Chris Evert Biography
Chris Evert was only sixteen when she made her debut at the US Open in 1971. She went on to the Semifinals, after fighting off six match points in the second round against Mary Ann Eisel, where she finally lost against Billie Jean King.
Chris Evert started playing tennis at age five, taking tennis lesson from her father, Jimmy Evert, who was a tennis coach. By age 15 she had defeated Margaret Court 7-6, 7-6 in the semifinals in North Carolina.
Chris was known for her two-handed backhand and her baseline game. That was pretty much her trademark and is still being copied. She was loved for her gracious appearance, quiet demeanor and gracious sportmanship and ultimately was known as “ice maiden” for that.
Evert reached the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1973, loosing against Margaret Court in Paris, and Billie Jean King in Wimbledon. She won both of those tournaments the next year in 1974, against Olga Morozova.
Then in the late 1970’s the Evert-Navratilova rivalry started, which continued all the way through the eighties.
She won a consecutive 125 matches on clay beginning in August 1973 and not ending until May 12, 1979, when she lost against Tracy Austin at the Italian open in three sets. After that lose, she won another 72 consecutive matches on clay again, until she lost in the semifinals of the French Open in 1981 against Hana Mandlikova.
Chris won seven French Open titles, the last two wins there, were against Martina Navratilova, both three set matches. In 1985, she won 6-3,6-7,7-5, which gave her the No.1 spot back for the last time. The next year she won 2-6,6-3,6-3, to win her last French Open and Grand Slam title.
Chris Evert retired in 1989, after winning 157 singles titles and 8 double titles. She also helped the US win the Federation Cup eight times, playing from 1977 until 1989. Chris won the French Open seven times, the US Open title six times, Wimbledon three times and the Australian Open twice. Evert won a total of $8,895,195 in prize money.
She also helped the US win the Federation Cup eight times, playing from 1977 until 1989. In 1995 she was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In April 1985, Chris was voted the “Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 years” by the Women’s Sports Foundation. In 2005, she was among the “40 Greatest Players in the Open TENNIS area”, named at number four by the TENNIS magazine.
After retiring, she started the Chris Evert Charities, that helps neglected and abused children. She founded and hosts the yearly Chris Evert-Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament, which already raised millions and millions of dollars.
