Tennis News: Chris Evert, Carlos Alcaraz and Steffi Graf

Chris Evert has always seemed calm and comfortable. That is either on the court or off it. When she was a player she wasn’t exactly known for her emotional outbursts, and as an excellent commentator on tennis broadcasts, she is reflective and poised. But what some didn’t know is that at times she was uncomfortable in the locker room during the 1977 US Open. And yet, there’s much more to the story.

What happened was that Renee Richards had sued the USTA and was allowed to play in the US Open in 1977. Richards, who was born Richard Raskind, had played in tournaments in the 1950s before she had a sex change operation, but she had not played major tournaments since the change in 1975.

While Richards would lose to Virginia Wade in the first round of the US Open, Chris Evert still spent some time in the locker room when Richards was there as well. The issue, it seems wasn’t in how Richards was acting, however, but in how Chris Evert felt.

Chris Evert, Carlos Alcaraz, and Steffi Graf (sort of) are in the news

According to Sportskeeda, Chris Evert told the New York Times, “It was a little uncomfortable to go into the locker room. Renee (Richards) would be in there – do you look, do you not look? But she was just such a gracious person, with no resentment about the press coverage. It was a life lesson and definitely made me a better person.”

Just proves it takes a gracious person to learn from a situation. Chris Evert did just that.

Someone who might end up needing to stay gracious is Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard has struggled a bit since July – relatively struggled as Alcaraz’s level of success is still higher than most even when he isn’t winning tournaments – while Novak Djokovic has won yet another Grand Slam (the US Open). But according to Steffi Graf’s former coach, Heinz Gintard, Djokovic is probably going to win three or four more majors.

If this is true, Carlos Alcaraz will just have to wait a couple of more years before completely dominating the sport. Meanwhile, Djokovic could get to a number of Grand Slam victories that no player ever will be able to match. Of course, that’s what GOATs do.

As far as Heinz Gintard, he knows a few things about a player winning majors. He coached Steffi Graf from 1992 to 1999. In that time, Graf won 11 majors.