The Making Of A Legend

Tennis icon and Rolex Testimonee Chris Evert on the game, its evolution, and icons past and present.

- Chongwan Tay

In 2017, WTA Legend Ambassador and Rolex Testimonee, Chris Evert, famously predicted Naomi Osaka to be the breakthrough star of 2018 in the association’s State Of The Game interview. “I also predicted Simona Halep to win her first Grand Slam so I’m a soothsayer. I’m psychic!” Evert laughs as she settles into the sofa for our chat.

The first thing I noticed about Chris Evert was her stride. Jaunty and graceful, the tennis legend breezed into the suite at the Marina Bay Sands on an October morning with nary a sign of jetlag or the busy schedule she’d been keeping since her arrival in Singapore two days before. She is cheerful and summery — every inch a Florida native — dressed in a brightly-coloured print dress and heels, with perfectly coiffed blond hair. At 63, she exudes more energy than most people a decade younger. And she had been running from meeting to meeting before 10am.

Despite the “ice maiden” nickname for her cool, steely on-court style, Evert is, in person, quite the opposite. Expressive and unguarded, she eases into conversation quickly. But the sunny disposition belies a certain readiness and sharpness that made her a superstar during her years of competition. After all, this 18 Grand Slam singles winner was the golden girl of tennis who dominated the game with her cool-headedness and focus. John McEnroe once described her as “an assassin that dressed just nice and said the right things and meanwhile cut you to shreds”. Now, she exercises that incisiveness as a commentator on ESPN. Her insightful anecdotes and commentary are often peppered with humour and are equally well-received on Twitter.