RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Simply the best. Only changing from wood rackets allowed the others into the game.

astonishing records, longevity, grace and beauty,...one of the greatest ever!

Unquestionably one of the greatest players ever - and one of of my favourite ones - but: a way back behind Graf and a bit behind Navratilova... She was very dominant on clay, but never won more than two grand slams a year. She just did 2 Wimbledon-Titles. What is her opinion about who is the best player ever? "Steffi Graf's the best all-around player. Martina won more on fast courts and I won more on slow courts, but Steffi came along and won more titles on both surfaces".

Her strength was her consistancy, but she'd get eaten alive on today's courts for lack of power.

THIS IS WHAT CHRIS EVERT SAID HERSELF ABOUT HER, MARTINA AND STEFFI: "Steffi Graf's the best all-around player. Martina won more on fast courts and I won more on slow courts, but Steffi came along and won more titles on both surfaces",says Chris Evert on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series. SHE WAS GREAT - BUT TO PUT HER ON THE TOP OF THE LIST IS JUST IS JUST FUNNY. SHE WOULDNT LIKE THAT HERSELF....

No. She's still far under Navratilova.

SHE IS THE ONE AND ONLY NUMBER ONE!!!

i LOVED chris evert. especially when she was playing against navratilova. she always seemed to be physically so weak in comparison with martina. it was a bit like two different periods of time were competing against each other. unforgettable when she set her groundstrokes while navratilova moved to the net. and great how much she improved her game over the years. one of the greatest without a question. to stay at top for such a long long time, improving the game and being able to compete also with the young newcomers - that makes a great a real champion. near but a bit behind graf,navratilova and court.

Evert was not as nice as all you Americans seem to think....She also won several of her French titles in very weak fields (granted the last two were against the infinately superior human being Martina Navratilova) and was also given the incredible good fortune to have Austin breakdown from injuries when everyone knows she was better than Evert and would have forced her into a thankful retirement. Evert also always made lame excuses for not winning Wimbledon like the time she 'fell in love' with John Lloyd in 1978 thus taking the glory from Navratilova and 'when Jimmy walked into the box with Susan George' in 1975 during her semi final loss to King. Evert also made snipey comments about her contemporaries including many about Navratilova's private life in the most supremecist Bush tones and once said 'Evonne (Goolagong)is the top player with the fewest titles'. Goolagong actually shared Wimbledon meetings with Evert (2-2) and also defeated her at least once at the US Open AND the AUstralian and they never met at the French becasue when Chrissie arrived on the scene Evonne had already 'been there and done that' anyway. To compare her game with Goolagong or Navratilova or Graf is the highest of insaults. Evert was one thing: a Metronome and not even THAT good looking. You dont see headlines or websites about how much Navratilova gives to the homeless OR how much time Goolagong spends in the Australian Bush with underpriveledged kids but I notice there are more websites devoted to Chrissie than anyone.....Evert has a great record alright but is he one of the greats.......NO.......Anyone looking to see one of the greatest and most unique players ever only has to look at Goolagong's killing of Chrissie in the 1980 Wimbledon Final. As for the US Open. Well unfortunately for Evonne they moved to hard courts then clay! during the mid 70s and for her to make the finals was an incredible achievement but the surfaces suited Evert right down to the groundies....Navratilova is an angel for coming along and getting her act together but Chris Evert also benefitted from the fact that nobody like King much, nobody understood Navratilova, Austin wasnt around long enough and Goolagong was either injured a lot or having babies....So what about her winning at least 1 grand slam for 13 years....Greatness is measured in quality NOT quantity and she wasnt even the all time champ there....Margaret Court was !

a great, great, player. she and Arthur Ashe are the ones who got me interested in tennis, and partucularly women's tennis with Chris. Probably my first female athletic crush was on her. America's best female tennis player of all time! And what a looker with those great legs!..wow

No one can match her incredible consistency. She won at least one Grand Slam title for 13 consecutive years.

More than BJK or even Martina, she put Women's tennis on the map. Easy on the eyes, as well.

and not bad to look at, either

Chris is a class act, and she may be the greatest female tennis player ever. She played hard and played smart tennis. She was an awesome player and a good sport. She also is very, very beautiful. She made women's tennis more popular; before her, many people didn't have respect for women's tennis. She was a pioneer. An awesome player and an awesome person.

and very pretty

Chris is certainly one of the greatest women players of all time. She was quite small built, yet generated a lot of power on her strokes. This was due to excellent footwork, positioning, anticipation and hip/shoulder rotation. She played tennis with a chess player's mind, thinking 2 steps ahead of her opponents. No wonder she always seemed to be in the right place waiting to put away their shots for a winner. Her opponents on the other hand seemed to be constantly on the move fromside to side!! She was simply terrific.

Very self-absorbed . . . glad she doesn't commentate anymore for NBC . . . played a pusher's game . . . really boring person . . . nowhere near Martina Navratilova . . . bad at doubles (but won Wimbledon in '76 with Martina) . . . insincere person

She will always be my favorite player. She started as the young ingenue and grew into the classiest and smartest champion ever. She may not have been the fastest, strongest or flashiest, but Chris will always be the most precise, consistant and graceful lady to play tennis. Always gracious when she won and in defeat. I truly believe she paved the way for the pretty tennis player...take note Anna!

Superior mental powers, grace, class, consistency, skill, concentration, etc, plus one crucial element especially missing on Martina's reseme; humility. Simply the greatest ambassador for the sport in the history of tennis. Best slow court player of all time, yet her championship versitility was evident on all surfaces.

Alyosha, 154 titles and 18 grand slam titles make her in no way possibly overrated. Get it right! When she played it was magic and intelligence in motion.

she is just so over-rated

Chris is my absolute all time favorite player. A great player and a great champion. Real sexy too... Wanted to share some non-tennis related facts about Chrissie... she was voted in a Penthouse FORUM poll as the "loveliest legs in the world" The 50th sexiest woman EVER in the world in 1995 by FHM magazine and the press declared her boobs to be the "best in the business"!!

Not the best athlete by any stretch, but when it came to mental toughness, she was in a class by herself. Plus, on clay, the most demanding surface there is, she went several years without losing a single match, and won a Grand Slam title every year for a 13 year stretch. Her overall record in the Grand Slams is unparalleled--man or woman.

Chrissy is the most consistent champion, male or female, of all time. It is one thing to get to the top; it is another thing to stay there. Nobody, by any stetch of the imagination, stayed there better than Chrissie.

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, the greatest off court for all she give back to the sport. Terrific human being for all she's giving back to community. Smart, funny (do you ever seen her at her pro celeb?), kind. A LIVING SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

I've always been fond of Chris Evert. I think she was a very strong player and always came across as a real person, really down to earth and cordial. I liked her as a commentator as well. Ah what the hell.. she was kinda foxy too.

great athelete, great person