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April 2026
RL/People

The Summer of the Ice Maiden

Fifty years after winning both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year, Chris Evert looks back—and forward.
Chris Evert’s opponents called her the Ice Maiden. John McEnroe is more succinct: “She was an assassin.” And her numbers across her 17 years as a professional still make one pause: Her .900 winning percentage (1,309–146) remains the best in pro tennis history—male or female. For 13 consecutive years, she won at least one Grand Slam singles title—a feat Jack Nicklaus once called “the greatest record in sports.” And across nearly six years, she won 125 consecutive matches on clay without a loss. And then there’s this highlight: 50 years ago this summer, Evert became the second woman in the Open era (after Billie Jean King) to win both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. It remains a remarkable one-two, especially when one considers that while Evert often ruled on clay, Centre Court’s grass could bedevil her at times.
Chris Evert’s opponents called her the Ice Maiden. John McEnroe is more succinct: “She was an assassin.” And her numbers across her 17 years as a professional still make one pause: Her .900 winning percentage (1,309–146) remains the best in pro tennis history—male or female. For 13 consecutive years, she won at least one Grand Slam singles title—a feat Jack Nicklaus once called “the greatest record in sports.” And across nearly six years, she won 125 consecutive matches on clay without a loss. And then there’s this highlight: 50 years ago this summer, Evert became the second woman in the Open era (after Billie Jean King) to win both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. It remains a remarkable one-two, especially when one considers that while Evert often ruled on clay, Centre Court’s grass could bedevil her at times. That final on July 2, 1976, was epic. Evert, who was 21 at the time and ranked number one in the world, faced Evonne Goolagong, who was not only bred on grass, but riding 26 consecutive wins. After splitting the first two sets, Goolagong took a 2-0 lead in the third. That’s when Evert, who rarely left the baseline, made a tactical shift and started to move toward the net. Her focused strategy worked. The third set would go to 14 games, and with the score at 7-6, Evert hit one of her trademark two-handed backhanders for the match. It was then that the Ice Maiden did something she almost never did: She threw her racquet in the air and began to cry. Two months later at the US Open final, Evert would again take on Goolagong, but this time she would face her on the surface she ruled: clay. (The US Open did not switch to hard court until 1977.) And unlike at Wimbledon, Evert would leave no doubt. On clay at Forest Hills—her surface, her terms—there was no drama, no battle of nerves. It was simply Evert at her most ruthless: 6-0, 6-3. Evert’s triumphal back-to-back majors would close out her magical Summer of ’76. Recently, we sat down with her at Wimbledon to talk to her about her playing days and where she is now in her life. —The Editors

You played Wimbledon many times. What goes through your mind when you return here?

This is the one Grand Slam that never gets old. It’s the one tournament that’s bigger than the players. And I feel bad when I say that as an American who loves my US Open! But this one, I think it’s the one tournament every player desires to win. And when you do, you feel you are on the top of the world. Like you’re untouchable. I still get chills.

Do you ever have a moment now, sitting in the stands or in the booth, watching a player who might be struggling and you’re thinking, “Get me out there. I know what to do. I can win this!”

Well, when I’m commenting, it’s my job to analyze them, and talk about what they need to do to win. Tennis is all about problem-solving on the court. And I feel that was my strength. I wasn’t 6 feet tall with big muscles and a lot of firepower behind my ground strokes. I was more about consistency and reliability and steadiness. And mentally I could deal with pressure. And that’s the thing—it’s such a mental game. Sometimes when I’m watching the players and they aren’t making the changes I think they should be making, I’m wondering why they can’t see it on the court.

You were such a fierce competitor. Where did that spirit come from?

It was something I was born with. You know, I had a very good awareness of my game. I knew my strengths and weaknesses. I tried to maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. I never missed a ball. Because I knew consistency could wear down my opponent. In my day, tennis was different. Now, it’s all about power. In my day it was being solid and consistent and focused on every point. For me, every point was like match point.

Is there anything about the game in general you think needs to change?

I’m beginning to think they need to rethink the schedule. Tennis is now 11 months a year. There’s really no offseason. And the matches are getting tougher and tougher and we’re seeing more injuries.
TEEN MACHINE
Chris Evert, seen here at Wimbledon, has been a force in tennis since 1971, when, at age 16, she made her debut at the US Open where she made it to the semifinals. Five years later, in 1976, Evert raised the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

You’re an incredible champion. You’ve faced a lot of battles. You have a different one now.

Yes. I’ve had ovarian cancer. I’ve had to go through two surgeries and chemo. It’s been tough. But I always think that there are millions of people in the world who have faced cancer in a brave fashion.

You’ve been an ambassador for Pink Pony, Ralph Lauren’s global commitment to provide quality cancer care to everyone, and you have a documentary coming out this summer about your rivalry and friendship with Martina Navratilova, who has also had a cancer battle. How has your fight against cancer changed how you see life?

I think I’ve become more patient. When I look back, I became a star in tennis at 15. I had people always telling me how great I was. And that’s just not good. It’s not good for a kid, before they develop their moral compass, their principles, their personality, their character, to hear all that. It created a sense of delusion. When people are always telling you how great you are, you start to believe that. It’s not normal or good for a teenager to go through that. So, now I find myself paying deeper attention to others. I have more self-awareness. More gratitude. I have my priorities of family and health. And I’d tell every woman to get tested. You know, when you are about to walk onto Centre Court, you pass by a line from Rudyard Kipling they’ve put on the wall: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same.” I think about that often.
Wellness

Net Gains

Two studies have found tennis to be a uniquely healthy sport.

Whether you were watching last year’s US Open from Arthur Ashe Stadium or from home, you might have noticed something unusual emblazoned upon the iconic blue playing surface: the phrase “The World’s Healthiest Sport.” It’s a bold assertion—one you’re not likely to encounter at a baseball game or a curling match. But what’s the evidence? According to the Copenhagen City Heart Study, published by the Mayo Clinic, in which roughly 8,500 people were followed for up to 25 years, tennis adds roughly 9.7 years of life expectancy gains to those who play it. (Jogging, meanwhile, adds a mere 3.2.) Researchers found that all that running around the court helps support an athlete’s endurance and cardiovascular health, particularly given the frenetic, stop-and-start nature of the sport, as opposed to those with more consistent movement. The game also increases agility, balance, and bone density, as you swing the racquet, run for a ball, and stretch to nail a winning return—moves that differ from, say, swimming (another sport researchers studied).
And then there’s the mental aspect of tennis, which requires constant strategizing and adjusting, stimulating neural plasticity, in contrast to more repetitive sports like cycling. Finally, researchers speculate that it’s the social nature of tennis that “contribute[s] to a sense of well-being and improved long-term health” versus more solitary pursuits: you interact with your doubles partner and your opponent(s), play in leagues, participate in group clinics. (Interestingly, the second-best sport is badminton; soccer, meanwhile, placed third, while the remaining sports are all individual ones.) It’s not just the Copenhagen study, by the way, that supports these findings. As The New York Times reported earlier this year, researchers from Great Britain and the the United States also found that playing racquet sports was linked to living longer. —Paul L. Underwood
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