Chris Evert’s Shocking Comments About Karolina Muchova Spark Backlash—Why She Had to Apologize
Chris Evert rarely goes amiss with her comments, but one recent observation forced her to have to apologize.
Chris Evert is all class and this article is in no way meant to disparage the all-time great. That is not meant as an all-time great tennis player only; Evert is also an amazing person and usually handles herself with complete class. This is why a recent comment she made about Karolina Muchova was so surprising.
Evert was commentating on the match Muchova had in the second round of the US Open with Naomi Osaka – Muchova won in three sets – and said that Muchova played “like a guy.” Evert did not mean the comment to be sexist, of course, as she only meant that the Czech attempts to hit big serves and uses her volleys more than most players on the WTA tour. Again, that is according to Evert.
Perhaps the most damning comments by Evert were when she said on the broadcast, “The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better.”
Not to disagree with Evert, but her comments could certainly be interpreted as men being better players than women. For anyone who has ever played a female player who is good at tennis, one would know that just being a man does not make a player better. Sure, the levels of tennis are a bit different with the ATP and WTA, but that does not mean that women do not move as well as men.
Evert was called out for her comments by WTA No. 17 Ons Jabeur. Jabeur is truly better than 17 when she is playing well, obviously, and she has made several finals at Grand Slams. She also is not afraid to speak her mind in terms of equality for women and the quality of play on the WTA tour.
Jabeur wrote on X/Twitter, “Muchova is an amazing talented player. She doesn’t have to be a guy to have great serve, volley or movement. Can we please stop stereotyping based on gender?”
Nick Kyrgios also emphasized Jabeur’s comments on social media even though in Muchova’s post-match interview she told Kyrgios that she based her game on a men’s player, Roger Federer. This was after what Evert said on the broadcast, though, so this was too little too late on what Evert said.
The truth is that we know Evert did not mean anything sexist toward Muchova. Jabeur knows that too, though she was right to point out what Evert said. The world is a better place because Chris Evert and Ons Jabeur are in it.
