‘Teaching Her to Hate..’ – When Chris Evert Opened Up About an Unpleasant Time During Her Friendship With Martina Navratilova

Former American tennis stars, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, had a rivalry to remember. The two were tough opponents and always brought out the best of each other. Having played each other for a record 80 times, the relationship between them was not always the same. Like any long relationship, they also had different phases with good and bad memories to look back at.

Chris Evert once explained the details of her long-time rivalry cum friendship with Martina Navratilova.

Evert on her long rivalry with Navratilova

Speaking of today, the two legends of the game are the best of pals. They have always stood behind each other through thick and thin. However, Evert says that it has not always been great and they had ups and downs in their rivalry and friendship.

“In the beginning, I was beating her; I was practicing with her, we were playing doubles together. Then she started beating me, and I broke up the doubles because I felt like I was getting too close. We went our own ways,” she said. Further, she spoke about the influence of Navratilova’s coach on their relationship. “When she was coached by Nancy Lieberman, and Nancy was teaching her to hate her opponent, we weren’t getting along then,” Evert added.

Evert revealed they got closer again in the ending phase of their careers.

A look at the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

The two first met in the year 1973. In the round of 16 match of the Akron Open. After playing 80 matches against each other n almost two and half decade-long rivalry, the two played against each other for the last time in the Chicago Open in 1988.

Talking about their head-to-head records, Navratilova leads with 43-37. However, the two ended up with the exact same number of Grand Slam titles (18).

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Today, the two ladies are an inspiration not only because of their legacy but also the way they maintained their friendship, despite being arch-rivals.