‘Like a Cinderella Story’ – Chris Evert Once Opened Up About the Lesser-Known Side of Jimmy Connors’ Personality

Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors had a romantic relationship back in the 70s and they were getting ready to marry each other. However, things did not work out, and they broke off their wedding.

Many did not know the reason for their break-up until Connors released his biography in 2013 in the book called ‘The Outsider’. In that book, he revealed some uncomfortable truths about his relationship with Evert. Similarly, in 2017, Evert talked to Sue Barker, the legendary TV presenter, and revealed some unknown facts about her old partner, Connors.

Chris Evert talked about her relationships with Jimmy Connors

Notably, in 1974 both Evert and Connors won the singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships and their relationship received plenty of attention from the media. While talking to Barker in the BBC interview, Evert said, “I think they called it the ‘love double’. People were intrigued with two young tennis players that were in love that we were gonna get married and, boy, we were young. It was like a Cinderella story.“

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Later, she talked about Connors’ unknown personality, as she said, “He was very different in private. He was a gentleman, he was very supportive of me and my tennis. We were both pretty immature. But we were kind of caught up in the story too I think. When two people are trying to be no.1 in the world, it’s never gonna work.“

It is worth noting that Connors, contrary to Evert’s views, he never presented himself as a nice guy both on and off the court. After hearing the words from Evert, people might change their opinion about the 8-time Grand Slam champion.

Evert and Connors had a great career

It is true that many consider Connors to be the greatest male tennis player in American history. Similarly, Evert is also widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Incidentally, both achieved the no.1 rankings in their respective tours. 

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However, Evert had sustained her no.1 ranking for a longer period compared to Connors. In terms of Grand Slam titles, Connors won 8 singles titles and Evert won 18 in her career. Moreover, Evert won a record 7 French Open titles, still a record in women’s tennis.

Currently, we often see both Evert and Connors commentating during matches, particularly at the Grand Slam level. On many occasions, we have seen them sharing the stage during trophy presentations as well.