- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Former world No.1 tennis player Chris Evert has faced flak over an alleged agenda against Serena Williams but the 67-year-old has hit back at the fan who brought such accusations.
An old letter that Evert, who has 18 Grand Slam titles, had penned for Williams, who revealed her retirement plans after losing in the third round of the ongoing US Open, in 2006 when the latter suffered a number of setbacks in her playing career surfaced again after the veteran showed alleged bias towards the on-court errors committed by Coco Gauff, another young American tennis player of colour.
Evert, however, was unhappy with how her letter to Williams was taken and claimed that her intention was misunderstood by certain people on social media.
As it was excerpted from the letter, Evert had expressed strong feelings about Williams’s career journey and advised her to focus entirely on her tennis during her peak years.
“Just a couple of years ago, when you were fully committed to the game, you showed the athleticism, shot-making, and competitive desire to become the greatest player ever. Many besides myself shared the same sentiment. You won five of the six Grand Slams you entered over the 2002 and 2003 seasons and looked utterly dominant in the process,” Evert had noted in the letter.
“Then you got side-tracked with injuries, pet projects and indifference, and have won only one major in the last seven you’ve played. I find those results hard to fathom. You’re simply too good not to be winning two Grand Slam titles a year. You’re still only 24, well within your prime. These are crucial years you’ll never get back. Why not dedicate yourself entirely for the next five years and see what you can achieve?” the letter continued.
Journalist Chuck Modi lashed out at Evert saying she was “as bad at calling game for Coco Gauff as she is Serena”.
In a tweet, he said, “Chris Evert is as bad at calling game for Coco Gauff as she is Serena. Coco makes great shot. Silence. Coco makes mistake. She dwells on it. This is not hypersensitivity. This can be quantified across the whole match.”
Chris Evert is as bad at calling game for Coco Gauff as she is Serena. Coco makes great shot. Silence. Coco makes mistake. She dwells on it. This is not hypersensitivity. This can be quantified across the whole match.
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) September 7, 2022
Another fan slammed Evert citing her letter to Williams, saying she had criticised Williams similarly a decade and half ago.
Another fan then used the said piece of writing against Evert, claiming that she also had an not-so-constructive attitude towards the recently retired tennis legend.
“Chris Evert’s attitude towards Serena Williams has been going on for a long time. Check out this letter she wrote to Serena in 2006,” the fan said.
Chris Evert’s attitude towards Serena Williams has been going on for a long time. Check out this letter she wrote to Serena in 2006. https://t.co/DccdUZMQdU
— urban myths, legends (@urbanmyths) September 7, 2022
Evert noticed the criticism that came dashing at her and hit back at them saying Williams went on to clinch several more Grand Slams only after she took her advice.
“And afterwards she committed herself and won 18 more,” she remarked in another tweet in response to the fan who accused her of harbouring a negative attitude towards Williams for long.
And afterwards she committed herself and won 18 more…? https://t.co/LDYO05m35T
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) September 7, 2022
