‘Didn’t Have a Lot of Money’ – Chris Evert’s Heartfelt Revelation on Late Father’s Coaching Strikes Powerful Chord With Serena Williams’ Story

Tennis is a tough sport, they call it. With expensive facilities and equipment, not many are able to make it to the top and have successful careers. However, there are many examples of players coming from humble backgrounds and carving a niche for themselves. One of the most famous examples is that of Serena Williams, who grew up on the public tennis courts of Compton to find success in the sport. Williams’ father, Richard Williams used to take her and her elder sister, Venus, to the public courts to train day in and day out.

Nonetheless, the Williams sisters aren’t the only ones who had this upbringing. Last month, Chris Evert shared a gripping tale that raised many goosebumps. Back in September this year, Evert was involved in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange. Speaking at the USTA Foundation’s event on making tennis more accessible to young people, Evert flashed back to her childhood days when her father used to train her in the sport.

Evert revealed, “I was brought up in the public park system you know. I wasn’t brought up in country clubs. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up and my dad was a teaching pro and he gave us that opportunity to go to the public parks and it’s really interesting because one day I asked him after I was ranked number one in the world he taught all five of our kids in our family and I asked him why did you teach us tennis, why did you want us to be involved in tennis and instead of oh I wanted you to see the world or you know make a good living or he said to keep you kids off the streets.”

Evert’s father, Jimmy, was a professional tennis coach and encouraged his children to pursue tennis. Eventually, it was Evert who made it big and became one of the legends of the sport. Similarly, Serena Williams was also trained by her father in Compton. When she achieved the peak of her career, Williams returned to Compton and had the courts named after her. “Everyone here will have an opportunity to make their dreams come true, kinda like Venus and I did, that really means a lot to us,” as she helped refurbish the courts where she trained in childhood.

Another glaring similarity between Evert and Williams was that they both had strict fathers. Evert once highlighted this nature of her father while he coached her.

How Chris Evert was left with no choice in her childhood
Coming from a tennis-playing family, the sport ran deep in Evert’s blood. She took to tennis at a very young age and had her father train her. Despite being young, her father used to follow a strict routine for Evert backed by discipline. During an interview once, Evert highlighted this characteristic about her father while describing his role in her career.

Evert mentioned, “I didn’t have any choice. I had a pretty strict father. You couldn’t answer back to him. It was that generation of parents. So, my dad was a player himself. There were five kids in our family and he taught every single one of them, starting five years old. All of a sudden, my dad starts picking me up at school and bring me to Holiday Park tennis courts and I was really mad but I suppressed it.”

However, excelling in tennis helped Evert get into college on a scholarship and her dad never had to pay a cent for the college. Eventually, Evert went on to become the World Number 1 player and won several big titles, including 18 Grand Slam singles titles.