Following the news of former US President Jimmy Carter passing away, on Sunday, tributes have been coming in from all corners. After Coco Gauff‘s kind words for the late 39th President of the country, WTA icon Chris Evert has also paid her emotional and heartfelt tribute to him on social media, remembering his sweet and kind gestures.

On December 29, Jimmy Carter passed away in his Georgia-based hospice care home. He had been there for quite some time. Aged 100, he was the oldest living president of the country before his demise. The news of his departure was initially shared by his son Chip Carter. Undoubtedly, the death has saddened the entire nation, including various tennis figures. Among them is Chris Evert as well – a longtime admirer of the former president.

On Tuesday, she took to her X account and paid her tribute to Jimmy Carter, while sharing a moment featuring him where he was shaking hands with every passenger being on a flight. It’s something he used to do while taking a Delta flight. “Because that’s who he was. Someone who treated people as people.” read a post from Delta airlines’ official account. Sharing the post and the clip, Chris Evert wrote in her tribute, ‘This says it all… What a gentle, kind, selfless, humble, giving person he was… We should all aspire to be more like him….RIP”

As much as he was a true leader during his tenure, Jimmy Carter was also a global humanitarian. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” he once said. And Chris Evert is among those who’s witnessed his noble acts very closely. Even at a stage of his life where he could hardly move, the late president was seen caring for others. This made Evert praise him with wholeheartedly, in a touching reaction last year.

When Chris Evert lauded Jimmy Carter’s philanthropic act despite a fall at home

For the unversed, Jimmy Carter suffered minor pelvic fracture back in 2019 when he was 95, at his home in Plains, Georgia. But despite his condition, the former US president decided to travel to Nashville the next day for his philanthropic initiative. He ran the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project with Habitat for Humanity. Recalling this incident, Chris Evert shared a post on X last year, in February 2023, and Carter. He was 98 back then. “All about giving… a stellar human being…” she wrote.

Alongside her, many other notable tennis figures have also praised the Noble Peace Prize-winning former president. After hearing the news of his demise, Chris’ longtime friend and 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova couldn’t resist from paying her heartfelt tribute. “RIP Mr. President- a life amazingly lived…” she wrote on X. She also called him “A truly good man…”

Tennis legend Billie Jean King also remembered Jimmy Carter. “A champion of peace and democracy, Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, has passed away. He was a former Naval officer, a Noble Peace Prize winner, and a true humanitarian. We will miss him. May he rest in peace,” she wrote in her post on social media.

Rising American talent Coco Gauff also paid her tribute to the late president. Remembering a sweet childhood memory with him, she wrote on Instagram, “He was extremely nice to us and a memory I will never forget. RIP” In her post she revealed how she, and her family, got the chance to meet him. “We were on a road trip and stopped in the middle of nowhere at Georgia at a McDonald’s to get some food. And randomly he was using the urinal next to my dad lol. We kept seeing people suited up and armed but just assumed it was because we were in the middle of nowhere Georgia around Valdosta area and if yor’re from the South you know how they get down out there but turns out they were just secret service agents. Eating out food with my mom and my dad walks out the bathroom with the former President like they were long time friends.”

Jimmy Carter may have passed away but his immortal legacy will surely stay for a long time in the hearts of all Americans.