Martina Navratilova recalls Chris Evert’s ‘brilliant performance’ of locker room outburst following 1982 Wimbledon loss after Aryna Sabalenka’s racket-smashing clip goes viral
Martina Navratilova talked about the moment when Chris Evert imitated her frustration after losing the 1982 Wimbledon final on the SNL show.
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(L-R)Martina Navratilova, Aryna Sabalenka destroying her racket, Chris Evert destroying her locker room. (credits: Wikipedia, Twitter)
The new WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was left disappointed with her performance at the US Open final following which she lost the chance to lift the trophy. She was very frustrated with herself after the presentation and went back into the locker room to destroy her racquet and dump it into the trash bin. Tennis great Martina Navratilova hasn’t been left shocked by this behaviour at all recalling yet another incident to this one.
A video has emerged from the times when Chris Evert hosted the popular American show SNL. The clip showed her enraged after her 1982 Wimbledon final loss to Martina and broke down the entire locker room to crutches. Evert started the performance by taking her racquet and breaking it into two pieces followed by her knocking the lockers down on the floor and even destroying the sink.
The acting even saw Evert shouting nervelessly that she couldn’t play anymore and even went on to use a forklift to destroy the lockers. Martina has retweeted the video on Twitter with the caption, “That was a brilliant performance all around by Chrissie on @mncsnl- Saturday Night Live. I wish had had the chance to host too after I retired- what fun that must have been! Right @ChrissieEvert?”
How did Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert fare off throughout their careers?
Tennis fans call it the greatest rivalry of all time as both these stars shaped the legacy of what women’s tennis today truly is. Martina and Chris have faced each other for a record 80 times with Martina slightly ahead in the head-to-head. Martina won a whopping 43 times compared to Evert’s 37 times and other than that they have shared the tennis stage for two decades dominating it everlessly.
Having played each other 22 times on the biggest stage of the Grand Slams, Martina won over Evert on 14 occasions and Evert triumphed eight times. During those times, the Virginia State Championships and the Toyota Championships were also among the major tournaments, with both facing each other six times. The amount of respect both of these legends have for one another is immense and tennis fans will forever relive the moments they left on the court.
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Soumyadeep Mondal
(882 Articles Published)