“I wasn’t a King or Navratilova” – Evert claims her impact was “making it ok for young girls to be athletes”
“The culture at that time was that women athletes were frowned upon… I came along, a teenager who was trying to be feminine”
Portrait of Chris Evert, 2018
Chris Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, turned 70 on Saturday (December 21). On the occasion, she recalled her arrival to the world of professional tennis in the year 1972.
Evert made a name for herself along with Martina Navratilova, her fiercest rival, after Billie Jean King’s efforts changed the landscape of women’s tennis. Moreover, not only did she champion tournaments across the globe, but also emerged as a style icon, meanwhile Navratilova fought against the gender norms of the world.
Thus, looking back at it all, Evert claimed in a chat with the WTA that her biggest contribution to tennis was about making fellow women athletes comfortable with their femininity.
“The culture at that time was that women athletes were frowned upon,” the former world No 1 said. “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.”
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