- In full:
- Christine Marie Evert
- Also called (1979â87):
- Chris Evert Lloyd
- Born:
- Dec. 21, 1954, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., U.S. (age 71)
- On the Web:
- ESPN Classic - Evert: grit, grace and glamour (Nov. 07, 2026)
Chris Evert
News •
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Who is Chris Evert?
Chris Evert, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 21, 1954, is an iconic American tennis player who rose to prominence in the mid-1970s and remained a dominant force in the sport through the late 1980s. Known for her consistency, precision, poise, and grace, she popularized the two-handed backhand stroke.
Evert's career highlights include multiple victories at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Her rivalry with Martina Navratilova is considered one of the greatest in tennis history. Evert was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995.
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What sport did Chris Evert play professionally?
Chris Evert was a professional tennis player who dominated the sport in the mid- to late 1970s and remained a major competitor into the late 1980s. Known for her consistency, precision, and poise, Evert turned professional in December 1972. She won her first professional tournament in March 1973. Evert's career includes multiple victories at the U.S. Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open. She retired from professional tennis in 1989 and became a television commentator. Evert was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995.
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What are some major achievements of Chris Evert in tennis?
Chris Evert is an American tennis player who dominated the sport in the mid- to late 1970s and continued to be a major competitor into the late 1980s. Some of her achievements include:
- Winning 18 Grand Slam titles
- Winning four Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year awards
- Maintaining a career winning percentage of .900, the best in tennis history
- Maintaining a .946 winning percentage on clay courts, making her an undisputed champion on that surface
- Winning the U.S. Open six times (1975â78, 1980, 1982)
- Being unanimously elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995
Evert was also the president of the Womenâs Tennis Association from 1982 to 1991.
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How did Chris Evert's playing style stand out from other tennis players?
Chris Evert distinguished herself in tennis through her consistency, precision, poise, and grace. She popularized the two-handed backhand, which became a signature element of her playing style. Known as the "Ice Princess" for her controlled temperament, Evert contrasted with rivals like Martina Navratilova, who had a temper, and was the perfect pairing of opposites. Evert excelled on clay courts, while Navratilova flourished on grass. Evert's steady baseline game influenced an entire generation of women players. She had a career winning percentage of .900, the best in tennis history.
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What impact did Chris Evert have on women's tennis?
Chris Evert significantly impacted women's tennis through her consistency, precision, poise, and grace, becoming a dominant figure in the sport during the mid- to late 1970s and remaining a major competitor into the late 1980s. She popularized the two-handed backhand stroke and, along with Martina Navratilova, elevated the womenâs game, playing each other 80 times from 1973 to 1988. Evert's record includes 18 Grand Slam championships and a record of six U.S. Open titles. She was also the president of the Womenâs Tennis Association from 1982 to 1991.
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What did Chris Evert do after her professional tennis career ended?
After retiring from professional tennis in 1989, Chris Evert became a television commentator and a special adviser to the United States National Tennis Team. She also served as president of the Womenâs Tennis Association from 1982 to 1991. Additionally, Evert founded Chris Evert Charities, focusing on drug and family problems, and cofounded the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, with her family in 1996.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Chris Evert (born Dec. 21, 1954, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., U.S.) is an outstanding American tennis player who dominated the sport in the mid- and late 1970s and remained a major competitor into the late 1980s. She was noted for her consistency, precision, poise, and grace and for popularizing the two-handed backhand stroke.
(Read Chris Evertâs Britannica essay on the U.S. Open.)
Evert, the daughter of a noted tennis player, early began taking tennis lessons from her father. Her style evolved rapidly to feature a powerful two-handed backhand and a degree of concentration that often unnerved opponents. At age 15 she beat top-ranked Margaret Smith Court, and in 1971 she became the youngest player to reach the semifinals of the U.S. championship. The following year she advanced to the semifinal round of her first Wimbledon tournament and won the Virginia Slims tournament.
In December 1972 Evert turned professional; she won her first professional tournament in March 1973 and graduated from high school soon after. Victories in the 1974 French and Italian championships and at Wimbledon highlighted a remarkable 56-match winning streak. Her relationship with (and later engagement to) tennis star Jimmy Connors was followed closely by the media, especially after both players won the singles championships at Wimbledon in 1974, but the couple later called off their engagement. She retained her Italian and French titles in 1975, and that year she also won the first of four consecutive U.S. Open titles (1975â78), becoming the first woman since Helen Hull Jacobs to do so. In 1976 she won her second Wimbledon title. Despite having had occasional troubles on grass courts, she compiled one of the most spectacular records in tennis in clay-court competition; as of April 1978 she was undefeated on clay in 118 matches in 24 tournaments.
Following her marriage to tennis player John Lloyd in 1979, she adopted the name Evert Lloyd (the couple divorced in 1987). She added to her success with victories at the U.S. Open (1980 and 1982), Wimbledon (1981), the Virginia Slims (1987), the French Open (1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, and 1986), and the Australian Open (1982 and 1984).
She retired from professional tennis in 1989 and became a television commentator, a special adviser to the United States National Tennis Team, and president of the Womenâs Tennis Association (1982â91). She also founded Chris Evert Charities, which focuses primarily on drug and family problems. With her family she cofounded (1996) the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla. In 2008 Evert married Australian golfer Greg Norman (they divorced the following year).
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The recipient of numerous honors, Evert was voted the Associated Pressâs Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions, and in 1985 the Womenâs Sports Foundation named her the greatest woman athlete in the past 25 years. She was unanimously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995.