Born on December 21, 1954, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Chris Evert was the daughter of a noted tennis player. She early began taking lessons from her father and soon demonstrated natural ability of a high order. Her style evolved rapidly to feature a powerful two-hand backhand and a degree of concentration that sometimes unnerved opponents. Her rise to the top of world competition was rapid: victories over Margaret Smith Court in 1970 and in the Virginia Slims Masters tournament in St. Petersburg, Florida, in April 1971 earned her a place on the U.S. Wightman Cup team at the age of sixteen, the youngest player ever. In cup competition in August she defeated Virginia Wade soundly in the crucial match to give the United States the victory.
In September 1971 Evert became virtually an overnight favorite with three remarkable come-from-behind victories in the U.S. Open tournament at Forest Hills; she lost a semifinal match to Billie Jean King. Five months later she demolished King, 6╨1, 6╨0, in the Women╒s International Tennis Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, a tournament played on clay, her preferred surface. She was again a member of the victorious Wightman Cup team in 1972, and in June she advanced to the semifinal round of her first Wimbledon tournament before losing to Evonne Goolagong. Later in the month she defeated Goolagong in the Bonne Bell Cup tournament in Cleveland. At Forest Hills in September she again lost her semifinal match, but in October she won the Virginia Slims with a victory over Kerry Melville, who had beaten her in the U.S. Open.
In December Evert turned professional. She won her first professional tournament in her home town in March 1973. After graduating from high school that spring she went on to an indifferent year of tennis in which she lost the Italian championship in the final match with Goolagong, lost the Wimbledon final to King, and lost the U.S. Open semifinal match to Margaret Court. She was again a Wightman Cup player for the victorious U.S. team. In 1974 her victories in the French and Italian championships and especially her victory at Wimbledon over Olga Morozova highlighted a remarkable 56-match winning streak. Wimbledon was also notable in that the women╒s and men╒s singles titles were won for the first time by an engaged couple; her engagement to Jimmy Connors was later broken. In 1975 she retained her Italian and French titles, lost the Wimbledon semifinal to Billie Jean King, and won her first U.S. Open with a final victory over Evonne Goolagong Cawley. In 1976 she won her second Wimbledon title over Cawley and her second U.S. Open. In 1977 she lost a quarter-final match at Wimbledon to Virginia Wade, but won her third U.S. Open at Forest Hills. In 1978 she lost the Wimbledon final to Martina Navratilova but bounced back to win her fourth consecutive U.S. Open. She again lost the Wimbledon final to Navratilova in 1979.
During these years Evert was a dominant player on the professional circuit, and in February 1978 she signed to play for the Los Angeles Strings of the World Team Tennis tour. Despite her occasional troubles on grass courts, she compiled one of the most spectacular records in sports in clay court competition: as of April 1978 she was undefeated on clay in 118 matches in 24 tournaments. Her earnings and endorsements made her one of the most financially secure young athletes in the world.
Following her marriage to tennis player John Lloyd in April 1979 she adopted the name Evert Lloyd. She continued to be successful on the courts; among other championships she won the United States Open again in 1980 and 1982, Wimbledon in 1981, and the Virginia Slims tournament in 1987. She retired from professional tennis in 1989, becoming a commentator on tennis events for the National Broadcasting Corporation, a special advisor to the United States National Tennis Team, and president of the Women's Tennis Association from 1982-1991.
In 1985 the Women's Sports Foundation voted her the greatest woman athlete in the past 25 years Among her many other honors are the Women's Sports Foundation Flo Hyman Award, 1990, the Women's Tennis Association Award, 1992, for her years of service to the sport, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the March of Dimes, 1993.
