‘Don’t Air Your Dirty Laundry Out in Public’ – When Chris Evert Showered a Rare Praise to Venus and Serena Williams’ Father ‘King’ Richard Over His Parenting

Chris Evert is one of those people who helped Billie Jean King strengthen the foundation of WTA. She and Martina Navratilova proved the worth of women’s tennis and the rights that King fought for. They brought crowds of fans to the stadium and, in a way, were the pioneers.

However, to do so, they had to overcome several atrocities. Therefore, they understand the value of each and every advancement in the sport for women. Hence, even though Evert has had disputes with Venus and Serena Williams’ father, she still gave recognition and appreciated his efforts in making his daughters fearless.

Chris Evert about how well Richard Williams played the role of a father

Evert, while speaking in the Jon Guerrica podcast, shared her thoughts about how time has changed the ways of parenting. She addressed the freedom of expression children have these days and said, “Even in our generation it was children should be seen and not heard. And it was like you don’t air your dirty laundry out in public. You didn’t do it. You didn’t talk unless you didn’t have something nice to say.”

Thereafter, she praised Richard for raising his daughters the right way. “I have to hand it to Richard Williams, by the way, because I think, he was one of the first fathers or tennis parents that said to his kids, Serena and Venus, go for it and be fearless.”

“And I am like God! If we would have been taught like that we would’ve been different people, we might have different careers,” she added. Richard and the 18 Grand Slam champion have tangled in a war of words several times.

Read more: ‘Riding on the Crest of a Wave’ – Hall of Famer Billie Jean King’s Crucial Words to Chris Evert During Their First-Ever Grand Slam Meeting at the US Open

For example, when Serena and Venus were still in the establishment phase on tours, Richard accused her of being partial. He also called her and Tracy Austin ‘little white no-good trasher’ during one of his interviews.

How Evert’s career panned out

The seven times French Open champion started her career as a professional tennis player in 1972, under the guidance of her father Jimmy Evert. She claimed a total of 157 singles and 32 doubles titles and held the ranking of World No.1 for a record 260 weeks during her playing days. Also, Evert helped America clinch eight Fed Cup trophies.

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Further, she executed an 80-match-long rivalry with nine times Wimbledon champion Navratilova. Although the head-to-head ended at a score of 37-43, she never lost her dominance of clay. She had the 11-3 lead on clay-based matches.