Navratilova defected to US as her nation wanted her to study
Tennis player Martina Navratilova was granted political asylum during the 1975 US Open as the Czech Tennis Federation wanted her to return to Czechoslovakia to finish school. The then 18-year-old had claimed that the federation thought she was becoming "too Americanized" and didn't want her to play US Open. Navratilova won a total of 56 Grand Slams in her career.