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Unlike Her Friend Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert Gets Real About the Flourishing Pickleball Craze in America – ‘A Lot of People..’

Published 12/17/2022, 9:17 AM EST

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There is a storm developing on the tennis court and some of the veteran tennis players can see it. On the one hand, tennis has a long history, perfected created shots, and made millions from the sport. Conversely, pickleball is a sport that is quickly gaining popularity in modern-day America. The tennis legend Chris Evert, nevertheless, seems to view this athletic debate from a different angle.

Tennis players are not pleased that their court space is being shared by two ball-hitting factions as Pickleball.

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Chris Evert takes on pickleball

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among the tennis players who have strengthened the foundation of WTA. However, it feels like the American tennis player is not thinking the same as the 59-time Grand Slam champion in the case of the tennis and pickleball feud. 

Recently, the 18-time Grand Slam champion shared James Blake’s tweet that talked about how both sports can exist together and become successful at the same time. Along with the neutral tweet, she wrote, “I agree, and … I see a lot of older people playing it and loving it, the competition, the exercise, the social aspect…. I’m a fan!”

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The 18-time Grand Slam champion did, however, acknowledge enjoying pickleball. Although Navratilova, her arch-rival, has a very different perspective, she agrees that the new, rapidly expanding sport is among the more well-liked ones. The former world number one made a completely different statement about the sport’s appeal than other players, who are notably talking about how they don’t want to transfer their tennis history to other sports.

Navratilova and Evert difference in opinion 

Both renowned senior players have made significant contributions to tennis history. Their thoughts about pickleball resemble the way they used to counter each other’s shots on the tennis court, though. Both tennis stars have embraced opposing points of view in a similar manner.

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WATCH THIS STORY – Martina Navratilova scoffs at Roger Federer’s Laver Cup for their outrageous prices 

In contrast, Evert, who thinks pickleball is a fantastic sport, took part in the discussion without any anxiety. Martina Navratilova, however, thinks that since it is such a well-liked sport, why shouldn’t the sports have its own courts rather than occupying tennis courts? This all began when a tennis player voiced her opinion that tennis players were not planning to invest in the new sport and that it was not worth investing in.

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Written by:

Pratishtha Prakash

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Pratishtha Prakash is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. She has completed her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media and Journalism from MIT ADT University, Pune. In the past, she has interned at the sports desk of The Hitavada, a regional English daily newspaper.
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Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam