When Chris Evert was denied prize money despite winning the WTA Finals in 1972
Chris Evert broke into the tennis limelight in 1970 at the tender age of 15, when she defeated then World No. 1 Margaret Court at a clay court tournament in North Carolina.
Subsequently, Chris Evert, who won 157 singles titles and a staggering 18 Grand Slams, made her Grand Slam debut at the 1971 US Open aged 16. It is worth noting that Evert clinched as many as 11 titles before turning 18. In 1972, she won three titles before qualifying for the first-ever season-ending WTA Finals, which went by “Virginia Slims Championships” at the time.
The rising star went on to win the prestigious tennis tournament. Still, Evert was disallowed by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association from taking home the winner’s paycheck of $22,000, as 17-year-old Evert, who wasn’t yet an adult, was classified as an amateur. However, she remained determined and returned the following year to successfully defend her WTA Finals title in 1973 and claim the full prize money.
The American legend’s earnings soon skyrocketed, owing to her magnificent display of tennis. She became the first female player to reach $1 million in career prize money in 1976, having earned over $8 million throughout her career on the tennis courts.
"When Chrissie lost, it was miserable being married to her" – Chris Evert’s ex-husband John Lloyd
Chris Evert’s ex-husband and former British tennis player John Lloyd, who recently released his autobiography, "Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography," spoke about his marriage to the tennis legend on the Rock n Roll Tennis podcast.
The former player revealed that Chris Evert did not take her losses in stride and would hold on to them for days later. He mentioned an incident in 1980 when Evert lost the Wimbledon final against Evonne Goolagong Cawley and stated that she dismissed his suggestions of a trip to Hawaii.
"When Chrissie lost, it was miserable being married to her. For a week, it was like a catastrophe, she was not good. So, there was no fun going on in the Lloyd household for a week. So, we get on the plane to Miami. We got a ten-hour flight. Those days, there was no video. So, I pretended to read and I knew she didn't want to talk to me. She was looking outside the window thinking that she would jump out," Lloyd said.
"So I said to [Chris Evert] 'Bad luck, you know. Let's go to a holiday in Hawaii or somewhere.' She looked at me and said 'You're kidding, aren't you?' I said, 'You want to go someplace else?' She goes, 'Yea, I want to go home, I want to get our racquets, I want to go right out on the courts and I want to play for two or three hours. I don't want to ever lose to her again,' and it was around 100 degrees in Miami during the summer on clay,” he recalled.
Earlier in August 2022, Lloyd had revealed that by marrying Evert, he "went into a world that was way out of my league.” The couple divorced in 1987 after eight years of marriage.