Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert, known as Chris Evert-Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles. She was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981. Overall Evert won 157 singles championships and 32 doubles titles...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth21 December 1954
CityFort Lauderdale, FL
CountryUnited States of America
Relationships are give-and-take, and when you're a tennis player, you're certainly not giving. You have to be self-absorbed. It has to be about you.
When I was in grade school and we had to write papers about what we wanted to be when we grew up, I wanted to be a social worker or a missionary or a teacher. Then I got involved with tennis, and everything was just me, me, me. I was totally selfish and thought about myself and nobody else, because if you let up for one minute, someone was going to come along and beat you. I really wouldn't let anyone or any slice of happiness enter.... I didn't like the characteristics that it took to become a champion.
Being famous before you've formed your personality, before you have that self-esteem, is dangerous.
To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.
Every time I played a pro from then on, I never felt intimidated or felt like there was such a big gap. I always felt like there's no pressure.
Even though there are a lot of bright tennis players out there, you still have to protect yourself and save all your mental and emotional energies for tennis.
Billie Jean and I have a very special relationship. We were perceived as different in the beginning, but now we laugh because we are very much alike. We're strong, we're stubborn. In a lot of ways free spirits, open-minded.
She's great for the game. She has that combination of glamour and hard work ethic, ... I think her motives are pure as far as, it means more to her to win tennis tournaments than to be on the cover of a magazine.
My first U.S. Open I think was just very special for me because that was sort of the beginning of what was a 'Cinderella' story for me.
Without getting into it, just that I'm not as goody two-shoes as people think. I'm a normal woman. I've dated a lot of guys, I've had a few drinks, I've cursed, I've been rude to my parents.
If you're a champion, you have to have it in your heart. You can have the greatest coaches in the world, all the opportunities to play, and the greatest equipment, but if you don't have it inside, you're not going to make it. On the other hand, if you don't have any of those luxuries but you have heart and courage and the guts to go out there and grind it out, then you'll make it.
You pay a price for everything in life.
I love hiking in the mountains in Aspen. Breathing the clean, fresh air is great. Plus, it gives me a cardiovascular workout and firms my legs.
I still have this image: I can't be controversial, I can't say things.