By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
In his book “Days of Grace,” Arthur Ashe called Jacqueline Joseph, who he selected to run his Arthur Ashe Foundation as someone with “outstanding credentials” as a “a young graduate of Stanford University who not only holds an MBA from Columbia University but also was a collegiate and professional tennis player.”
Joseph has returned to the grounds of U.S. Open – in the 20th anniversary of opening of the stadium that bears the name of her former boss – promoting the movie that directed and produced called WINNING.
WINNING is the compelling and inspiring story of the journeys of nine-time Wimbledon Martina Navratilova, Olympic legends Nadia Comaneci and Edwin Moses, golf legend Jack Nicklaus and Paralympian tennis champion Esther Vergeer and how they achieved and maintained greatness at the highest level of sport. The film features candid interviews and archival footage of each athlete’s most exciting championship moments, as well as unique “behind-the-scenes” access to their lives on and off the field of play. The film portrays through the words of these all-time greats what kind of mind-set, passion and dedication are needed to become a champion and to remain on top for decades.
“Everyone wants to be a winner. Everyone wants to be successful, and ultimately that’s what the film is about,” Joseph said to Carol Massar of Bloomberg Radio in the shadow of Ashe Stadium. “You can spend so much time focusing on the end goal and the gold medal. But, what is it that drives these athletes who’ve won multiple gold metals, or 18 majors like Jack Nicklaus? Why are they still practicing? Ultimately, I think there’s a passion and a joy that you have when you’re a little kid, when you can just get lost in something, and if you find a way … Everyone has something like that, you find a way to retain that. “
Joseph told Massar that, as a sports fan, watching some players breaking through and winning at a high level while others don’t, despite talent and potential, drove her to make the film.
“You look at some athletes who are incredibly talented and I’d ask myself, ‘Why have they not won a Major?” Joseph said. “And then I would look at other athletes who, decades into their career, were still so inspired, and so excited about trying to improve, and trying to win another Major. I wondered, I marveled at that, and I was in awe.”
Navratilova is the lone tennis player in the film (with respect to Paralympic tennis player Esther Vergeer) and the film will debut 30 years after one of most amazing WINNING accomplishments of her career – winning the U.S. Open “Triple Crown” in 1987, winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year – an accomplishment that may never be equaled.
“Martina’s story’s incredible because not only the longevity, but also the fact that she brought off-court training to professional women’s tennis and women’s sports in general,” said Joseph. “I think when you look at an athlete who just transformed themselves and transformed their sport and transcended sports … It reminds me we’re sitting in front of Arthur Ashe Stadium, who I knew really well and was an incredible inspiration to me. I think Martina has lived to have an impact beyond the field of play and off the tennis court and continues to do so.”
WINNING will premiere on Friday, September 8 at the Cinepolis Chelsea at 260 West 23rd St. in New York City where it will have a limited run for the following week with four to five screenings per day. Tickets can be purchased in advance here: http://bit.ly/WINSept8 A special media screening of the film will be held Thursday, September 7 at 5 pm that will include athlete availability and interview opportunities.
The film is produced and directed by Jacqueline Joseph, the former head of The Arthur Ashe Foundation and Executive Producer for IBM’s first-ever Official Grand Slam tennis tournament websites at the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Australian Open. A trailer for the film can be seen here: http://bit.ly/WINFILMTrailer
“WINNING is a film that shines a spotlight on five of the greatest athletes in sports history,” said Joseph. “The revealing stories that these athletes share in WINNING speak to everyone, young and old, on the court and outside the lines… because as they say, ‘Sports is a metaphor for life.’”
In WINNING, these iconic athletes reminisce about the highs and lows of their careers and share a unique and intimate window into their lives. The film features rare archival footage of the athletes’ childhoods, as well as some of their most memorable and historic moments at the Olympics, Wimbledon, The Masters, US Open, British Open and The Paralympics.
The film also features interviews with the athletes’ families, coaches, agents and competitors including Olympic Gold Medalists Bart Conner and Derrick Adkins, track and field Olympians Benn Fields and Herb Douglas, tennis star Pam Shriver, legendary coaches Sven Groeneveld and Robert Lansdorp, Duke University Professor of Sports Psychology Greg Dale, Barbara Nicklaus, Jana Navratilova and former Olympic gymnastics coach Paul Ziert.
Comaneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 during her famous performance at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. She earned a total of seven perfect 10s in Montreal en route to winning three gold medals for Romania. At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, she won two more gold medals, concluding her career with nine total Olympic medals and four World Championship medals.
Moses won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals and 122 consecutive races, setting the world record in the event four times.
Navratilova is the most prolific winner of tennis titles in the professional era of tennis. She holds the records for the most singles (167) and doubles titles (177) won by a professional tennis player. She won 18 major singles titles, a record 31 major women’s doubles titles and 10 mixed doubles titles, including her final title at the age of 49 at the U.S. Open. She ranked as the No. 1 player in the world for a total of 332 weeks in singles and a record 237 weeks in doubles. The 2017 U.S. Open marks the 30th anniversary of her becoming the last player to sweep the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at a major championship.
Nicklaus is regarded as the greatest golfer to ever play the game, winning a record 18 professional major titles, including a record six Masters titles, a record-tying four U.S. Open titles and a record-tying five PGA Championships. Equally as impressive is that Nicklaus finished as the runner-up at 19 other major championships while winning 73 career PGA Tour titles.
Vergeer has been described as the most dominant athlete in professional sports, losing only 25 matches in her 17-year career in wheelchair tennis. She won 42 Grand Slam tournaments, 22 year-end championships and seven Paralympic gold medals, including four in singles. She was the No. 1 player in the world from 1999 to her retirement in 2013, not losing a match in 10 years, winning the last 470 matches she played.
More information on the film can be found at www.thewinningfilm.com and also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thewinningfilm and Twitter at www.twitter.com/thewinningfilm and Instagram at www.instagram.com/thewinningfilm
