? @Wimbledon please fix this. Martina should be allowed in any place of this universe where the word tennis is recognised..."

She's been on commentary duties at SW19 this year and enjoyed a hilarious moment with fellow BBC commentator Nick Mullins before the pair were set to call Mirra Andreeva's fourth-round victory over Emma Navarro. Ahead of the live coverage, the BBC desk broadcast footage of the 18-year-old's coach, Conchita Martinez, beating Navratilova in the final of Wimbledon in 1994 on Centre Court.

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"Now 47 years ago to the day, July 7, 1978, Martina Navratilova won the first of her nine Wimbledon singles titles," Mullins first said. "She beat Chris Evert out on this court." The surprised tennis icon responded: "I did not know that it was the same day but yeah we are now a week later so that's why it's happening like this but a nice reminder, thank you very much.

"A much better reminder than what they [BBC] read before, Conchita beating me in 94." Mullins then replied: "I was going to bring that up... well, [we] might chat about that as this match wears on." Before Navratilova jokingly added: "Let's not. Just kidding."