Christine Marie EVERT-MILL

Chris Evert played tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, without distinction, but it was only a footnote to her career as one of the greatest women tennis players of all-time. At 15-years-old she was US 16-and-under Champion and went to the finals of a senior tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. Evert first became known on an international scale when she went to the semi-finals of the 1971 US Open tournament, at age 16. In 1974 she won both the French Open and Wimbledon, while in 1975 she won the French and US Open titles.

Evert would win a Grand Slam tournament every year from 1974-86, finishing with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, which included 7 French Opens, 6 US Opens, 3 Wimbledons, and 2 Australian Open titles. Her Grand Slam titles mark is third most all-time, trailing Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, and equal to the 18 won by Martina Navratilova. Evert, however, was runner-up at 16 Grand Slam tournaments, and her total of making 34 Grand Slam finals is the most all-time, man or woman. Overall, she won 157 professional singles tournaments, second all-time among women, trailing only Navratilova with 167. Evert also won four Grand Slam doubles titles, missing only the US Open, though she never emphasized doubles.

Evert first became ranked #1 in singles in November 1975 and held that ranking for much of the next decade, usually ceding it only to Navratilova, her greatest rival and close friend. Stoic, with an icy demeanor on the court, giving her the nickname “The Ice Maiden,” Evert was a classic baseliner, who played right-handed with one of the earliest two-handed backhands. She was known to be especially difficult to beat on clay, which led to her winning seven French Opens. She retired after the US Open in 1989.

Evert won the 1974 Wimbledon title while she was engaged to male tennis great Jimmy Connors, who also won Wimbledon that year; however, they never married. Evert did marry British tennis pro John Lloyd and competed as Chris Evert-Lloyd for a few years. They divorced and Evert later married US Olympic alpine skier Andy Mill, and she was entered at the 1988 Olympics as Evert-Mill. After that marriage ended, she had a brief marriage to Australian golf professional Greg Norman. After retiring in 1989, Evert has been most visible doing tennis commentary on ESPN at major championships.