On October 9, 1989, Chris Evert played her last professional match in the Fed Cup final to call off her illustrious tennis career on a winning note. However, retirement was the toughest time for Evert as her whole life revolved around the sport. Despite the challenges brought on by the change, having a supportive partner enabled the American tennis legend to get through the most challenging time of her life.
Chris Evert on how her ex-husband became her savior.
Evert sat down for an interview with Charlie Rose that took place back in 1994, 5 years after the American tennis player called off her career. The broadcaster asked the former world number one in the interview how it felt to leave everything behind, and enter retirement.
Evert's reply?
She said, “I don’t know what I would have done. Because that was my family. My family was the tennis tour, and Andy was like, he was almost a savior, he came along and then I sort of said, shoo, now I have something to go to. Because you always, when you retire and leave something, you like to go to something, you know, that’s you know.”
Evert on her retirement rejuvenation.
Evert opened up about how every morning felt like a vacation after her retirement. She also talked about how she never realized the amount of pressure building up when she was an athlete. Evert particularly opened up about how everything felt different after having a family. One day you are traveling the world as a star, and the next day, you are a stay-at-home mother.