Navratilova picked as new Olivia spokeswoman

Lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova, 48, was chosen Wednesday as the new spokeswoman for lesbian travel company Olivia. Navratilova's one-year contract, which is valued in the six figures, follows Olivia's signing a year ago of golfer Rosie Jones, who, in coordination with the endorsement, announced that she is gay in an article in The New York Times. "This is the first deal I've gotten because I am gay," Navratilova told the newspaper on Wednesday. "Hallelujah." Navratilova has represented Subaru in the past, and she currently endorses Under Armour clothing and Juiceman products, according to the newspaper. "Coming out didn't cost Rosie an endorsement; it got her one," Navratilova told the Times. "And there she was, getting a standing ovation at the Kraft Nabisco. It was nice to see that she had nothing to hide and didn't pretend. I've been fighting this negative connotation of an alternative lifestyle. It's not a choice; it's who you are--about not having to deny anything but to celebrate who you are." Olivia, a privately owned San Francisco-based company, projects sales of more than $20 million this year, tripling its revenues from three years ago, the newspaper reported.