‘I Was a Mental Case..’- Chris Evert Once Disclosed How Rival Martina Navratilova’s Dominance Absolutely Shattered Her Confidence On-Court

American tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert are among the greatest tennis players of all time. Both, 18-time Grand Slam champions had a rivalry that people will remember for ages. While it was Chris Evert who came first and established herself, Martina Navratilova emerged on the scene. She took the world No 1 crown from the American tennis legend.

It was a tough phase for Chris Evert. a while ago she was the best player in the world and now she was on a 13-match losing streak against the person who replaced her. While it was more of an emotional battle than one on the court, Evert once recalled her journey to rediscover her confidence.

Chris Evert revealed the toughest phase of her career

Chris Evert was the undisputed queen of the court before the arrival of Martina Navratilova. When the Czech-American started rising on the ranking ladder, she pegged back Chris Evert. In sports, it doesn’t take much time for people to succeed and to fail as well.

It was a tough phase for Evert. At 31 years of age, there was nothing much she could have done with her technique. Soon she found herself on a 13-match losing streak against Navratilova. However, the American didn’t give up the fight and her belief to come back.

“After Martina took over number one, she beat me thirteen times in a row and I was a mental case after that,” Evert admitted in an interview with Charlie Rose.

However, she made a major change to her playing style that finally gave her the win she was hungry for.

“The fourteenth time I beat her. The second time I beat her was at the French Open. The times I beat her, I did come to the net. I was 31-32. It was late in my career. You just can’t change overnight. It took two years to develop the volley. It also is in a person’s personality. I wasn’t aggressive. I was pretty much a counterattacker,” Evert added.

Read more: ‘Snubbing Her Nose to the Money’- Chris Evert’s Perplexing Reaction to American Star Jennifer Capriati’s ‘Rebellious’ Move to Ditch Tennis in 1994

It was how a rivalry started. Where both the top-level players were not ready to put their guards down. Their rivalry is also the longest between two tennis players as they ended up facing each other 80 times.

The intense rivalry on court later fostered into a beautiful friendship between the two tennis legends as years went by.

Evert sends love as Martina Navratilova fights the battle with cancer

After an intense rivalry, Navratilova and Evert turned into best friends. They supported each other in thick and thin. Not long ago, Evert was undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Now that she is fully fit, her friend Martina Navratilova is going through the testing times.

In a health update, Navratilova revealed her cancer detection and treatment. Evert was quick to respond and send good wishes to her friend. She wished Navratilova a speedy recovery and urged her to be brave, as always, in the tough situation.

Watch this story – Chris Evert looks back at her astounding rivalry with Martina Navratilova and the negative impact of her 13-match losing streak

We also pray for the legend’s health. Hope to see her back soon as a tennis analyst, covering matches.