“A big rivalry is great for tennis” Chris Evert believes Women’s tennis is in dire need of competitiveness
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Chris Evert
US Open is about to commence with big players gearing up for the last slam of the season. This year, Emma Raducanu is looking to defend her title after she defeated Leylah Fernandez last year. Raducanu became the first qualifier to win the prestigious title. But people are seeing inconsistency on the WTA tour with a different winner in each slam.
Recently in an interview with The Guardian, Chris Evert discussed the old dynamics in women’s tennis and opened up about the greatest rivalries between players like Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova.This month, former World No.1 Serena Williams announced her retirement which shocked the tennis world. Williams has been a dominant force in women’s tennis over the last two decades. Fans are eager to see such dominance again. Serena Williams is set to retire after the conclusion of the US Open.
Also read: Iga Swiatek Starstruck after meeting Serena Williams, calls it the ‘highlight’ of her day
When Serena dominated we had the highest ratings: Chris Evert on Serena Williams’ tennis era
On the need for a big rivalry, 18-time grand slam champion Chris Evert said, “A big rivalry is great for tennis – as is a player that dominates. When Serena dominated we had the highest ratings. But the game is also great when you have newcomers like Coco Gauff, who is going to win a slam in the next year or two. The beauty of women’s tennis now is the depth. There are no rivalries yet but there are lots of personalities and great stories.”
She further added, “I played World TeamTennis [when the leading women forged a path of independence to gain equality with men] and missed three French Opens [which she won seven times]. We were creating a tour and changing history, fighting for equal prize money and future generations.”
Lastly, Evert picked the rivalry she’d want to witness, “Iga Swiatek [the world No 1] and Coco would be my top two. That could be a great rivalry. Right now, Iga has to be the favourite for the US Open.”
Also read: “No one’s that overly dominant,” Taylor Fritz’s postulation on Novak Djokovic’s US Open impediment
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Urvi Shrivastava
(87 Articles Published)