"I think about you every day" - Chris Evert reminisces about sister Jeanne as old photograph of the duo as teens resurfaces
While most tennis aficionados remember Chris Evert as one of the best players to have ever played the sport, only keen admirers would recall having watched her younger sister Jeanne make her mark on the professional circuit.
Chris Evert, obviously, falls into the category of those handful of admirers. The former World No. 1, on Friday, took a moment to remember her "sweet sister" while reacting to a picture of the two on Twitter.
The photograph, taken back in 1972, showed both Chris and Jeanne standing next to each other on the court with beaming smiles on their faces. The social media user noted that the photograph had been taken in the same year that Chris won her first year-ending championships — then known as the Virginia Slims Championships.
Reacting to the post, Chris Evert said there wasn't a day when she didn't think about her younger sister. Notably, Jeanne Evert died of ovarian cancer in February 2020 at the age of 62.
RIP my sweet sister.. I think about you every day…❤️❤️❤️ twitter.com/christophclare…
"RIP my sweet sister.. I think about you every day," Evert wrote on Twitter.
Chris Evert's exploits on the tennis court still hold relevance in the form of unbeaten records, but her sister also had quite a successful career — reaching a career-high of World No. 28 (at her peak, she was also the ninth-best ranked American player) and making the third round at the US Open twice.
Jeanne and Chris Evert's tennis careers
Both Jeanne and Chris Evert trained at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center — run by their father, a two-time US age-group champion — located at the Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The elder sister turned pro in 1972 and found instant success on the Tour, reaching the summit clash at both the 1973 French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. A year later, she would go on to win both tournaments as part of her 55-match winning streak — a record at the time.
For Evert, what followed the initial success were another 16 Grand Slam titles, a record 35 finals, a total of seven year-end world No. 1 finishes, and numerous other records.
Jeanne Evert, meanwhile, turned pro in 1973 — a year after her sister. She also made an impact early on, reaching the third round of the US Open that year with wins over Janet Hass and Valerie Bradshaw. The third-round showing, which she repeated at the 1978 edition, remains the best of her six-year career.