The price of being called Chris Evert

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Today, December 21st, marks exactly 70 years since one of the greatest athletes of all time was born in the city of Fort Lauderdale.

Coming from a traditional and hard-working family, that fragile little girl with hazel eyes never thought she would become a professional tennis player. As a child, she spent hours painting her nails and styling her hair in front of the mirror. She was a happy girl, perhaps her biggest concern was sitting close to the boy she liked in class or figuring out when she should start wearing a bra. It was a different time, with a different education and very defined stereotypes. The point is that Christine Marie Evert - and excuse the expression - was on the path to becoming just another one [...] until her father's influence pushed her in a completely different direction. Ever since she picked up a racket at the age of 5, her life was never the same. Neither was ours.

Surprisingly, I can assure you that her relationship with tennis was not love at first sight. For some reason, that connection never happened, she never felt sure she was in the right place. Jimmy Evert, a tennis enthusiast, also didn't see anything special in her, although in his deepest desires, he would have wished for his five children to fulfill his frustrated dream. They all played, they all tried, but he never forced them or punished them for anything related to tennis. He was very disciplined, a person fueled by austere living and tremendous faith. He started as a ball boy when he was just a kid, earning 5 cents an hour and playing for ten hours straight per day, stopping only to eat. In 1952, he married Colette Thompson, the woman who made him see that there was more to life than a net and a bunch of balls.

Evert concluded her career with a record of 1,309-146, retaining the highest winning percentage of all time (90%) to this day. Such was her dominance on the court that she even apologized for her playing style, acknowledging that it wasn't the most entertaining. Remember the case of Pete Sampras? Similar, but with the contrasting style. However, Chris was mistaken, her tennis encompassed all possible nuances and supreme intelligence. In one way or another, she always found a solution for her opponent to falter. Who wouldn't have signed up for that superpower? So symmetrical that her opponents never anticipated her final shot, especially with her backhand. Drop shot, lob, crosscourt, or down-the-line? It didn't matter; she mastered them all. There were times she faced opponents stronger than her, like during the peak years of Martina Navratilova, but her will to win always prevailed. The expression 'constructing the point' should be accompanied by a picture of her.

Now that you know how the 'Evert phenomenon' originated, you'll understand why, at 18, she had little trouble adapting to the professional circuit. Her game and personality were already formed, along with ethics, endurance, and each shot in its place. Also, respect, values, and that seed of humility so well planted by her parents. First rule: give your best effort every day, non-negotiable. Second rule: unforced errors are irritating, avoid them. Third rule: Make excuses? Not before death. No tennis player had ever represented stoicism so well. "When I see that fixed and somber expression on the court, I know it's not me. My father instilled it in me at a young age, telling me not to show any emotion on the court, that this would be an advantage for me, making my opponents feel frustrated," she once explained after retiring. The convictions, once again, were set from the beginning.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El precio de llamarse Chris Evert