‘Being Gay Has Hurt Her’- Chris Evert’s Brutally Honest Admission Once About Rival Martina Navratilova’s Sexuality

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are two of the best role models for successful women tennis players today. There was a long tradition of animosity between the two players, and their rivalry was considered one of the fiercest in tennis annals. The two tennis greats ruled the court for over a decade.

They showed the world that women’s tennis is not adjunct to men’s tennis by competing fiercely against one another. However, there came a time when Martina was hurt by her sexuality. In one of her previous interviews, Chris Evert admitted this fact about her rival Martina Navratilova.   

Chris Evert’s truthful confession regarding Martina Navratilova

In 1992, Chris Evert was on a candid interview with ‘Sports Illustrated’. During the interview, she talked about her insecurities and fears, her image, Martina Navratilova, and the cost of winning. 

Halfway through the interview, the host asked about Martina Navratilova being hurt by her own sexuality, to which Chris Evert acknowledged by saying, “And I agree with Martina. Being gay has hurt her with endorsements. That’s just the way it is. It’s difficult because, in terms of her being a role model, I would tell my child to look at the way she conducts herself on the court. Look at how she fights for every point. And look how honest she is with people. I guess a lot of parents aren’t ready for that yet.“

READ MORE: ‘We Kind of Broke Apart’ – Chris Evert Once Recounted How Competitive Spirit Diluted Her Friendship With Martina Navratilova

Navratilova announced her sexual orientation to the world when she was 18 years old, during the height of her tennis career. She was one of the first truly independent athletes to become a global icon.

The unreal rivalry between the two tennis stalwarts, Chris Evert and Navratilova

There had been 80 encounters between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, with Navratilova holding a slight advantage of 43-37. However, she was no match for Evert’s sheer strength and power on the clay court. Evert, in this case, has an upper hand of 11-3 over Navratilova.

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The seven-time French Open winner, Evert, played a solid baseline game, but the 18-time Grand Slam winner served and volleyed fiercely and showed more emotion on the court. They played each other in the championship game for the last time in 1988 in Chicago. Evert lost all nine matches to the Czech American by identical scores of 6-2 and 6-2.