‘Didn’t Feel Like Part of It at All’ – Chris Evert Once Detailed the Insignificance of Olympics Over Grand Slams

Chris Evert is a player who receives admiration from all generations. From tennis fans who actually saw her engrave her name on the sport, to today’s fans who consider her career as a standard of success. However, what bugs her fans is that she couldn’t leave her impact on one of the biggest events of tennis.

The 18 times Grand slam champion has all sorts of records under her name. But the only thing missing from her brilliant career is an Olympic medal. This makes one wonder how Evert feels about the same. Does it affect her or she is a glass-half-full kind of person?

Chris Evert about her Olympics experience

In a 2006 interview, Evert spoke about the relevance of tennis in the Olympic games and also her feeling about not failing to bring a medal for her nation. She said, “I didn’t grow up with tennis in the Olympics. I played one Olympics in Seoul, and I didn’t feel like part of it at all. I was busy watching everybody else, Flo-Jo and Carl Lewis and the gymnasts.”

Thereafter she added, “Then I went out and played Raffaella Reggi at about 9:30 in the morning with about 50 people watching and I lost my match.”

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“I couldn’t get psyched up. My Olympics were Grand Slams. That still means more.” She confessed. Evert participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and couldn’t get past the round of 32 of the event. The six times US Open champion packed her bags after losing against the Italian in a three sets match of 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

To Evert fans’ dismay

The seven times French Open champion after retiring from the tennis suffered a huge loss because of cancer. She had to say goodbye to her younger sister Jeanne Evert Dublin in 2020. Following that, during a precautionary hysterectomy, she was also tested positive for the genes of the dreadful disease.

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Evert was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer in January 2021. She broke the news to her fans though a letter and informed them that she would be taking immediate medical help. The tennis veteran underwent six chemotherapy sessions to uproot the disease. Now is healthy, happy and back to her broadcasting role.