One of tennis’ transcendent figures, Martina Navratilova can still command an audience. Even so, she wasn’t exactly the most prominent American speaking in Germany on Thursday.

“I’m in the same town as President Obama, but have nothing to do with him here. He’s having dinner with (Chancellor) Angela Merkel and I’m in my hotel room eating room service,” Navratilova said with a laugh.

Navratilova gave a speech at a women’s college earlier in the day and took some time before heading home to Florida for phone interviews to the other side of the globe to help promote the Fed Cup’s return to Hawaii in February.

Still connected to tennis as a commentator, the Hall of Famer remains an authoritative voice and noted Hawaii’s growing role in the sport as a Fed Cup host for the second straight year.

A year after the U.S. swept Poland in Kailua-Kona, Maui’s Royal Lahaina Resort will play host to a meeting between the U.S. and Germany in the Fed Cup World Group First Round on Feb. 11-12.

The Women’s Tennis Association will also play its first event in Hawaii next week when the Hawaii Tennis Open is held at Central Oahu Regional Park.

“It’s nice to have Hawaii involved in tennis because they’ve really been on the short end of the stick when it comes to professional tennis overall,” said Navratilova, who sometimes trained in Hawaii on her way to the Australian Open during her reign atop the sport.

“It could be a thing in the future to be able to set it (in Hawaii) on a more permanent basis. I think the players would enjoy it, especially at that time of the year when it’s on the way from Australia. … You can use it as a mini-vacation, a training camp and then you play Fed Cup. It’s as good as it gets.”

Tucked into a glittering resume highlighted by 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record nine at Wimbledon, and 332 weeks atop the world rankings starting in 1978 are three Fed Cup titles as a six-time member of the U.S. team.

She played in her first Fed Cup in 1975 and helped Czechoslovakia claim its first title with a win over Australia in the final.

Later that year, the 18-year-old famously defected to the U.S. after losing in the U.S. Open semifinals.

She became a U.S. citizen in 1981 and played on her first U.S. Fed Cup team the following year, contributing to a win over Germany in the final in California.

“That’s as cool as it gets,” Navratilova said. “To play on the team with Pam Shriver and Chris Evert and play at home and to win … it was an amazing experience, no doubt. That was one of the special ones.

“Then going back in ’86 going to Czechoslovakia, to play for America in front of Czech people, it was pretty mind-blowing,” she recalled of the U.S. win in Prague.

Navratilova went 20-0 in singles (15-0 for the U.S.) and 20-1 in doubles (16-1) in a Fed Cup career that stretched into 2004.

“It’s nice for a whole week to have that sense of camaraderie and being on a whole team because tennis is such an individual sport,” Navratilova said. “It’s still an individual match that you’re playing, but your teammates are there cheering you on and they really mean it. It’s very cool.”

As for the U.S. first-round matchup with Germany, an outlook is tough to formulate until the playing rosters are finalized, but Germany is expected to be led by world No. 1 Angelique Kerber, who replaced Serena Williams in the top spot with her U.S. Open victory.

Madison Keys, ranked eighth in the world, is projected to play for the U.S. as the leading figure of U.S. tennis’ next wave.

“You can’t ask anybody to fill Serena’s shoes, but Madison is certainly improving on a daily basis and could be the next standard-bearer for American tennis,” Navratilova said.

Navratilova, who turned 60 last month, keeps busy traveling and raising a family, including two daughters who haven’t quite taken to tennis with the same verve, “and that’s OK as long as they have fun and do what they love,” she said.

She also remains an advocate for various causes, including the LGBT community, and her voice remains one that resonates.

“I’ve been an activist for a long time now. I think I came out of the womb being an activist just by being outspoken,” Navratilova said. “Especially in light of our election I think it’s very important for us to keep speaking out and maybe do more than just speaking.”

Fed Cup tickets on sale

Two-day packages for the Fed Cup go on sale to the general public today starting at 10 a.m.

Single-day tickets, if available, will be sold starting Jan. 6.

Tickets may be purchased at usta.com/fedcup or by calling 888-334-8782.