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About Chris Evert

World #1 Tennis Champion

Chris retired from Professional Tennis in September 1989, after her final match in the U.S. Open. One month later, Chrissie was back on the tennis court hosting the first Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic in Boca Raton, Florida.

“I always wanted to have my own charity program, but there just wasn’t time when I was playing. I did not want to do it in name only— where I wouldn’t be active in organizing and overseeing it.”
—Chris Evert

Tennis Career Highlights

  • Turned pro on December 21,1972
  • Retired at the 1989 U.S. Open
  • Best record on clay of any player for any single surface with a 125 match winning streak (August 1973 to May 1979)
  • Won 55 straight matches in 1974 (all surfaces), a record that held up for more than 10 years
  • Ranked #1 in the world for seven years
  • Won 1,309 matches in her career
  • Has a .904 win average spanning her 17-year career as a pro
  • Was the first player to win 1,000 singles matches
  • Holds 157 singles titles
  • Won 18 Grand Slam titles, the third best in tennis history (three Wimbledon, seven French Opens, two Australian Opens and six U.S. Opens)
  • Reached the finals or semifinals in 52 of her 56 Grand Slams
  • Won at least one Grand Slam singles title for 13 consecutive years (1974-1986), a record for both men’s and women’s tennis

Special Dates & Awards

2004 – Wimbledon, the Movie

2004 – Mother of the Year

1999 – Named one of the “Top 50 Athletes of the 20th Century” by ESPN

1997 – Honored with the ITF Phillippe Chartrier Award during the French Open for outstanding lifetime contribution to the game of tennis

1996 – Spring Hill Nurseries Company named a bi-color hybrid tea rose for her (the rose produces blooms of cantaloupe orange to blushing red, a brilliant color combination said to be unmatched by any other rose)

1995 – Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 16. As the sole inductee, she was only the fourth player and the sixth person to be elected unanimously. She was enshrined in Newport, R.I., making her the 44th woman and the 163rd person to be inducted

1993 – Inducted into the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame on August 30, for recognition as an extraordinary athlete that has contributed to the Gardens’ unique history over the past 114 years; Received the March of Dimes Lifetime Achievement Award in May, for displaying an unparalleled commitment to excellence both professionally and personally

1992 – Inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame on June 30

1991 – The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) President for an unprecedented nine years, ending in August; Appointed by President George H. Bush in January to serve as a Board Member of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which is dedicated to promote, encourage and motivate the development of physical fitness and sports programs for all Americans; Emerged as the most “Widely Known Athlete in the Nation” in a poll conducted by American Sports Data, Inc.; Received the Providencia Award for her contributions to the international image of Palm Beach County tourism presented by The Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau

1990 – Presented with the Flo Hyman Award in February by then President George H. Bush at the White House in Washington, DC, in honor of her contributions to sports; Named one of the “Nine Women of the Year” by Glamour magazine in honor of her outstanding commitment to social causes. Glamour noted, “Rather than resting on her tennis laurels, she has taken action to change the lives of young pregnant women in Florida by starting the Healthy Start program that helps cocaine babies and informs mothers about the dangers of drug abuse.”

1989 – Voted by Korbel as one of the “Top 10 Romantic People of 1989” as the, “…sweetheart of women’s tennis by balancing talent, ambition and physical prowess with humility, graciousness and gentleness to create a new ideal for aspiring young athletes the world over.”

1987 – The first woman athlete to be featured in a Sports Illustrated TV commercial; Won the WTA Player Service Award for the third time; Featured in on the front of the Wheaties cereal box

1986 – Lloyd on Lloyd, Chrissie co-authored with John Lloyd (in collaboration with Carol Thatcher), released in June; Won the WTA Player Service Award for the second time

1985 – Named the “Greatest Woman Athlete in the Last 25 Years” by the Women’s Sports Foundation

1982 – Wrote the autobiography, Chrissie, with Neil Amdur

1981 – Won the WTA Player Service Award for the first time

1979 – Won the WTA Sportsmanship Award

1976 – Received Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year” award