The USA team, led by Kathy Rinaldi, reached the Billie Jean King Cup quarterfinals this year, once again making history. The USA captain has also competed against tennis legends like Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert in the past. She recently discussed one of the toughest players she faced in her career in an interview.
Almost every renowned tennis player in history has competed in the Billie Jean King Cup, which is now known as the Fed Cup.
Kathy Rinaldi’s toughest competitor to beat
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The American tennis player, who is now 55 years old, recently made an appearance on ‘The Tennis Channel Inside-in’ podcast. She discussed her experience competing in the Fed Cup since she first started playing tennis. The toughest opponent Rinaldi has faced in her tennis career was brought up during that conversation.
Without thinking for a moment, the American player gave a detailed insight into with whom she enjoyed playing and who was her toughest competition. She said, “I really didn’t enjoy playing Chrissi too much. She didn’t give me much, you know so that um you know she was always just so tough.” Further, she also added that she enjoyed playing against Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The 55-year-old was appreciative of the chance to compete against players from different generations. Starting from Virginia Wade when she was 14 to Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles.
Take a look at Rinaldi and Chris Evert’s tennis past
Chris Evert was a competitive tennis player in the 1970s and 1980s, who didn’t want to miss any chances. Nine times, over their incredible tennis careers, the 18-time Grand Slam champion and captain of the USA team faced off against one another. However, in all of these line face-offs against the American tennis player, the former world number one dominated the tennis courts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH THIS STORY – Top five moments of Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo Masters
The two tennis titans first faced off in 1984, where Evert easily prevailed. While Rinaldi at the time put up a battle to prevent the American player from ever considering losing against her in the clash. She was unable to break the tie and fell by a razor-thin margin. With a strong run, Evert defeated her opponent by not letting anything go by.