Chris Evert quotes

Chris Evert is an American tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest female athletes in the sport’s history. Famous for her baseline consistency and mental toughness, she dominated women’s tennis during the 1970s and 1980s. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and helped popularize women’s tennis around the world. Here are 25 of her quotes:

I always looked ahead.

Chris Evert

To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.

Chris Evert

Every time, all the time, I'm a perfectionist. I feel I should never lose.

Chris Evert

Relationships are give-and-take, and when you're a tennis player, you're certainly not giving. You have to be self-absorbed. It has to be about you.

Chris Evert

You can't give up! If you give up, you're like everybody else.

Chris Evert

You pay a price for everything in life.

Chris Evert

If I win several tournaments in a row, I get so confident I'm in a cloud. A loss gets me eager again.

Chris Evert

My first U.S. Open I think was just very special for me because that was sort of the beginning of what was a 'Cinderella' story for me.

Chris Evert

Losing hurts me. I was determined to be the best.

Chris Evert

I think team sports probably teach you more about giving - about being unselfish and being flexible.

Chris Evert

I was very, very shy as a younger girl, just petrified of people. Tennis helped give me an identity and made me feel like somebody.

Chris Evert

I'm not an overly ambitious person; I don't feel like I have to excel.

Chris Evert

I'm not getting within 20 feet of a married man ever again - not even talking to one!

Chris Evert

Not every child is cut out for an individual sport.

Chris Evert

When I was younger, I was a robot. Wind her up and she plays tennis.

Chris Evert

I love hiking in the mountains in Aspen. Breathing the clean, fresh air is great. Plus, it gives me a cardiovascular workout and firms my legs.

Chris Evert

You've got to take the initiative and play your game. In a decisive set, confidence is the difference.

Chris Evert

Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far.

Chris Evert

I've had a lot of fear in my life, from fear of flying to fear of making a speech in front of a lot of people.

Chris Evert

Being famous before you've formed your personality, before you have that self-esteem, is dangerous.

Chris Evert

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there's going to be a life after tennis that's a lot longer than your tennis life.

Chris Evert

I still have this image: I can't be controversial, I can't say things.

Chris Evert