Chris Evert

Over the years, women’s tennis has seen a lot of champions, but very few of them did for the sport what Chris Evert did. She was a very a competitive player who combined precision fundamentals and a calm determination that led to her winning a record 90% of her matches over an 18 year career.

But Chris did more for the game than just win matches; she took the sport to new levels of public awareness. It wasn’t just that she played the sport so well that did this; it was also the way she played. She was always a model of class, grace, and elegance, and she had the entire world cheering for her to win. With her consistent play and model behavior, she was a fan favorite and a true role model that made her an icon in the sport.

Even today, years after her retirement in 1989, she still has a major influence on women’s tennis in several different ways. Not only has her legacy grown and stood the test of time, but she operates a tennis center in Boca Raton, Florida, and also helps coach tennis at Saint Andrews High School. To this day, all the people who have known her and competed against her have nothing but complementary things to say about her. So as a person that was known by all and even more importantly liked by all, except when they had to play against her, Chris Evert was definitely one of the most influential women's tennis players of all time.