At 70, Chris Evert reflects on a life shaped by purpose and meaning

Certain milestones bring a degree of dread. Seven decades is a big one.

The other day, with a reporter gingerly stepping around a direct reference, Chris Evert lost patience and interjected: “You can say it. You can say 70. It’s OK. You deal with what you have to deal with, try to find joy and meaning in every decade.”

She was a teenager when she arrived in professional tennis and changed it forever. More than a half-century later, after winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles from the baseline, carving out an impressive career as the mother of three sons, an astute commentator for ESPN, the face of the Evert Tennis Academy, a two-time cancer survivor and an increasingly passionate proponent of early cancer detection, Christine Marie Evert arrives at 70 on Dec. 21.

And now there’s a new item on her resume: grandmother. Seven months ago, Hayden Mill -- born to her son Nicholas and wife Rebecca -- came into the world. According to Evert, he’s a carbon copy of his father at that age.

“Nothing beats having a child,” she said, “but there’s a double sense of joy in the sense that you’re celebrating your son being a father and celebrating this little child.”

To be fair, Evert said she’s struggling with cutting-edge child-rearing techniques, like baby-led weaning -- big people food at six months, resulting in avocados, fruit and cereal all over hands, hair -- everything.

“Mom,” Nicky told her, “they’re doing everything differently nowadays.”

Shaping the image of women’s tennis

It’s difficult to reconcile this bemused, wise-cracking, worldly woman who wielded a wooden racquet, wore snazzy dresses, hoop earrings and ribbons in her hair as a teenager.

Let Billie Jean King, the leading pioneer of women’s professional tennis, provide a little perspective.

“You know what Caitlin Clark did this year for women’s basketball -- actually, just basketball, period?” King asked. “Chrissie did that for tennis in 1971. I was there, so I can tell you all about it.”

Evert won 30 of 32 matches that year, losing to King in the US Open semifinals. Evert was just 16.

“I had to have a meeting with the older players and told them to shape up,” King said. “I said, `She’ll put money in your pocket. Guys, she’s our next superstar.’

“To this day, she’s the only player, man or woman, who won 90 percent of her career matches.”

Said Evert: “The culture at that time was that women athletes were frowned upon. They were strong. That was everything the culture dictated that a woman wasn’t. I came along, a teenager who was trying to be feminine. I wasn’t a Billie Jean King or Martina Navratilova with these big messages, but after I showed up it was OK. `Oh, those are beautiful tennis dresses and those are pretty ribbons. She wears nail polish.’

“I think that was my impact, making it OK for young girls and women to be athletes, bringing along a whole new generation.”

Evert’s influence extended beyond the court. As her star power grew, so did her responsibilities in shaping the sport’s future. Fifty years ago, King approached Evert and delivered this proposition:

“Chrissie, I’m WTA president for one more year and I want you to be vice president so you can learn the ropes. Because next year you’re going to be president.”- 

Evert’s response: “Who, me? Are you kidding me?”

King explained her reasoning, saying the global media -- so critical to the growth of a fledgling professional sport -- wasn’t interested in talking to the No.100- or No.200-ranked players in the world. They only wanted to know what the top players were thinking.

Evert said, “I’m not doing that.”

King responded, “You have to do this. And do you know how many years she served as our president?”

Eleven years, 1975-76 and 1983-91.

“I didn’t know anything about business and tennis, sponsorships, how to create a tournament,” Evert said. “But then I started to get it. I saw the attention I was getting from the press. I knew it had to be done. I figured, maybe these issues will get out there a little bit easier -- and maybe I need to study up on these issues.”

Eventually, public speaking, running a meeting, Robert's Rules of Order all became second nature. And the WTA flourished. Two years before helping to create the WTA in 1973, King was the first female athlete to surpass $100,000 in prize money for a single year. Five years later, Evert was the first to clear $1 million for her career. In 1982, Navratilova was the first to win more than $1 million in a single year.

Speaking out, saving lives

Evert was first diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer in January 2022, less than two years after younger sister Jeanne died from it. 

After surgery, doctors were confident, telling Evert there was a 94-percent chance it would not return. And yet, in December 2023, it did.

“It really does change your mindset,” Evert said. “What am I going to do today? I’m going to be disciplined and do something new. I’m going to keep in touch with my loved ones. You begin to understand that it can all be taken away from you at any point.”

According to Pam Shriver, a longtime close friend, there’s a lot of emotion attached to this 70^th birthday.

“Not surprising, based on what she’s been through the last several years,” Shriver said. “Losing her younger sister and then to get the same cancer twice -- that’s a lot to process.  And then for Martina [Navratilova] to face breast and throat cancer … I sent Martina a birthday message in October and her feedback was something along the lines of `Happy to have another one.’ ”

Evert feels the same way.

“Martina says it like it is,” Evert said. “She’s my partner in all this. Warriors in the storm, we’re doing this together. I actually just had a CT scan yesterday, and it was all good, everything negative. Every three months it’s mandatory -- my life’s broken down into three-month periods.”

Once again, Evert and Navratilova have been drawn together. They played 80 matches as professionals -- 60 of them championship finals -- with Navratilova holding a 43-37 edge. It seems appropriate they both finished with the same number of major singles titles.

“I think their rivalry is the best ever in the history of sports, not just tennis,” King said. “If they were two guys, we’d still be hearing about it all the time.”

As it turns out, you’ll be hearing a lot more about their evolving relationship this June when a feature-length documentary drops.

“The last year we’ve been huddled together, hunkered down, peas in a pod, talking about everything and anything about ourselves, our lives, our upbringing,” Navratilova said. “It’s been really interesting.”

They came from radically different backgrounds -- Evert the child of a tennis coach in south Florida, Navratilova, who ultimately defected from Czechoslovakia and its oppressive regime. Navratilova, who came out early as gay, was never afraid to share her thoughts. Evert typically kept things buttoned up.

“My nature is one of keeping things inside, not being overly opinionated,” Evert said. “My mother used to call me the peacemaker, because I could always see both sides. That’s really good -- and not good. Because it prevents you from taking stands … on the other hand, I listened.

“With the cancer, I dropped my defenses and it made me more humble. I think speaking out -- I have ovarian cancer, I believe in genetic testing, I think you need to be your own advocate -- I just think the curtain opened as soon as that happened.”

Navratilova agrees.

“The thing that strikes me is just how open she is now,” Navratilova said. “She always had a strong shell -- because of her Catholic upbringing and always wanting to please her parents. I think she’s really come into her own as a person. It’s `I don’t give a sh-- anymore. I’m going to do what feels right while still taking care of my family and giving them everything I can.’ She’s not so guarded.

“Talking about your cancer means you are saving lives. It’s a brave thing to do. It’s easier to stay silent and just hope for the best. When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I kept it quiet because I wanted to know exactly what I needed to do. And then once I knew, then I went public. With Chris, she was much more public during the treatment.”

Evert admits that today she cares a lot less what people on the outside think. But back then, she believes it helped channel her focus amid the rigors of professional tennis. 

“Martina just let it out when she was younger,” Evert said. “I’ve said to her, `You’re so guarded now.’ So she’s come over to my side and I’ve crossed over to hers -- and we’re meeting in the middle.”

A style that shifted the sport

In discussing Evert’s legacy, both Navratilova and Shriver highlighted her trademark two-handed backhand.

“I feel like Chrissie’s two-hander really influenced tennis,” Shriver said. “Prior to that, the one-handed backhand was the thing and now the two-handed backhand is the thing and the one-handed backhand, especially in the women’s game, is the total exception. 

So she affected the game in a way very few champions have.”

Added Navratilova, “And then Bjorn Borg comes along two years later and he made it OK for boys to use two hands. She totally revolutionized the game. I think Bjorn would have taken it to that level, but Chris was there first. That definitely made tennis more accessible.”

So where did that two-hander come from exactly? When Evert started playing at the age of 6, the only available raquets were for adults. Even with the lightest models and the smallest grips, Evert couldn’t consistently hit a decent backhand.

“Just for survival reasons, I would use two hands,” Evert said. “My dad [Jim] tried to break me of it, but when he saw that I couldn’t, he said, `We’ll wait until you’re like 11.’ 

“But that never happened.”

A legacy that transcends generations

Shriver argues that Evert’s on and off-court contributions are comparable. 

“To me, a great champion gets elevated more by what they give back to the sport that’s given them so much” Shriver said. “She’s right up there with the best in any sport.”

Back in October, Evert gave Navratilova a tennis bracelet, of all things, for her 68^th birthday. Navratilova will return the favor, but we won’t reveal the nature of her gift. They are still inexorably intertwined, yet their bond grows even tighter with time.

“Women in America were not supposed to do sports back then,” Navratilova said. “Like, `You’re a girl, so you shouldn’t be doing that. You should just be a cheerleader.’ We did not have that in Europe at all.

“Chris broke on the scene in 1971 at the US Open. She was very girly, girl. She wasn’t trying to be more girly, that’s just who she was. And so, it’s OK to be an athlete and be great -- and still be girly. She definitely brought new fans and young athletes to the sport.”