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On this 8th of March, International Women’s Rights Day, Eurosport gives the floor to one of the most eminent champions in the history of tennis. Chris Evert, 18 times Grand Slam champion and icon of the 70’s and 80’s, shares her views on tennis and more generally on women’s sports. According to them, the great figures of today have become sources of inspiration for the youth.
Chris Evert was an icon. Immense champion but also emblematic figure of women’s tennis for a good fifteen years from the 70s to the 80s, she is not the least well placed to judge the impact of the most illustrious figures on women’s sport and sometimes even beyond, on society.
For the American, who spoke to Eurosport on this International Women’s Rights Day, there are those who win, and those who, by their victories, their attitude or their positions, change the game. According to “Chrissie”, one of the most important athletes in history remains Billie Jean King, her compatriot and former sister on the WTA tour.
If someone asks me which player I admire most, I have to say Billie Jean King,” she says. She started it all. She was the first to advocate for equal rights and opportunities for women, to promote tennis for women and to promote women athletes in general.”
Beyond fighting for some form of equal pay, which female players would eventually achieve, BJK also changed the way women athletes were viewed, for Chris Evert: “She was basically saying that it was okay to be athletic, to have muscles and to sweat on the court, whereas at the time, in the 60s and 70s, it was frowned upon for a woman to be that way. So she changed not only the sport of tennis, but also the image of what a woman could be.”
TODAY, THEY TRANSCEND THEIR SPORT
There are many ways to make a mark. What Chris Evert admires most of all are the women who are able to become inspirational in any way they can. Look at what Naomi Osaka has done in terms of mental health,” says the former world number one. She opened a can of worms and opened the door to conversation, empathy and awareness that the problem exists and is endemic, not only in athletes, but in people with anxiety in general.”
Among current players, on a different note, she also hails the career reach of a champion like Ons Jabeur, a two-time Grand Slam finalist last year. For the influence she has in the Arab world and the African world,” she says of the Tunisian. She has been a role model for women in this part of the world who have not had the rights, freedom and resources that we have had here in the United States or elsewhere. This is a true transcendence of sport! She influenced a culture and society that needed a leader like her. Osaka, Jabeur, I would say these two young women have really had a significant impact on society and the world.”
From Billie Jean King to Naomi Osaka, and so many others in other disciplines like Mikaela Shiffrin, for whom Chris Evert makes no secret of his deep admiration, many are passing the torch. In the half century since she first appeared on the circuit, a lot has changed, although much remains to be done.
I think women athletes are very much respected and admired today, and little girls want to grow up and be athletes, not necessarily models or movie stars,” she says. They also want to empower themselves. Today, they transcend their sport. They become icons. They use their platform to convey very relevant information and speak about important social issues. And they have the courage to speak out.”
