Chris Evert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chris Evert

Evert in the 1980s
Full name	Christine Marie Evert
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
Born	(1954-12-21) December 21, 1954 (age 70) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro	1972
Retired	1989
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Jimmy Evert Dennis Ralston
Prize money	$8,895,195
Int. Tennis HoF	1995 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1309–146 (90%)
Career titles	157
Highest ranking	No. 1 (November 3, 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1982, 1984)
French Open	W (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986)
Wimbledon	W (1974, 1976, 1981)
US Open	W (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977)
Olympic Games	3R (1988)
Doubles
Career record	117–39 (75%)
Career titles	32
Highest ranking	No. 13 (September 12, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1988)
French Open	W (1974, 1975)
Wimbledon	W (1976)
US Open	SF (1973, 1975, 1979)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989)

Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), often called Chris Evert, is a famous American former professional tennis player. She is known as one of the most successful tennis players of all time. Chris Evert was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles for 260 weeks. This is the fourth-longest time any player has held that spot. She also finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.

Evert won 157 singles titles during her career. This includes 18 major championships, also known as Grand Slams. She holds the record for seven French Open titles and shares the record for six US Open titles. Chris Evert and her biggest rival, Martina Navratilova, were the top players in women's tennis from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

In singles matches, Evert reached the semifinals or better in 52 out of 56 Grand Slam tournaments she played. She never lost in the first or second round of a major tournament. Evert holds the record for winning at least one major title for 13 years in a row. She also played in a record 34 major women's singles finals. Her career winning percentage in singles matches is 89.97% (1309 wins and 146 losses). This is the second highest in the Open Era for both men and women. On clay courts, her winning percentage of 94.55% (382 wins and 22 losses) is still a WTA Tour record. She also won three major doubles titles.

After her playing career, Evert served as president of the Women's Tennis Association for eleven years. She was honored with the Philippe Chatrier award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Today, Chris Evert works as a tennis analyst for ESPN. She also has her own line of tennis and active clothing.

Early Life and Family Background

Chris Evert was born in 1954 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her parents were Colette and Jimmy Evert. She grew up in a Catholic family. Chris graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale in 1973.

Her father, Jimmy Evert, was a professional tennis coach. Tennis was a big part of their family life. Chris and her sister Jeanne both became professional tennis players.

Chris Evert's Tennis Career

Chris Evert started learning tennis from her father when she was five years old. Her father was a professional tennis coach who had won the Canadian Championships in 1947. By 1969, Chris was the top-ranked girl under 14 in the United States.

She played in her first senior tournament that same year in her hometown. She reached the semifinals, which was a record for a player in their first senior event for many years. In 1970, Evert won the national 16-and-under championship. She was then invited to play in a clay-court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15-year-old Evert surprised everyone by defeating Margaret Court, who was the world No. 1 player at the time. These wins led to Evert being chosen for the U.S. Wightman Cup team. She was the youngest player ever to join the team.

Evert made her Grand Slam debut at age 16 at the 1971 US Open. She received an invitation after winning the national 16-and-under championship. In the second round, she faced Mary-Ann Eisel and saved six match points before winning the match. She continued to make amazing comebacks in later rounds. Her journey ended in the semifinals, where she lost to top seed Billie Jean King. This loss ended a 46-match winning streak for Evert.

In 1973, Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon. A year later, in 1974, she won both of these major tournaments. This was part of her record-setting 55-match winning streak. She finished 1974 with an impressive 100 wins and only 7 losses. She won 16 tournaments that year, including two Grand Slams. Many tennis experts named her the year-end number one player.

For the next five years, Chris 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. In November 1975, the official WTA computer ranking system began, and Evert was the first player to be ranked No. 1. She spent a total of 260 weeks at the number one spot. Ten years later, in November 1985, she became No. 1 again at 30 years old. This made her the oldest woman to reach WTA number one at the time.

Evert's strong play and calm attitude on the court earned her the nickname "Ice Maiden." She was ranked number one in the world at the end of seven different years by leading tennis magazines and experts.

The 1976 season was special for Evert. It was the only time in her career that she won both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. She won against Evonne Goolagong Cawley in a close match at Wimbledon. Then she beat her again at the US Open. Evert's performance in 1976 earned her the title of Sportsman of the Year from Sports Illustrated magazine. She was the first woman to receive this honor by herself.

In 1977 and 1978, Evert continued to be a dominant force in women's tennis. She won two more US Open titles. She won the last US Open played on clay in 1977 and the first one played on hard courts in 1978. During these two years, she won 18 out of 25 tournaments. She had an amazing record of 126 wins and only 7 losses. Evert did not play in the French Open during these years because she was playing in Billie Jean King's World TeamTennis.

Clay Court Dominance

Chris Evert was successful on all tennis surfaces, but she was especially good on clay courts. Starting in August 1973, she won 125 matches in a row on clay. This incredible streak is still a record for both men and women players. The streak ended on May 12, 1979, when she lost to Tracy Austin at the Italian Open. Evert said that losing the record took some pressure off her. She then started another clay court winning streak of 64 matches. This included winning the French Open in 1979 and 1980.

Evert's record of seven French Open singles titles was unmatched for 27 years. It was broken by Rafael Nadal in 2013. However, she still holds the record for the most French Open singles titles for female players. She also held the record for most clay court Grand Slam titles (10 total) before Nadal surpassed it.

Three of her French Open victories were in three-set finals against Martina Navratilova. In 1985, Evert won a tough match against Navratilova. This win helped her get back to the world No. 1 ranking for the fifth and final time.

Evert won at least one Grand Slam singles title every year for 13 years in a row, from 1974 to 1986. During this time, she sometimes chose not to play in the Australian Open or French Open. This was often because the importance of these tournaments changed over time.

Between 1971 and 1983, Evert always reached at least the semifinals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. This amazing streak ended at Wimbledon in 1983. In total, Evert reached a record 34 Grand Slam finals. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles: seven at the French Open, six at the US Open, three at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open. She also won three Grand Slam doubles titles.

Evert played fewer tournaments in 1989 and retired from professional tennis after the US Open. When she retired, she had won 18 Grand Slam singles titles. She also had 157 singles titles and 32 doubles titles. Evert won the WTA Tour Championships four times. She also helped the United States win the Fed Cup eight times. Her last match was a win over Conchita Martínez in the final of the 1989 Fed Cup.

Famous Rivalries

Chris Evert had many memorable matches against other top players. Her most famous rivalry was with Martina Navratilova. They played each other 80 times in singles, with Navratilova winning 43 matches and Evert winning 37. Their matches were always exciting and helped make women's tennis very popular.

Evert also had strong records against other great players. For example, she won 19 out of 26 matches against Billie Jean King. She also had a winning record against Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Awards and Recognitions

Chris Evert was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year four times. In 1976, she was the first female athlete to be the only person to receive Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportswoman of the Year" award. In 1985, the Women's Sports Foundation voted her the "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years." Evert was also president of the Women's Tennis Association for many years.

In 1995, she was chosen for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1997, she received the Philippe Chatrier Award for her contributions to tennis. In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked her fourth on its list of the 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis era. In 2012, Tennis Channel ranked Evert ninth overall among the 100 Greatest Players of all time.

Chris Evert's Playing Style

Chris Evert was a baseline player, meaning she usually stayed near the back of the court. She helped change how tennis was played. She was known for her very consistent game, often called a "human backboard" because she could hit almost every ball back. Evert rarely made mistakes.

She was one of the first players to use a two-handed backhand successfully. This shot gave her a lot of power and consistency. Her forehand was hit flat and deep into the court. While she didn't have a super powerful serve, it was very reliable and accurate. Evert also had a great drop shot, which is a soft shot that barely goes over the net.

In an era where many players would hit the ball and then run to the net, Evert was excellent at hitting passing shots. These shots would go past her opponents, keeping them at the back of the court. Her biggest strengths were her speed, quick footwork, ability to cover the court, fitness, consistency, and mental toughness.

Her favorite surface was clay. The high bounce and slower speed of clay courts allowed her to play her controlled, defensive style of tennis very well. This is why she had an amazing 382 wins and only 22 losses on clay. Because of her calm nature and elegant style, Evert was also known as the "Ice Princess."

Chris Evert's Personal Life

Before she won her first Grand Slam event, Chris Evert signed a contract with Puritan Fashions. They named a young racehorse "Chris Evert" in her honor. This horse went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown.

In the 1970s, Evert's relationship with top men's player Jimmy Connors was very popular. They both won the 1974 singles titles at Wimbledon. They were engaged for a time, but their wedding was called off.

While playing a match at the 1978 US Open, a diamond bracelet Evert was wearing fell off her wrist. She said, "I dropped my tennis bracelet." Since then, diamond line bracelets have also been called "tennis bracelets."

John Lloyd and Evert in Fort Lauderdale, circa 1978

In 1979, Evert married British tennis player John Lloyd and changed her name to Chris Evert Lloyd. They later divorced in 1987.

In 1988, Evert married American downhill skier Andy Mill. They had three sons together. They divorced in 2006.

On June 28, 2008, Evert married Australian golfer Greg Norman. They separated in October 2009 and their divorce was finalized in December 2009.

In 2022, Chris Evert shared that she had faced a health challenge and completed treatment. She announced in December 2023 that she was undergoing treatment again.

Chris Evert's Current Work

Chris Evert owns the Evert Tennis Academy with her brother John in Boca Raton, Florida. She also helps coach the high school tennis team at Saint Andrew's School. She writes for Tennis magazine and is also its 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 clothing called Chrissie by Tail.

On June 10, 2023, Chris Evert presented the trophy to Iga Świątek at the Women's French Open Singles tournament at Roland-Garros. Evert had won one of her own seven French Open titles forty years earlier in 1983.

Chris Evert's Career Statistics

Grand Slam Singles Performance

Chris Evert's Tennis Records

• These records were achieved during the Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold mean Chris Evert is the only player to have achieved them.

See also

In Spanish: Chris Evert para niños