The Exclusive ChrisEvert.Net Combo-Interviews!!

Q: You were known within the tennis world for being one of the best dirty joke tellers around. Do you regret that your humorous side did not come out more on court, in the public eye?

A: That’s a good question. I’m trying to think if I regret anything about the way I was, the way I was perceived. I do and I don’t. I do in a sense that I know there is another side to me that my friends and family saw and couldn’t believe that other people couldn’t see. But on the other hand, I am still basically a private person. I’m not the type that says, “You can have all of me.” So in that respect, it was kind of nice to have something set aside for myself and for the people that really knew me. But it’s a good question. I don’t think I regret it.

Q: So what’s your daily workout nowadays?

A: Saturday and Sunday I don’t do anything, Three times a week I practice from 3 to 6 with kids from the (Evert Tennis) Academy. It’s fun. I wouldn’t call three adults and say, “Let’s go out and hit.”

Q: You had some nice Legends results in the mid-90s. Do you think you could have played professionally beyond 1989?

A: Eventually you have to go on to something else. Why do you stay in the game as long as you do? A lot of people do because they don’t have anything else in their life that’s more special.

Q: They haven’t found anything to replace the winning?

A: Right. If I hadn’t had Andy, if I had been single and alone and insecure, maybe I would have stayed in the game. But I felt sort of grounded so I felt like I could make the move in a graceful way.

Q: You were graceful on court and off court, which really sets you apart from the pack. But you’re still an accomplished dirty joke teller without anyone suspecting a thing.

A: Good. I don’t want people to know everything about me.

Q: I know. But will you tell a joke?

A: To you? In print?

Q: Do you have any that are fit to print?

A: I’m thinking…

Q: Do you know any clean jokes?

A: Not that are funny. (laughs) There are no funny clean jokes.

Q: OK, do you regret having told Feinstein that you once smoked marijuana?

A: I said one sentence to Feinstein and then I saw the headlines. I’m sorry, but in the 70s I did try marijuana. In the 70s that was the thing to try. So I did experiment.

Q: There was also some controversy with him regarding your being pro-choice.

A: He said he heard I was pro-choice on the abortion issue. I said, “So?” And he said, “Well, you never said it.” Well, no one had asked me how I felt about a lot of things. The public doesn’t really know who I am anyway.

Q: So what else does the public not know about you?

A: I don’t like gender roles for boys and girls. I think you want boys to be in touch with their feelings and girls to be athletic. I’m not saying I’d dress my boys up in high heels, but if they want to play with a doll, fine. I’d laugh.

Q: Any grand admissions about your playing career you’d make in hindsight?

A: Being number one and being a winner were always very important to me. I’m not the most versatile natural athlete in the world, so I had to make up for it mentally and put all my eggs in one basket as far as concentrating and really being determined. But I never felt that I reached my potential. I never felt that I was ‘the perfect tennis player.’ I always knew that I had weaknesses and areas to work on in my game, whether it be my serve and volley or my movement around the court. I always felt that I could be better.

Q: And yet you have the highest winning percentage of all male and female players in history.

A: I think you have it in your heart, in your will. It was inside me to be a champion.

Q: That brings us to an interesting point. You now are involved with the Evert Tennis Academy. But you’ve said that you’re not of the opinion that all great players should in fact turn pro.

A: I was on tour for 18 years and I saw a lot of people who didn’t make it, who had nothing to fall back on. Very few are cut out for that life (on tour). What I see is overzealous parents, and I understand how tempting it is that your 14-year-old can earn a million dollars in a year. But if somebody is winning at 14, she is still going to win three years down the road. It’s up to the parents to make decisions for their kids that are good for their kids and not for their bank accounts.

Q: What kind of players would you like to see on tour?

A: High school educated ones, preferably. I would like to expose my own kids to every opportunity in life, like the arts and literature, not only sports. You can be a complete idiot and be an athlete. I’m not in this business to train champions, solely. I do know motivation, and I do know pressure. And that’s where I can help these kids (at the Academy). But I talk to them about conscience. I see what’s been happening the last ten years to manners and sportsmanship, and maybe this is my way of giving my opinion on the subject without shoving it down anyone’s throat.

Q: One last question. Now that you have kids, what do you do on Halloween? Who do you dress up as?

A: (Thinks) ...Xena the Warrior Princess.

….MORE TO COME…