Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are the players whose caliber still stands as a benchmark in WTA. Both of them had very different styles of playing. Therefore, whenever they played against each other, it became a nail-biting experience for the fans. To this date, their rivalry outshines every other that ever existed.

However, both of them played in a slightly different period. Evert was already at the top when the Czech-American started garnering attention. Here’s a throwback to the time when they sat down and spoke about each other’s game and potential.

The difference between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

Evert and Navratilova sat down for an interview and detailed the factors that distinguished them from each other. Both of them had a completely different presence on the court. Evert was famous for concealing her emotions and the reason in her own words was, “My dad told me at a very young age, ‘Don’t let your opponent see how you’re feeling if you’re losing because they’ll use it to their advantage,'”

Whereas Navratilova expressed herself openly. She admitted, “I couldn’t keep it inside, but nobody ever told me that I should. So I was pretty much on my own, at least from the neck up.”

Read more: ‘Bullying Will Only Get You So Far’- Martina Navratilova Sends a Strong Message to the Activists Against Her

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Further, Evert also addressed how Navratilova’s strong gameplay outdid her. She said, “The mental side was my strength, and I wasn’t the tremendous athlete that a Martina was or Steffi Graf. Those women could be Olympic athletes in anything that they tried.” However, Martina disagreed and jokingly said, “Synchronized swimming would not be something I would excel at.”

The similarities between the legends

Though Evert and Navratilova grew up in different conditions, they both thrived in their profession. When these two athletes were taking over the sport, there was a resistance towards women’s tennis. However, their performances and words weighed heavily in changing people’s view about the WTA.

Speaking of similarities in their records, both of them have 18 Grand Slam titles to their name. Further, they are the only veterans of WTA, along with Serena Williams, who have a record of 100 match wins in a Grand Slam. Evert made the record on the hard courts of the US Open, whereas Navratilova touched the milestone at Wimbledon.

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Further, currently both legends of the sport, with the help of their experience, predict outcomes and analyze WTA and ATP events.