"I have a pit in my stomach" - Chris Evert rebukes French daily for 'disappointments of the season' rankings ft Emma Raducanu & Jannik Sinner
Chris Evert is not pleased with French newspaper L'Equipe for formulating "disappointments of the season" rankings and disparaging young talents in the process.
Earlier this week, the French national daily published its take on some of the most disappointing performances of the 2022 season. Its top 3 from the men's field comprise Jannik Sinner and Frenchmen Ugo Humbert and Gael Monfils, while Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka feature on the women's list.
L'Equipe's rankings attracted the attention of the tennis community on Twitter, with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek's psychologist Daria Abramowicz strongly expressing her disapproval. Chris Evert agreed with the Pole, stating how unsettled she felt at the "negativity".
"Ideas like this one are disappointing. Why would they even publish that kind of "rankings"?," sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz tweeted.
"Agree, I have a pit in my stomach when i read negativity like this. Can we just move on ???," said 18-time Major winner Chris Evert while quoting Abramowicz's tweet.
Agree…. I have a pit in my stomach when i read negatively like this…Can we just move on ??? twitter.com/abramowiczd/st…
It's imperative to note that 21-year-old Sinner made the last eight at three of the Majors this season despite recurring run-ins with injury. Raducanu, meanwhile, played her maiden full season this year after winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier.
Monfils, on his part, has endured an injury-riddled season and even contemplated an early retirement after recently becoming a father. With 4 Grand Slam success on her CV, Osaka chose to adopt a more selective schedule this year to work on her mental health.
Chris Evert in support of welcoming Boris Becker back to tennis after prison release
Chris Evert has an active presence on Twitter and regularly expresses her opinions on trending matters within and beyond tennis. After tennis legend Boris Becker was released prematurely from prison after a £2.5m fraud in the UK, Evert opined that the German had atoned for his mistakes and that his imprisonment could have a "silver lining" for him.
Tennis analyst Darren Cahill urged the tennis community to welcome Becker back to the sport in some capacity. Evert concurred with the Australian and conveyed her best wishes to her decorated contemporary.
"Totally agree, @darren_cahill, well said. He has paid his dues and sounds like he did a lot of soul-searching during his time in prison. There is a silver lining in this for him, somewhere. I wish him the best," the American said in a tweet.
Totally agree, @darren_cahill well said….He has paid his dues and sounds like he did a lot of soul searching during his time in prison. There is a silver lining in this for him, somewhere…🙏🙏🙏I wish him the best… twitter.com/darren_cahill/…