Chris Evert accepts Excellence Award while ovarian cancer battle in rear-view mirror
If anyone deserves a congressional medal for being a sports pioneer, Chris Evert says it is Billie Jean King.
The USTA has nominated King for a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the 50th anniversary of equal prize money at the U.S. Open. Starting in the 1970s, King spent her career fighting for equal prize money and hasn’t stopped.
In Delray Beach last weekend, King said the NCAA women’s basketball tournament has now proven it needs to redo its television rights package.
King’s longstanding friendship with Evert was rekindled in Delray during the Billie Jean King Cup when Team USA beat Austria.
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Evert, who has lived in Boca Raton for years, was presented on the court with the ITF Excellence Award for being on eight USA championship teams when the BJK Cup was called the Federation Cup. But she wanted to talk about King more than her own accomplishments.
“It’s her effect on women’s sports — not just women’s tennis," Evert said. “She’s probably the most driven person I’ve ever known in my life. Her vision was unbelievable when it came to women’s team sports. It was taboo 50 years ago to be a women’s athlete. It wasn’t admired. Now women can be proud to be an athlete and she changed that perception."
Evert, who has all but finished a 16-month battle with ovarian cancer, attended USA’s team dinner the night before the BJK Cup, along with a handful of other former Fed Cup performers. And she got to spend a ton of time with King. They remain two of America’s largest tennis legends.
Only two weeks ago, Evert received her last cancer surgery and says it’s completely in the rearview mirror. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion is ready to cover the French Open next month for Eurosport, then Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as ESPN’s lead women’s commentator.
“I’ve remained very close to Billie Jean and Martina (Navratilova), more than anyone else who played then," Evert said. “We’ve always stayed in touch. I see (Billie) at all the Grand Slams. We have such a friendship where over the years we can finish each other's sentences. We all know what we’ve both been through."
Evert noted King will turn 80 in November. “It was great to see her looking so well," Evert added. “She still has that energy and the curious mind. It’s incredible how youthful she is."
Evert closely following careers of Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula
Evert, 68, and still running the Evert Tennis Academy with her brother, John, at Mission Bay, has long followed the two rising stars coming out of Palm Beach County: current No. 6 Coco Gauff and No. 3 Jessica Pegula.
The PBC duo represented the U.S. during the 4-0 win over Austria last week. Gauff, from Delray, won a singles and doubles match while Pegula, who has lived in Boca since she was 13, went 2-0 in singles and clinched USA’s berth in November’s finals.
Evert has lived less than a mile from Pegula over the past 10 years but didn’t realize that until recently. Pegula’s parents own the Buffalo Bills and Sabres.
“A while ago, I had heard about this young junior player who was traveling with her mother by private plane to tournaments," Evert said. “But I wasn’t sure who that was. I didn’t know there was that type of wealth across the street."
Gauff, 19, hasn’t gotten off to a strong 2023, but Evert still believes she will win a Grand Slam singles title by 2024. Gauff made the 2022 French Open finals and in late May gets the chance to make another return. She just left for the European clay court season and starts out this week in Stuttgart, Germany.
“Honestly, if she turns 20 without a major after what I saw from here at 15, I’d be surprised," Evert said. “When you look back at what she had then with that maturity and all the shots. I would’ve bet a lot of money she’d win a major by 20 years old."
Coco, Evert says, can win the French.
“She’s the kind of player, you never bet against with confidence," Evert said. "Because she’s not limited. The slate is clear once the game goes to red clay. It’s about her confidence in her forehand and serve."
And the cancer-free Evert, who won seven French Open singles titles in a Hall-of-Fame career, will be present to cover every moment.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Chris Evert: Ovarian cancer completely in rear-view window
