Legend Bio: Chris Evert

Armed with a two-handed backhand that revolutionized the sport, Chris Evert’s career might be summed up by a single, staggering statistic: a 90.09% winning percentage, the highest in professional tennis history.

It's a number, among many in the American's career, that speaks to a unique brand of sustained excellence. Evert's elegant baseline game and steely resolve paired famously with her capacity to remain cool under pressure, and the result was peerless consistency.

All told, Evert compiled a 1304-144 singles record over an 18-year span, winning 154 singles titles and reaching at least the semifinals in 34 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, from her breakthrough as a 16-year-old at the 1971 US Open through Roland Garros in 1983.

Her 18 Grand Slam singles titles – tied with her great rival Martina Navratilova for fourth all-time – comprised seven French Opens (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986), six US Opens (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982), three Wimbledon Championships (1974, 1976, 1981), and two Australian Open crowns (1982, 1984). She won at least one major title for 13 consecutive years from 1974 to 1986, another unmatched achievement, and reached at least the semifinals of 52 of 56 majors played during her career. 

Evert also captured four WTA Finals titles (then known as the Virginia Slims Championships) in 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977. In 1976, she became the first woman athlete to pass $1 million in career earnings and was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportswoman of the Year.

Her dominance on clay remains the stuff of legend. Evert won 125 consecutive matches on the surface from August 1973 to May 1979, when Tracy Austin ended her run in the semifinals at Rome. Her seven Roland Garros titles is the record among women, yet she didn't even play in Paris for several years during this streak. And still, the record endures: Evert's clay-court winning percentage of 95.09% (968-50) is the best for any single surface in the sport’s history.

The first official WTA World No.1 when computer rankings were launched on November 3, 1975, Evert held the top spot for a total of 260 weeks – comfortably fourth on the all-time list, four decades later. She reclaimed the summit for the final time in June 1985 after winning the French Open, and having finished as the WTA's year-end No.1 on five occasions.

In doubles, Evert won three Slams: Roland Garros in 1974 with Olga Morozova, and then 1975 Roland Garros and 1976 Wimbledon with Navratilova, whom she would face 80 times in the course of their singles careers. A stalwart for the United States in team competition, she went 57-4 across singles and doubles and was a member of eight winning U.S. Fed Cup teams, the most titles for any player.

Whilst still active as a player, Evert's influence extended far beyond the court. She served as WTA Players Association president a record nine times, including eight consecutive terms from 1983-1991. 

In 1989, she founded Chris Evert Charities, which has raised over $25 million to fight drug abuse and assist at-risk children. She co-founded the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1996 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2015, the WTA named its perpetual World No.1 Singles Trophy in her honor.

Mother to three sons, Evert remains a prominent tennis analyst and, as a two-time cancer survivor, is a powerful advocate for women’s health.