Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have one of the most legendary tennis rivalries in the world. This has brought attention to not only tennis enthusiasts but also to the people out of it. The players were each other’s arch-nemesis, however, they still are each other’s well-wishers and are good friends till now.

In an interview, both of them talked about their long-lasting rivalry and talked about meeting each other on the court a whopping 80 times.

Martina Navratilova reminisced about her first encounter with Chris Evert

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert were reminiscing about how their matches filled up the stadiums. The host asked them to talk about their long rivalry. To this Navratilova replied, “I still remember the first time I saw Chris playing backgammon with Frank Hammond, he was a tour empire.”

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She recalled the time she did not what the game was and eventually learned it. She said, “I didn’t know what they were playing. I learned how to play backgammon.”

Navratilova was a fan of Evert

Navratilova did not know they were going to play each other so many times and this fact astounded her even during the interview.

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She said, “Little did I know we were gonna play with each other so many times.” They had played at Akron Ohio for the first time where Evert had claimed the victory over her opponent. The Czech player had made her aim clear. She said, “My goal was just for Chris to remember my name.”

Chris Evert laughed and said, “She loves to say that, I hear that story all the time.” She expressed the first impression that Navratilova had left on her.

She said, “I played her, and she was brilliant even at that age. I’d never seen anything like it before.” 

How did the rivalry go?

Moving ahead of that, the player met each other 80 times in 16 seasons out of which 60 were in the finals of the various tours. Astoundingly, they also met each other in the 14 grand slam finals. The H2H series is in favor of Navratilova by the ratio of 43:37.

Interestingly, both the players have won 18 grand slam titles each in their glorious careers. Evert was the one who had won the first match of their long-lasting rivalry. However, it was Navratilova who closed the rivalry with her victory at their last match in Chicago in 1988.

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Despite their glorious rivalry, the players have stayed friends and value their friendship as much as they respect their rivalry.