Editing Chris Evert (section)

==Tennis career==
{{See also|Chris Evert's Grand Slam history|Evert–Navratilova rivalry}}
{{BLP sources section|date=December 2016}}
Evert began taking tennis lessons from her father [[Jimmy Evert]] when she was five years old. He was a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the [[Canada Masters|Canadian Championships]] in 1947. By 1969, she had become the No. 1 ranked under-14 girl in the United States. Evert played her first senior tournament in that year also, reaching the semifinals in her hometown of [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], losing to [[Mary-Ann Eisel]] in three sets.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Staff |first=S. I. |title=FACES IN THE CROWD |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/04/14/faces-in-the-crowd |access-date=2022-06-15 |newspaper=Sports Illustrated Vault &#124; Si.com }}</ref> For years, this was the record for the furthest a player had reached in her first senior-level tournament.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} That record was broken when another Floridian, [[Jennifer Capriati]], reached the final at Boca Raton in 1990. In 1970, Evert won the national 16-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight-player clay-court tournament in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]. The 15-year-old Evert defeated [[Françoise Dürr]] in the first round in straight sets before defeating [[Margaret Court]] 7–6, 7–6 in a semifinal. Court was the world No. 1 player and had just won the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] in singles. These results led to Evert's selection for the U.S. [[Wightman Cup]] team as the youngest player ever in the competition.<ref name="Rivals">Johnette Howard (2005). ''The Rivals''. Yellow Jersey Press. {{ISBN|0-224-07505-5}}</ref>

Evert made her Grand Slam tournament debut at age 16 at the [[1971 US Open (tennis)|1971 US Open]]; she received an invitation after winning the national 16-and-under championship. After an easy straight-sets win over [[Edda Buding]] in the first round, she faced the American No. 4, Mary-Ann Eisel in the second round. With Eisel serving at 6–4, 6–5 (40–0) in the second set, Evert saved six match points before going on to win 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. She made two further comebacks from a set down, against fifth seed Dürr and [[Lesley Hunt]], both seasoned professionals, before losing in straight sets to top seed [[Billie Jean King]] in a semifinal.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Steve Tignor|title=1971: Chris Evert reaches U.S. Open semis at 16, becomes national sensation|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/1971-evert-reaches-us-open-semis-16-becomes-national-sensation/54249/|publisher=Tennis.com|date=March 5, 2015}}</ref> This defeat ended a 46-match winning streak built up through a variety of professional and junior tour events.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matthews|first1=Glenna|title=American Women's History : A Student Companion|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0195113174|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanwomenshi00matt/page/112 112]–113|url=https://archive.org/details/americanwomenshi00matt|url-access=registration}}</ref>

In 1973, Evert was the runner-up at the [[1973 French Open|French Open]] and the [[1973 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon Championships]]. A year later she won both those events during her then-record 55-consecutive-match winning streak, which included eight other tournament wins. She ended the year with a 100–7 match record, winning 16 tournaments including two Grand Slams, having been a finalist in her first [[Australian Open]], and having for a fourth straight year reached the semifinals at the US Open. She was chosen as the year-end number one by the leading tennis experts and authorities of the day – except [[Bud Collins]].{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

For the next five years, Evert was the [[List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players|world's No.1 player]]. In 1975 she won her second French Open and the first of four straight US Open titles by defeating Cawley in a three-set final. Also in November of that year, the official WTA computer ranking system was instituted, with Evert being the first No. 1. In total, Evert logged 260 weeks{{efn|name=no1}} at number one. Ten years after she had first achieved the number-one spot, she regained it in November 1985 at the age of 30 years and 11 months. That made her the oldest woman to have reached WTA number one, a record that stood for 27 years until Serena Williams surpassed it in 2013.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Staff |first=S. I. |date=2013-02-15 |title=Serena Williams, 31, becomes oldest No. 1 in WTA history |url=https://www.si.com/tennis/2013/02/15/serena-williams-no-1-ranking-doha |access-date=2023-05-27 |magazine=Sports Illustrated }}</ref>

Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis.<ref name="HoF"/> Throughout her career, Evert was ranked number one in the world at the end of seven different years by ''Tennis'' magazine, by ''World Tennis'' magazine and as well as a majority of other major tennis experts from 1974 through 1978, and in 1980 and 1981.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

The 1976 season held a unique distinction for Evert, as this was the only time in her career where she won both Wimbledon and the US Open titles in the same year. She defeated Goolagong Cawley in a thrilling three-set final on grass and then dismantled her on clay at Forest Hills, losing just three games. However, Evert lost to Goolagong Cawley again in the final of the [[1976 Virginia Slims Championships|Virginia Slims Championships]].<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Joe Jares|title=A net gain for concentration|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=April 26, 1976|volume=44|issue=17|pages=28–30, 33|url=https://www.si.com/vault/issue/43338/30/2}}</ref> In all, Evert won 26 of 39 matches with Cawley. Evert's 1976 performance earned her Sports Illustrated's title of [[Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year|Sportsman of the Year]]. She is the first woman to be the sole recipient of this honor, and is one of only four tennis players to receive it.<ref name="SI"/>

The years 1977 and 1978 saw Evert continue to dominate the women's game, winning two more US Opens. Evert won the final US Open played at Forest Hills on clay (1977) and the inaugural championship to be held on hard courts at Flushing Meadow (1978). She won 18 of 25 tournaments during this two-year period and had a match record of 126–7. Of particular note is that Evert skipped the French Open during these years (as well as 1976) to play in King's [[World TeamTennis]]. The other noteworthy event was Evert's three-set loss to eventual champion Wade in the semifinals of the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. It was Wimbledon's centenary year, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II's [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Silver Jubilee]] as monarch.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trott |first=Jan |date=2017-07-03 |title=Virginia Wade wins Wimbledon - archive July 1977 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/gnmeducationcentre/2017/jul/03/virginia-wade-wins-wimbledon-archive-july-1977 |access-date=2023-05-27 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Though she was successful on all surfaces, it was on clay courts where Evert was most dominant. Beginning in August 1973, she won 125 consecutive matches on clay, losing only eight sets throughout; this run continues to stand as the benchmark among both men and women players.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chrisevert.net/CE-Records.html |title=Chrissie The Great: Match Results and Records |publisher=Chrisevert.net |access-date=May 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722125416/http://chrisevert.net/CE-Records.html |archive-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref> The streak was broken on May 12, 1979, in a semifinal of the [[1979 Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Open]] when Evert lost to [[Tracy Austin]] in a third-set tiebreaker. Evert said after the match, "Not having the record will take some pressure off me, but I am not glad to have lost it." Evert rebounded with another clay court streak that reached 64 matches (including titles at the 1979 and 1980 French Open) before ending with a semifinal loss to eventual winner [[Hana Mandlíková]] at the 1981 French Open (a record of 189 victories in 191 matches on clay from 1973 to 1981).{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Evert's record of seven French Open singles titles stood for 27 years until being broken in June 2013 by Rafael Nadal. She still holds the French Open singles title record for female players. Evert held the record for most clay court Grand Slam titles (10, with seven French Opens and all three US Opens played on clay in 1975–77) before Nadal won his 11th French Open championship in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/titles-and-finals |title=Rafael Nadal: Career Titles|work=ATP World Tour |publisher=atpworldtour.com |access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
Three of her victories came in three-set finals against Navratilova. In 1975, Evert defeated Navratilova 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 to defend her title from the previous year. In 1985, Evert prevailed 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, a win that saw her capture the world No. 1 computer ranking for the fifth and final time.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Evert won at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Ed McGrogan|title=Do these tennis streaks compare to Favre?|url=http://www.espn.com/blog/tennis/post/_/id/85/do-tennis-streaks-compare-brett-favre|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=December 15, 2010}}</ref> During this period, Evert did not participate in the Australian Opens held from 1975 to 1980 and in 1983, or the French Opens from 1976 to 1978. The reasons for Evert's non-participation in the Australian Open during the years of her greatest dominance (she was ranked No.1 in the world five of the six years she was absent from the event between 1975 and 1980) was the relative decline in the status of this Grand Slam tournament during that period. Evert's absence from the French Open in 1976, 1977 and 1978 reflected the allure of World TeamTennis and the generally lesser significance that the top players attached to the traditional Slam events in the early years of the professional era. During this period of dominance (1975–80), she skipped ten Grand Slam tournaments.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Between September 1971 (her Grand Slam debut at the US Open) and June 1983 (her 12th visit to the Wimbledon Championships), Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. This string, however, was broken in the third round at Wimbledon in 1983 when the [[All England Club]] refused Evert's request to delay her match with [[Kathy Jordan]] to recover from food poisoning. This defeat also ended her attempt to be the holder of all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, as Evert was then holder of the '82 Australian, U.S., and the '83 French titles. In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Evert fell short of the semifinals a mere four times (1983 Wimbledon 3rd round; 1987 US Open quarterfinal; 1988 French Open 3rd round; 1989 US Open quarterfinal).{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

In total, of the record 34 Grand Slam finals reached, Evert won 18 Grand Slam singles titles: seven at the French Open (record for female), six at the US Open (an open era record, male or female, tied with Serena Williams), three at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open (both on grass). In addition, Evert won three Grand Slam doubles titles.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Evert played a reduced schedule in 1989 and retired from the professional tour after the [[1989 US Open (tennis)|US Open]].<ref>{{cite news|author1=Peter Alfano|title=Evert's retirement plan includes a cutback in her schedule|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/28/sports/evert-s-retirement-plan-includes-a-cutback-in-her-schedule.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 28, 1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=Robin Finn|title=Evert bows out as Garrison prevails, 7-6, 6-2|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/06/sports/evert-bows-out-as-garrison-prevails-7-6-6-2.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 6, 1989}}</ref> Upon her retirement, she had amassed 18 Grand Slam singles titles (at the time, an Open Era record, male or female), won 157 singles titles (at the time, the record for male or female) and 32 doubles titles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chrisevert.net/CE-Records.html |title=Chrissie The Great: Match Results and Records |publisher=Chrisevert.net |access-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722125416/http://chrisevert.net/CE-Records.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Evert won the [[WTA Tour Championships]] four times and helped the United States win the [[Fed Cup]] eight times. Evert's last match was a 6–3, 6–2 win over [[Conchita Martínez]] in the final of the [[1989 Fed Cup]].{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

===Rivalries===
{{main|Evert–Navratilova rivalry}}
During her career versus selected rivals, Evert was: 40–6 against [[Virginia Wade]], 37–43 against [[Martina Navratilova]], 26–13 against Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 24–0 against [[Virginia Ruzici]], 23–1 against [[Sue Barker]], 22–0 against Betty Stöve, 22–1 against [[Rosemary Casals]], 21–7 against Hana Mandlíková, 20–1 against [[Wendy Turnbull]], 19–7 against [[Billie Jean King]] (winning the last 11 matches with a loss of only two sets), 19–3 against [[Pam Shriver]], 18–2 against [[Kerry Melville Reid]], 17–2 against [[Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere]], 17–2 against [[Helena Suková]], 17–3 against [[Andrea Jaeger]], 16–3 against [[Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat]], 15–0 against Olga Morozova, 13–0 against Françoise Dürr, 9–4 against Margaret Court, 8–9 against [[Tracy Austin]], 7–0 against [[Mary Joe Fernández]], 6–3 against [[Gabriela Sabatini]], 6–5 against [[Nancy Richey Gunter]] (winning the last six matches), 6–8 against [[Steffi Graf]] (losing the last eight matches) and 2–1 against [[Monica Seles]].

===Awards and recognitions===
Evert was voted the [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year]] on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine's sole recipient of "[[Sportsman of the Year|Sportswoman of the Year]]" award in 1976.<ref name="SI">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1976/12/20/661202/the-court-belongs-to-chris |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|title=1976 Sportsman of the Year |author=Sarah Pileggi|volume=45|issue=25|access-date=January 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="AP">{{cite web|url=http://www.uterwincenter.com/press/2004/0414gsj.html|publisher=University of Texas Frank Erwin Center|title=Chris Evert to Replace Martina Navratilova at Gibson-Baldwin Grand Slam Jam|date=April 14, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2007}}</ref> In April 1985, she was voted the "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years" by the Women's Sports Foundation. Evert served as president of the [[Women's Tennis Association]] during 1975–76, and from 1983 to 1991.<ref name="HoFa">{{cite web|url=http://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/chris-evert|publisher=International Tennis Hall of Fame|title=International Tennis Hall of Fame profile|access-date=June 5, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330111046/http://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/chris-evert|archive-date=March 30, 2010}}</ref>

In 1995, she was the fourth player ever to be unanimously elected into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]] following a worldwide ballot of 185 sports journalists. In 1997, the [[International Tennis Federation]] (ITF) presented her with its highest accolade – the [[Philippe Chatrier Award]] – for her contributions to tennis, whilst 1999 saw Evert rated No. 50 among [[ESPN]]'s Greatest North American athletes of the 20th century.<ref name="HoF">{{cite web|url= https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014187.html|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=Evert: grit, grace and glamour |author=Larry Schwartz|access-date=June 5, 2007}}</ref><ref name="No50">{{cite web |url= https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014189.html|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=No. 50: Chris Evert|date=January 23, 1999|author=Larry Schwartz|access-date=June 5, 2007}}</ref> In 2005, ''[[Tennis (magazine)|Tennis]]'' named her fourth on its list of 40 Greatest Players of the ''Tennis'' era.<ref name="Tennis40">{{cite web|url=http://www.tennis.com/features/40greatest/40greatest.aspx?id=194 |publisher=[[Tennis (magazine)|Tennis]] |title=40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Era (1–4) |author=Peter Bodo |access-date=June 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814082556/http://www.tennis.com/features/40greatest/40greatest.aspx?id=194 |archive-date=August 14, 2009 }}</ref>

In 2012, [[Tennis Channel]] conducted a poll of players and experts to determine the 100 Greatest Players of all time, in which Evert ranked ninth overall, and fourth highest among women (finishing behind Graf, Navratilova, and Court in that order.) In June 2013, Evert was awarded a special merit from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They presented her their gold ring in recognition of her outstanding achievements both on and off the tennis court.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}