Chris Evert is one of those who received showers of affection from fans for her strong personality and gameplay. She had the power to intimidate her opponents and influence their actions. Half of Evert’s play comprised mental tactics. She never let her emotions out and read her rival’s mind perfectly.

However, the 18-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t born with this talent. She, just like others, was a normal kid who worked and innovated her way. Here’s an incident to prove the same and show how much she evolved over time.

A childhood story of Chris Evert

Recently, while in an interview with Debbie Millman, Evert stumbled upon a question related to an old incident. When a five-year-old Evert was in the live audience of the popular kid’s show, Skipper Chuck, and was asked about her father’s profession, she lied. “That was my first performance on TV. I think at that time my father was teaching tennis pro, and I was embarrassed,” Evert confessed.

Thereafter she added, “All these other kids were saying my dad’s a doctor, my dad’s a lawyer. So I said he’s a painter. I was thrown off. I didn’t want to say he was a tennis pro or instructor. Because there were few of those and I wanted to be more mainstream.” Evert’s father Jimmy Evert was himself a tennis professional. He claimed the Canadian Championships in 1947 and after retirement took the job of a coach.

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He guided the former World No 1 in her initial years. After watching her execute a brilliant career and spending her time post-retirement doing social work, the proud Jimmy Evert said goodbye to the world. He passed away in the year 2015.

What is Evert up to these days?

The seven times French Open champion tested positive for Stage 1 ovarian cancer and underwent six chemotherapy this year to uproot the disease. Following that, she reclaimed her broadcasting and analytical role at ESPN. She has been providing her knowledge to the channel since the year 2011 and is in charge of covering all four Grand Slams.

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Further apart from that, she runs Chris Evert Charities. The organization aims to eliminate evils such as drug abuse and child neglect from society. Also, she takes active participation in different fundraisers.