Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time,[by whom?] she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 260 weeks (fourth-most of all time), and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.[3] Evert won 157 singles titles, including 18 majors (among which a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record six US Open titles). Alongside Martina Navratilova, her greatest rival, Evert dominated women's tennis from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.
In singles, Evert reached the semifinals or better in 52 of the 56 majors she played, including at 34 consecutive majors entered from the 1971 US Open through the 1983 French Open.[4] She never lost in the first or second round of a major, and lost in the third round only twice. Evert holds the record of most consecutive years (13) of winning at least one major title,[5] and contested an all-time record 34 major women's singles finals.[6] Evert's career winning percentage in singles matches of 89.97% (1309–146) is the second highest in the Open Era, for men or women.[7][8][9] On clay courts, Evert's career winning percentage in singles matches of 94.55% (382–22) remains a WTA Tour record. She also won three major doubles titles, two partnering Navratilova and one with Olga Morozova.
Evert served as president of the Women's Tennis Association for eleven years, 1975–76 and 1983–91. She was awarded the Philippe Chatrier award and inducted into the Hall of Fame. In later life, Evert was a coach and is now an analyst for ESPN, and has a line of tennis and active apparel.
Evert's father was a professional tennis coach, and tennis was a way of life in his family. Chris and her sister Jeanne became professional tennis players; their brother John played tennis on scholarship at the University of Alabama and later at Vanderbilt University, and brother Drew had a tennis scholarship to Auburn University. Youngest sister Clare played scholarship tennis at Southern Methodist University. Chris, John, Jeanne, and Clare, all won titles at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in Florida.[citation needed]
Evert began taking tennis lessons from her father Jimmy Evert when she was five years old. He was a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947. By 1969, she had become the No. 1 ranked under-14 girl in the United States. Evert played her first senior tournament in that year also, reaching the semifinals in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, losing to Mary-Ann Eisel in three sets.[13] For years, this was the record for the furthest a player had reached in her first senior-level tournament.[citation needed] That record was broken when another Floridian, Jennifer Capriati, reached the final at Boca Raton in 1990. In 1970, Evert won the national 16-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight-player clay-court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15-year-old Evert defeated Françoise Dürr in the first round in straight sets before defeating Margaret Court 7–6, 7–6 in a semifinal. Court was the world No. 1 player and had just won the Grand Slam in singles. These results led to Evert's selection for the U.S. Wightman Cup team as the youngest player ever in the competition.[14]
Evert made her Grand Slam tournament debut at age 16 at the 1971 US Open; she received an invitation after winning the national 16-and-under championship. After an easy straight-sets win over Edda Buding in the first round, she faced the American No. 4, Mary-Ann Eisel in the second round. With Eisel serving at 6–4, 6–5 (40–0) in the second set, Evert saved six match points before going on to win 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. She made two further comebacks from a set down, against fifth seed Dürr and Lesley Hunt, both seasoned professionals, before losing in straight sets to top seed Billie Jean King in a semifinal.[15] This defeat ended a 46-match winning streak built up through a variety of professional and junior tour events.[16]
In 1973, Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. A year later she won both those events during her then-record 55-consecutive-match winning streak, which included eight other tournament wins. She ended the year with a 100–7 match record, winning 16 tournaments including two Grand Slams, having been a finalist in her first Australian Open, and having for a fourth straight year reached the semifinals at the US Open. She was chosen as the year-end number one by the leading tennis experts and authorities of the day – except Bud Collins.[citation needed]
For the next five years, Evert was the world's No.1 player. In 1975 she won her second French Open and the first of four straight US Open titles by defeating Cawley in a three-set final. Also in November of that year, the official WTA computer ranking system was instituted, with Evert being the first No. 1. In total, Evert logged 260 weeks[a] at number one. Ten years after she had first achieved the number-one spot, she regained it in November 1985 at the age of 30 years and 11 months. That made her the oldest woman to have reached WTA number one, a record that stood for 27 years until Serena Williams surpassed it in 2013.[17]
Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis.[18] Throughout her career, Evert was ranked number one in the world at the end of seven different years by Tennis magazine, by World Tennis magazine and as well as a majority of other major tennis experts from 1974 through 1978, and in 1980 and 1981.[citation needed]
The 1976 season held a unique distinction for Evert, as this was the only time in her career where she won both Wimbledon and the US Open titles in the same year. She defeated Goolagong Cawley in a thrilling three-set final on grass and then dismantled her on clay at Forest Hills, losing just three games. However, Evert lost to Goolagong Cawley again in the final of the Virginia Slims Championships.[19] In all, Evert won 26 of 39 matches with Cawley. Evert's 1976 performance earned her Sports Illustrated's title of Sportsman of the Year. She is the first woman to be the sole recipient of this honor, and is one of only four tennis players to receive it.[20]
The years 1977 and 1978 saw Evert continue to dominate the women's game, winning two more US Opens. Evert won the final US Open played at Forest Hills on clay (1977) and the inaugural championship to be held on hard courts at Flushing Meadow (1978). She won 18 of 25 tournaments during this two-year period and had a match record of 126–7. Of particular note is that Evert skipped the French Open during these years (as well as 1976) to play in King's World TeamTennis. The other noteworthy event was Evert's three-set loss to eventual champion Wade in the semifinals of the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. It was Wimbledon's centenary year, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee as monarch.[21]
Though she was successful on all surfaces, it was on clay courts where Evert was most dominant. Beginning in August 1973, she won 125 consecutive matches on clay, losing only eight sets throughout; this run continues to stand as the benchmark among both men and women players.[22] The streak was broken on May 12, 1979, in a semifinal of the Italian Open when Evert lost to Tracy Austin in a third-set tiebreaker. Evert said after the match, "Not having the record will take some pressure off me, but I am not glad to have lost it." Evert rebounded with another clay court streak that reached 64 matches (including titles at the 1979 and 1980 French Open) before ending with a semifinal loss to eventual winner Hana Mandlíková at the 1981 French Open (a record of 189 victories in 191 matches on clay from 1973 to 1981).[citation needed]
Evert's record of seven French Open singles titles stood for 27 years until being broken in June 2013 by Rafael Nadal. She still holds the French Open singles title record for female players. Evert held the record for most clay court Grand Slam titles (10, with seven French Opens and all three US Opens played on clay in 1975–77) before Nadal won his 11th French Open championship in 2018.[23] Three of her victories came in three-set finals against Navratilova. In 1975, Evert defeated Navratilova 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 to defend her title from the previous year. In 1985, Evert prevailed 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, a win that saw her capture the world No. 1 computer ranking for the fifth and final time.[citation needed]
Evert won at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986.[24] During this period, Evert did not participate in the Australian Opens held from 1975 to 1980 and in 1983, or the French Opens from 1976 to 1978. The reasons for Evert's non-participation in the Australian Open during the years of her greatest dominance (she was ranked No.1 in the world five of the six years she was absent from the event between 1975 and 1980) was the relative decline in the status of this Grand Slam tournament during that period. Evert's absence from the French Open in 1976, 1977 and 1978 reflected the allure of World TeamTennis and the generally lesser significance that the top players attached to the traditional Slam events in the early years of the professional era. During this period of dominance (1975–80), she skipped ten Grand Slam tournaments.[citation needed]
Between September 1971 (her Grand Slam debut at the US Open) and June 1983 (her 12th visit to the Wimbledon Championships), Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. This string, however, was broken in the third round at Wimbledon in 1983 when the All England Club refused Evert's request to delay her match with Kathy Jordan to recover from food poisoning. This defeat also ended her attempt to be the holder of all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, as Evert was then holder of the '82 Australian, U.S., and the '83 French titles. In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Evert fell short of the semifinals a mere four times (1983 Wimbledon 3rd round; 1987 US Open quarterfinal; 1988 French Open 3rd round; 1989 US Open quarterfinal).[citation needed]
In total, of the record 34 Grand Slam finals reached, Evert won 18 Grand Slam singles titles: seven at the French Open (record for female), six at the US Open (an open era record, male or female, tied with Serena Williams), three at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open (both on grass). In addition, Evert won three Grand Slam doubles titles.[citation needed]
Evert played a reduced schedule in 1989 and retired from the professional tour after the US Open.[25][26] Upon her retirement, she had amassed 18 Grand Slam singles titles (at the time, an Open Era record, male or female), won 157 singles titles (at the time, the record for male or female) and 32 doubles titles.[27] Evert won the WTA Tour Championships four times and helped the United States win the Fed Cup eight times. Evert's last match was a 6–3, 6–2 win over Conchita Martínez in the final of the 1989 Fed Cup.[citation needed]
In 1995, she was the fourth player ever to be unanimously elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame following a worldwide ballot of 185 sports journalists. In 1997, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) presented her with its highest accolade – the Philippe Chatrier Award – for her contributions to tennis, whilst 1999 saw Evert rated No. 50 among ESPN's Greatest North American athletes of the 20th century.[18][30] In 2005, Tennis named her fourth on its list of 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis era.[31]
In 2012, Tennis Channel conducted a poll of players and experts to determine the 100 Greatest Players of all time, in which Evert ranked ninth overall, and fourth highest among women (finishing behind Graf, Navratilova, and Court in that order.) In June 2013, Evert was awarded a special merit from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They presented her their gold ring in recognition of her outstanding achievements both on and off the tennis court.[citation needed]
Playing style
Evert was a baseline player who is credited with revolutionizing the sport of tennis. She was known for her consistent, counterpunching game, with her being described retrospectively by the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a "human backboard".[32] Evert was one of the first players to play exclusively from the baseline, typically approaching the net to retrieve short balls only; towards the end of her career, however, Evert would approach the net to end points more frequently. Evert's forehand was hit flat, with consistent depth and power, penetrating deep into the court; towards the end of her career with the development of graphite technology, she would begin to apply more topspin to her forehand. Evert was one of the first women who successfully used a double-handed backhand on the WTA tour, which did not have the extra reach that a one-handed backhand afforded, but did provide power and consistency that was previously unseen on the tour, and would later become the norm for female tennis players.
Evert would not typically hit large numbers of winners, instead predicating her game on the retrieval of balls with devastating accuracy, and keeping unforced errors to a minimum. Evert did not possess a powerful serve, however, it was reliable and accurate. Evert possessed delicate touch, and had one of the most effective drop shots at the time. Playing in an era where serve and volleying was the dominant style of play, Evert was able to hit difficult passing shots with ease, pushing her opponents behind the baseline, and preventing them from rushing the net. Evert's greatest strengths on court were her speed, detailed footwork, court coverage, fitness, consistency, and mental fortitude. Despite having success on all surfaces, Evert's favorite surface was clay, where the high bounce and slower speed afforded by the surface allowed her to execute her measured, defensive style of play with tremendous success; this is highlighted by her career 382–22 (94.6%) winning record on the surface.[33] Due to her composure, mental toughness, and elegant style of play, Evert was known as the "Ice Princess".[34]
In the 1970s, Evert's romance with the top men's player Jimmy Connors captured the public's imagination, particularly after they both won the 1974 singles titles at Wimbledon. Evert and Connors also occasionally played mixed doubles together. They became engaged when she was 19 and a wedding was planned for November 8, 1974. The romance did not last, and the wedding was called off. In May 2013, Connors wrote in his autobiography that Evert was pregnant with their child and she decided to terminate the pregnancy. Evert replied that she was "extremely disappointed that he [Connors] used the book to misrepresent a private matter".[36][37][38]
While playing a match at the 1978 US Open, a diamond line bracelet Evert was wearing, given to her by Connors, fell from her wrist to the surface of the court.[39][40] She said about this, "I dropped my tennis bracelet", and since then diamond line bracelets have also been called "tennis bracelets".[39][41]
In 1979, Evert married British tennis player John Lloyd and changed her name to Chris Evert Lloyd. After her affair with British singer and actor Adam Faith, the couple separated,[42][43][44] but reconciled and chronicled their marriage in a biography Lloyd On Lloyd co-authored by Carol Thatcher.[45] The couple divorced in April 1987.[46]
In 1988, Evert married American downhill skier Andy Mill, who had been introduced to her by Martina Navratilova. They have three sons. On November 13, 2006, Evert filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized on December 4, 2006, with Evert paying Mill a settlement of US$7 million in cash and securities.[47]
On June 28, 2008, Evert married her third husband, Australian golfer Greg Norman in the Bahamas.[48] On October 2, 2009, they announced they were separating after 15 months. Their divorce was finalized on December 8, 2009.[49][50]
In 2021, Evert became a supporter of the new Women's Sports Policy Working Group,[51] formed in opposition to President Joe Biden's executive order that mandates blanket inclusion for all transgender female athletes.[52]
Evert's sister, Jeanne, died of ovarian cancer following a two-year illness. Chris Evert underwent a preventive hysterectomy after learning she carried the BRCA gene mutation. Cancer was uncovered in her resected fallopian tubes in 2022.[53][54] In May 2022, it was reported that Evert had completed chemotherapy treatment for her ovarian cancer. She stated her doctor told her there was a 90% chance the cancer would never return due to it being diagnosed early. [55] In December 2023, she announced she had been diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer and is undergoing treatment again. [56][57]
Current work
Evert owns the Evert Tennis Academy with her brother John in Boca Raton, Florida and helps coach the Saint Andrew's School's high school tennis team. She contributes to Tennis magazine, of which she is also publisher. In June 2011, she joined ESPN as a tennis commentator for Grand Slam tournaments. In 2015, she launched a line of tennis and active apparel in collaboration with Tail Activewear called Chrissie by Tail.[58] She was also a member of the Athlete Advisory Committee for the 2019 Aurora Games.[59]
On June 10, 2023, Evert presented the 2023 Women's French Open Singles tournament trophy to Iga Świątek at Roland-Garros. Evert had won one of her own seven French Open titles forty years earlier in 1983.[60]
↑ Evert's last major appearance was at the 1989 US Open, at which time she was ranked world No. 4. She followed this with a 4–0 record at the 1989 Federation Cup in October.
Records
These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
Records in bold indicate peerless achievements.
As Evert elected not to participate in a number of Grand Slam tournaments, the term "consecutive" is inexact. In 19 seasons of professional tennis, Evert competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year only six times.
Time span
Selected Grand Slam tournament records
Players matched
1973 French Open — 1988 Australian Open
34 finals overall
Stands alone
1971 US Open — 1983 French Open
34 consecutive semifinals in tournaments played*[b]
↑ Evert's consecutive Grand Slam semifinals record was attained in non-consecutive Grand Slam tournaments; she skipped 14 Grand Slam tournaments during her streak. Martina Navratilova holds the all-time consecutive Grand Slam semifinals record at 18.
1 2 3 4 Evert reached the semifinals or better in her first 6 Australian Opens, 12 French Opens, 11 Wimbledon Championships, and 16 US Opens. All-time record for both male and female players.
↑ This is the all-time record for consecutive match victories on a single surface for both male and female players.
References
↑ "Chris Evert 1980-1989". Florida Memory: State Library and Archives of Florida. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
Howard, Johnette (2006). The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova: Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship. New York: Broadway. ISBN0-7679-1885-1.
Wind, Herbert Warren (October 13, 1986). "The Sporting Scene: Mainly about Chris Evert Lloyd". The New Yorker. Vol.62, no.34. pp.117–145.
External links
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— Evonne Goolagong Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Tracy Austin Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
World No. 1 November 3, 1975 – April 26, 1976 May 10, 1976 – July 9, 1978 January 14, 1979 – January 27, 1979 February 25, 1979 – April 15, 1979 June 25, 1979 – September 9, 1979 November 18, 1980 – May 2, 1982 May 17, 1982 – June 13, 1982 June 10, 1985 – October 13, 1985 October 28, 1985 – November 24, 1985
Succeededby
Evonne Goolagong Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
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