"Every match was life or death... I would almost get physically ill" - When Chris Evert proclaimed junior tennis was more stressful than Grand Slams

Chris Evert once reflected on how junior tennis felt much challenging than competing in Grand Slams tournaments. She remembered feeling so anxious before every match that she nearly got sick, and how each match felt like a matter of life or death.

Evert had an outstanding juniors tennis career, which laid the foundation for her future success as a professional. She began playing tennis when she was five years old, coached by her father, Jimmy, who was a professional tennis coach. By age 15, she had already made a name for herself in the junior circuit.

In 1969, at 14 years old, she became the No. 1-ranked junior tennis player in the United States. Her dominance continued as she compiled an impressive record of 46 consecutive match wins in junior tournaments.

The American also played her first senior tournament that year, reaching the semifinals in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she lost to Mary-Ann Eisel in three sets. This set a record for the furthest a player had advanced in their debut senior-level tournament, a feat later broken by Jennifer Capriati in 1990.

Chris Evert's success in the juniors caught the attention of the tennis world, and at age 16, she made her Grand Slam debut at the 1971 US Open, where she reached the semifinals, marking the beginning of her illustrious professional career which would later see her win a whopping 18 Majors.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated in 1982, Evert said:

"I've never felt the pressure, not at Wimbledon, not at the U.S. Open, nowhere, that I went through in junior tennis."

"I still get chills thinking about it. Every match was life or death. I remember playing one of my best friends. We must have played 100 times. And before each match, I would almost get physically ill. I beat her every time. And the next time, I would get sick again," she added.

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