Chris Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, knows how mentally demanding the sport is. She, in her time, dealt with a lot of pressure emerging from the expectations of fans and the tennis world, in general. Fans have always been outspoken and critical. They can have an eye on every activity of a professional. However, things were far less complicated back in Evert’s playing days.

You may ask why? Well, the sole reason is the absence of social media. Evert believes that channels that bring fans close to their idols have worsened things. Here’s what she said.

Chris Evert about the cons of social media

While in an interview last year, Evert, regarding the backlash professionals face on social media platforms these days, made a comparison. “Thank God we didn’t have social media in our day,” she said.

The former World no.1 explained, “I’m so glad I came up in the ’70s and the ’80s where we were building a tour. There was camaraderie. The press just traveled with us, a handful of written press. It was really a lot more simple and not as intrusive in our day.”

Thereafter she added, “If you’re in an individual sport, you’ve got to have some thick skin, not let things go to your head. Nothing is private anymore. Every opinion in the world is out there.” The wall between players and the crowd has been lifted. People can share their opinion freely with less or no knowledge of what the other person is facing.

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For example, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, faced severe backlash for staying on the sidelines for over a year. People pushed her to announce her retirement as she was already in her early 40s. Similarly, last year when Naomi Osaka decided to take a mental health break, she was accused of hiding because of her poor form. 

The problems faced by Evert during her heyday on the tour

The seven-time French Open champion’s era had different challenges. She, alongside Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, fought for the relevance of women’s tennis at the time. They had to prove that the WTA tour was as important as the men’s tour. 

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Further, Evert’s highly publicized relationships and breakups received some serious backlash as well. Also, people had a stereotypical image of women athletes, like being petite and feminine. Therefore, they gave a rough time to the American’s biggest rival and best friend, Navratilova, as she had a muscular build. They accused her of having an unfair advantage over her opponents. Despite such baseless criticism, both Evert and Navratilova had, arguably, the greatest rivalry in the history of the sport. Their intense on-court clashes brought women’s tennis to the fore in the 70s and the 80s.

Now, both retired stars still stay in touch with the sport as commentators and pundits, often seen giving their opinions during the Grand Slam events.

What is your favorite moment of the Evert-Navratilova rivalry?