‘I Leave the Room, He Cries’ – When Chris Evert Felt Awful for Taking a Difficult Decision on Younger Son

Former American tennis star Chris Evert retired after an illustrious career. The 67-year-old had 18 Grand Slam titles to her name when she said goodbye to tennis. Following her retirement, much like Serena Williams at present, Evert dedicated a significant amount of her time to her children.

Being a mother of three, Evert found it tough to dedicate her time to all three of her sons, especially when the first two were grown up and required more attention. Evert once revealed that her youngest son, at times, felt deprived of motherly love and care. Here’s what she said.

Chris Evert on managing time for her kids

Raising kids is a challenging task. In the case of Evert, she had to do it for three sons at the same time. While it was easy to manage her time when she had only two, the arrival of the third one brought some challenges. Here’s what she said about it in an interview given in 1997.

“With two you have control because there’s mom and dad. But we had to leave Colton at home, and he’s not getting as much of my attention as the other two because they’re older and they need me. Colton hasn’t been aware until this month. Now, when I leave the room, he cries. He wants Mom,” she said.

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Evert further added, “The attention will have to shift now. You have to know when to shift. You can’t always say, “The four of us are going to the park.” You have to spend time with them individually.”

Notably, Evert’s three sons are from her second marriage with Andy Mill. In 2009 she divorced Mill to marry the former Australian golfer Greg Norman. However, that marriage didn’t last long, and the couple separated after 15 months. For now, Evert lives a single life and her three sons are her only family.

Evert raised her sons differently

Growing up, Evert had a strict childhood. Her father was a tennis coach and had strict rules for practice and other activities.

While it taught her discipline in life, the former world number one didn’t want her sons to grow up the same way. Evert once revealed that she was an easygoing mother and gave her children space. She also gave them the freedom to choose their own path.

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Evert believes that this made her son kind and more loving. She also claimed that it was better to let them explore their own life rather than being strict and making their lives bitter.