#Chris Evert

[cocopufffss]

rainbow of tennis outfits

[adreciclarte4]

Chris Evert by Tony Triolo, 1972

[dozydawn]

[tennisarchive]

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova - 1978 Wimbledon Final

[julie-finlay]

"Tennis, Anyone?"

"I think a lot of us, 'cause we've been hearing so much about how much Lisa can play tennis, until we got to actually see her play tennis we didn't really believe her. But she is an amazing tennis player, and she couldn't get any more props from any of the pros." - Brad Tanenbaum

[transpondster]

They dressed side by side. They waited together, sometimes ate together and entered the arena together. Then they would play a match that seemed like a personal cross-examination, running each other headlong into emotional confessions, concessions. And afterward they would return to that small room of two, where they showered and changed, observing with sidelong glances the other’s triumphalism or tears, states beyond mere bare skin. No one else could possibly understand it. Except for the other. “She knew me better than I knew me,” Navratilova says. They have known each other for 50 years now, outlasting most marriages. Aside from blood kin, Navratilova points out, “I’ve known Chris longer than anybody else in my life, and so it is for her.” Lately, they have never been closer — a fact they refuse to cheapen with sentimentality. “It’s been up and down, the friendship,” Evert says. At the ages of 68 and 66, respectively, Evert and Navratilova have found themselves more intertwined than ever, by an unwelcome factor. You want to meet an opponent who draws you nearer in mutual understanding? Try having cancer at the same time. “It was like, are you kidding me?” Evert says.

[sheilaevert]

Monstrous forehand !

[wadecountyy]

[tennislive]

[arh1951]

[jaynedolluk]

Saw Gods of Tennis a 3 part documentary on BBC. (I think it's still up on i-player). It was an interesting look at tennis in the late 60s/early 70s up to the early 80s with each episode concentrating on a different pairing. So you had Billie Jean King/Arthur Ashe, Martina Navratilova/Chris Evert and my personal favourite, Bjorn Borg/John McEnroe. I'm not normally remotely interested in any kind of sport/sportsperson but I used to have a huge crush on John McEnroe + I remember when he won Wimbledon for the 1st time against Bjorn Borg. But it did also go into the general background of the game at the time + how it was changing + tennis players became big sporting celebrities.

[dozydawn]

[butw0rldenough]

Burt Reynolds and Chris Evert, 1977.

[rookrolled]

Chris Evert - US Open 1971

Chris Evert made her Grand Slam debut at the 1971 US Open, where she lost to Billie Jean King in the semifinals. Evert was 16 years old at the time, making her the youngest semifinalist in US Open history.

You may notice the Open was played on grass at the time of these photographs. Per u/81Ranger, the U.S. Opem was played on grass from 1881-1974. The poor conditions of the grass, particularly at the end of the tournament, resulted in a switch. Next, the US Open was played on clay from 1975-1977. This was a green clay known as Har Tru that is still often seen in the south. From 1978 onward it moved to Flushing Meadows and the hard courts it's become known for.

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