Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert enjoyed one of the best rivalries tennis has ever seen.
The WTA legends met a stunning 80 times on the court, and almost ended their careers with a very fitting head-to-head record.
It was, however, Navratilova who enjoyed the last laugh in that regard, winning 43 of those matches, with Evert claiming the other 37.
Both players have since been able to comment on their epic rivalry, with the duo enjoying a very close relationship off the court.
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The off-court relationship between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
Speaking in ‘Unmatched’, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary in 2010, Navratilova said: “Most of all, it is a relationship that you never had with anybody else: going through the same thing, to get to the same point in your life, but never there at the same time.
“Either I won or she won.
“We were never in the same emotional plane at the same time.
“So we can totally empathize.
“All that brings out an honesty, and trust, that I don’t have with anybody else.”
And Evert commented: “Friends come and go in your life.
“It’s very rare that you can have a 30-year relationship with anybody, aside from your siblings and your parents.
“Martina and I, we started out as teenagers, and we grew up in each other’s eyes.
“It’s just so rare that we were able to maintain that respect, that closeness and that friendship, despite the fact that we were trying to beat each other’s brains out every single day.
“She was in my life every single day, whether I liked it or not.
“She was in my life, every single day, for 30 years.”
Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert WTA career stats
The stunning rivalry between the pair will live long in their memories, and indeed the memories of countless tennis fans.
But rivalry aside, both players enjoyed simply phenomenal individual careers, shining in both singles and doubles for many years.
| Chris Evert | Martina Navratilova | |
| 154 | Titles | 167 |
| 1 | Career-high rank | 1 |
| 1304/144 | Win/loss | 1442/219 |
| $8,896,195 | Prize money | $21,626,089 |
Very fittingly, Navratilova and Evert each ended their singles careers with 18 Grand Slam titles, and each completed the career Grand Slam.
They also reached number one in the world rankings, and ended their careers with 167 and 154 WTA titles respectively.
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