"Really didn't enjoy playing Chrissie" - Kathy Rinaldi recalls playing the all-time greats in women's tennis ft. Chris Evert, Steffi Graf
Chris Evert was a tough nut to crack for several tennis players during the 1970s and 80s as she was a resilient player. Evert remained at the No. 1 position in the WTA rankings for about 260 weeks and was the year-end top-ranked player seven times.
Former tennis pro Kathy Rinaldi is one of the many athletes who found it difficult to play against the former World No. 1 during her career.
In a recent conversation on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Rinaldi was asked about the toughest player she had faced in her career. She replied:
"To be honest with you, I really didn't enjoy playing Chrissie [Chris Evert] too much. She didn't give me much. She was always just so tough"
Looking at the positive side, the former World No. 7 conveyed that playing alongside great players with the likes of Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova has helped her improve a lot.
"I learned so much from them and being surrounded by strong women has really helped me. I enjoyed playing with Steffi Graf. I mean, what a champion," she opined.
The American was grateful for the fact that she was fortunate enough to play against players from a wide range of generations, from Virginia Wade to Serena Williams.
"There is just so many. Martina [Navratilova], all the way down to Venus and Serena Williams in my last match. So, you know what, there's just so many great players. I remember playing Virginia Wade when I was fourteen. So, I mean, it's incredible to play, the generation of players that I was able to play and I'm just so fortunate and blessed that I was able to do that," Rinaldi stated.
A look at the head-to-head record between Chris Evert and Kathy Rinaldi
Chris Evert faced off against Kathy Rinaldi on nine occasions during her entire career and won all their contests.
The two met for the first time at the Amelia Island Championship in 1984 where Evert outclassed her compatriot in straight sets (7-5, 6-1). The only meeting in which Rinaldi was able to put up a fight was in the 1986 Houston Open final where she took the match to the third set for the first time against Evert. However, she failed to turn the tie around and lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
The final meeting between the two happened at the 1989 Houston Open where Evert won 6-0, 6-3.