54 Facts About Chris Evert

Christine Marie Evert, known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No 1 tennis player.

Chris Evert was ranked world No 1 for 260 weeks, and was the year-end world No 1 singles player seven times.

Alongside Martina Navratilova, her greatest rival, Chris Evert dominated women's tennis in the 1970s and 1980s.

Chris Evert reached 34 major singles finals, the most in history.

In singles, Chris 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.

Chris Evert never lost in the first or second round of a major, and lost in the third round only twice.

Chris Evert holds the record of most consecutive years of winning at least one major title.

Chris Evert was awarded the Philippe Chatrier award and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In later life, Chris Evert was a coach and is an analyst for ESPN, and has a line of tennis and active apparel.

Chris Evert was born in 1954 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colette and Jimmy Chris Evert, and raised in a committed Catholic household.

Chris Evert is a 1973 graduate of St Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft.

Chris Evert's father was a professional tennis coach, and tennis was a way of life in his family.

Chris Evert began taking tennis lessons from her father Jimmy Chris Evert when she was five years old.

Chris Evert was a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947.

Chris Evert played her first senior tournament in that year, reaching the semifinals in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, losing to Mary-Ann Eisel in three sets.

In 1970, Chris Evert won the national 16-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight-player clay-court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Chris 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.

Chris Evert made two further comebacks from a set down, against fifth seed Durr and Lesley Hunt, both seasoned professionals, before losing to top seed Billie Jean King in a semifinal in straight sets.

In 1973, Chris Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships.

Chris Evert 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, Chris Evert lost to Goolagong Cawley again in the final of the Virginia Slims Championships.

The years 1977 and 1978 saw Chris Evert continue to dominate the women's game, winning two more US Opens, the final one played at Forest Hills on clay and the inaugural one on hard courts at Flushing Meadow.

Chris Evert held the record for most clay court Grand Slam titles before Nadal passed her with his 11th title at the 2018 French Open.

For Chris Evert, beating Navratilova in any Grand Slam represented beating the best player, which provided her with two of her most satisfying "final time" wins: The 1986 French Open, where at the age of 31 years, she won her last Grand Slam title defeating Navratilova in three sets and the 1988 Australian Open where she handily dispatched Navratilova in the semifinals in two sets to reach her 34th and last Grand Slam final at age 33.

Chris Evert won at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986.

Between September 1971 and June 1983, Chris Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered.

In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Chris Evert fell short of the semifinals a mere four times.

In total, of the record 34 Grand Slam finals reached, Chris Evert 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.

Chris Evert defeated Navratilova in the semifinals of the US Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open but lost to Navratilova in the semifinals of the US Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open.

Chris Evert played a reduced schedule in 1989 and retired from the professional tour after the US Open.

Chris Evert won the WTA Tour Championships four times and helped the United States win the Fed Cup eight times.

Chris Evert was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be Sports Illustrated magazine's sole recipient of "Sportswoman of the Year" award in 1976.

In 1997, the International Tennis Federation presented her with its highest accolade - the Philippe Chatrier Award - for her contributions to tennis, whilst 1999 saw Chris Evert rated No 50 among ESPN's Greatest North American athletes of the 20th century.

Chris Evert was awarded the International Club's prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2001.

Chris Evert was a baseline player, who is credited with revolutionising the sport of tennis.

Chris Evert was known for her consistent, counterpunching game, with her being described retrospectively by the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a "human backboard".

Chris 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 Chris Evert would approach the net to end points more frequently.

Chris 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.

Chris 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.

Chris Evert did not possess a powerful serve it was reliable and accurate.

Chris Evert possessed delicate touch, and had one of the most effective drop shots at the time.

The horse, "Chris Evert", went on to win the 1974 US Filly Triple Crown, be voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly, and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

In May 2013, Connors wrote in his autobiography that Chris Evert was pregnant with their child and she unilaterally decided to terminate the pregnancy.

Chris Evert replied that she was "extremely disappointed that he [Connors] used the book to misrepresent a private matter".

Chris Evert said about this, "I dropped my tennis bracelet", and since then diamond line bracelets have been called "tennis bracelets".

In 1988, Chris Evert married downhill skier Andy Mill, who had been introduced to her by Martina Navratilova.

The divorce was finalized on December 4,2006, with Chris Evert paying Mill a settlement of US $7 million in cash and securities.

On June 28,2008, Chris Evert married her third husband, Australian golfer Greg Norman in the Bahamas.

In 2021, Chris Evert became a supporter of the new Women's Sports Policy Working Group, formed in opposition to President Joe Biden's executive order that mandates blanket inclusion for all transgender female athletes.

Chris Evert underwent a preventative hysterectomy after learning she carried the BRCA gene mutation.

In May 2022, it was reported that Chris Evert had completed chemotherapy treatment for her ovarian cancer.

Chris Evert owns the Chris Evert Tennis Academy with her brother John in Boca Raton, Florida and helps coach the Saint Andrew's School's high school tennis team.

Chris Evert contributes to Tennis magazine, of which she is publisher.

Chris Evert was a member of the Athlete Advisory Committee for the 2019 Aurora Games.