‘I Was Crushed’- Chris Evert Opens Up About Childhood Resentment Towards Her Disciplinarian Father

It is hard to imagine the history of tennis without the name of Chris Evert. The legendary former American tennis star gave a different direction to women’s tennis. While we all remember that she started playing very young, not many know that she didn’t like tennis at first.

As a five-year-old kid, Evert was not happy when her father would make her play tennis. Recently, the 67-year-old opened up about her childhood memories and made some shocking revelations.

Chris Evert didn’t enjoy playing tennis as a kid

Evert recently appeared in a podcast where she discussed various memories from her career and also narrated an interesting story from her childhood. The 67-year-old spoke about how her father introduced her to tennis.

“I liked to have my friends and every day after school I would go to Carol Bennett’s house. She was my best friend, and she had a pool at her house,” she said. Evert further added, “All of a sudden one day my dad picked me up from school and he brought me to holiday park. I was crushed. And he started bringing me to holiday park every day and there was no more carol Bennett or pool parties. Maybe on the weekends, but even that fizzled out when I started playing tournaments on the weekends.”

Read more: ‘Doesn’t Like Serena’s Attitude’ – Chris Evert Gets Called Out by Fans as They Cleverly Use Chris Pine to Mock the Tennis Legend

Speaking about her anger with her father, Evert added, “I couldn’t voice my opinion because my dad was very dominant kind of guy and he was, you didn’t say no to him. He was very strict and I do remember feeling resentful.”

Evert didn’t spend money on tennis training

Recalling her time growing up, Evert said that she and her siblings practiced in the public courts of Florida. All five of them got the training from their father, Jimmy Evert, who was serving as the head pro of Holiday Park.

While Chris Evert and her sister Jeanne Evert became professional tennis players, soon other siblings got scholarships from their college, and their father didn’t have to worry about the money.

Watch this story: ‘Seems to Get Injured a Lot’ – Martina Navratilova Once Used Serena Williams’ Example to Talk About the ‘Fragmented’ Nature of Women’s Tennis. 

It is interesting to see how hard work and passion can make you well enough that money no longer remains a constraint.