‘She Was Like the Pussycat’ – Chris Evert Sets the Record Straight on Fans Projecting the ‘Villain’ Tag to Martina Navratilova

Many tennis fans consider the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to be the fiercest ever seen on the court. The two tennis greats ruled the court for over a decade. They helped establish women’s tennis as a mainstream sport from the start.

The duo pulled off a fierce competition that continues to inspire rivalry in both men’s and women’s tennis. And not to forget that they played against each other 80 times during that period. Recently, Evert was seen taking Martina Navratilova’s side and revealed the ‘real’ Navratilova.

Chris Evert on the wrong perception created by fans on Navratilova

Chris Evert, the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, was once a guest on ‘The Tennis Podcast in 2020’. In the interview, she spoke in detail about her incredible tennis career with the host. She further reflected on her early rivalry with Martina Navratilova and the media’s portrayal of them. “But it wasn’t, that wasn’t me off the court. So there’s a lot there was a lot built up of my image and also Martina’s image because when we were on the court, I was the tough one inside the steely one. And she was like the pussycat deep inside and the soft one,” said the 67-year-old. 

She further said, “And when everybody, everybody thought she was tough, and I was you know, I was like they felt sorry for me.”

READ MORE: Martina Navratilova Reminisces the ‘Good vs Evil’ Thought That Fans Attributed to Her Epic Rivalry With Chris Evert

Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova head to head

It was in the year 1973 when the two people first met during the quarterfinals of the Akron Open. The duo had a heated rivalry for nearly two decades, playing 80 matches against each other before finally meeting for the last time in the 1988 Chicago Open.

When comparing their head-to-head matchups, Navratilova has a 43-37 advantage. And yet, in the end, they both had the same number of Grand Slam victories to their name (18).

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The two women are a source of inspiration not only because of what they left behind but also because of the friendship they managed to keep, even though they were bitter rivals.