Chris Evert hails Ons Jabeur and Naomi Osaka on International Women's Day for impacting lives around the world
On the occasion of International Women's Day, Chris Evert spoke highly of numerous female tennis players, with special mentions for Ons Jabeur and Naomi Osaka.
Tunisia's Jabeur became the first Arab and African woman ever to reach a Grand Slam final at the 2022 Wimbledon, where she lost to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina. The World No. 4 repeated her heroic performance at the 2022 US Open as she lost to Iga Swiatek in the title clash. Jabeur has inspired millions of kids from her region, giving them the courage to dream big.
Similarly, Osaka has shown tremendous bravery by talking about the mental health issues that she has faced in her life, leading numerous people around the world to start talking about something as important as mental health. Speaking to Eurosport, Evert praised female athletes for raising their voices on serious issues.
“Female athletes transcend their sports now, they become icons. They use their platform to give very pertinent thoughts and talk about very important issues that relate to society, and they have the courage to speak up."
"Look what Naomi Osaka did with mental health. She just opened up a can of worms there and opened the door to have a conversation and to be empathetic and to realize that it is there and it is rampant, not only for athletes but people suffering from anxiety in general."
The 18-time Grand Slam champion added that Jabeur had become an inspiration for the underprivileged and taken the sport to new heights.
“I think everybody brings something, all the top players," Evert said. "I don’t know how you can differentiate between Naomi for what she did for mental health and Jabeur for the influence she has in the Arab world and the African world."
"Ons has been a role model for women in that part of the world who haven’t had the rights and haven’t had the freedom and the resources that we’ve had over here in America or in other parts of the world. Talk about transcending the sport," she added.
"Billie Jean King changed the image of what a woman could be" - Chris Evert
Speaking to Eurosport on International Women's Day, Chris Evert praised Billie Jean King, crediting her for pushing for equal rights for women in tennis. Evert said that King changed the general perception that women cannot be athletic.
“Billie Jean King started it all," she said. "She was the leader for women’s equal rights and equal opportunities and promoting the sport of tennis for women and promoting women athletes in general."
“She was basically saying, 'it is okay to be athletic and have muscles and sweat on the court,' when in those days, in the 60s and 70s, it was frowned upon for a woman to be that way. So she changed not only the sport of tennis but the image of what a woman could be," Chris Evert added.