Largely Sheltered by Her Family, Chris Evert’s Stance on Contemporary Issues Revealed by Rival Martina Navratilova in 1990 – ‘Didn’t Want To Be Controversial..’

Nobody knew Chris Evert better than her arch-rival Martina Navratilova, both on and off the tennis court. The Czech-American tennis player was well aware of her long-time rival’s personality. During their playing days, there came a point when Navratilova was irritated with Evert’s demeanor.

According to Navratilova, Ice Maiden’s family provided a lot of protection to her during her formative years as a tennis player. She always came off as the prim and polite girl who avoided controversy and displayed no aggression. However, Navratilova wasn’t too pleased with Evert’s non-confrontational nature.

Martina Navratilova once talked about Chris Evert’s defensive nature 

In an old 1990 interview from “Later on Bob Costas”, Navratilova talked about her rivalry with Evert. And she also highlighted how there are things that irritated her about Evert’s defensive personality. She pointed out how Ice Maiden never wanted to speak up during times and stayed away from controversies.

She said, “Well, there would be some things that she would say or didn’t say. I know she felt a certain way about something but didn’t want to be controversial. So, she didn’t say anything. Things that would bother me and I would talk about it and she wouldn’t talk. “

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Further, she also talked about how, with time, Evert turned out to be a little more outspoken. Moreover, she said that  Evert started becoming her own person after being ‘sheltered’ by her family for many years.

Meanwhile, one time, Chris Evert narrated how Navratilova’s brute force intimidated opponents, including herself. 

When Evert opened up about how Navratilova intimidated her 

In an interview back in 1984 with The New York Times, the American tennis legend discussed how the opposition seems to lose confidence when one player dominates the tennis court. She discussed the tangible impact that the Czech-American player’s consistent success that year had on the morale of her opponents.

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At that time, Navratilova had an eight-match winning streak over the Ice Maiden and was unplayable on the tennis court.  That gave the former a ‘psychological edge’. This made Evert feel that Navratilova’s opponents including her lost before they even stepped on the court.

What do you think about Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova’s relationship over the years? Let us know in the comments.