The finals of the WTA They are the final chapter of the professional women’s tennis circuit in 2021. As of November 10, they will be playing in Guadalajara (Mexico), and to analyze the 2021 tennis season and the meeting of the best tennis players of this, Chris Evert spoke to THE TIME of the season.
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Evert is considered one of the most important female tennis players in history: she won 18 grand slam, is the top winner at Roland Garros – with seven titles – and was one of the leaders in the campaign for equality in tennis among the men’s branches and feminine.
Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova, Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek, Garbiñe Muguruza, Paula Badosa and Anett Kontaveit will be the eight tennis players to contest the Guadalajara title.
Hand in hand with Chris, a legend
Chris, the Akron WTA Finals begin and the curtain closes on a new year on the World Tour, how are you feeling in the run-up to the finals?
I’m looking at all the contestants, you know. From Swiatek, Muguruza, Badosa, Kontaveit. I mean, I’m looking at everyone who had a great impact and has a very successful 2021, everyone who won tournaments; Krejcíková won a grand slam, Badosa won Indian Wells. I mean, it’s extraordinary. No player is dominating, they are all very capable and very talented, very capable of winning. I don’t dare to choose one yet; If they ask me to choose one, I would not know who. That’s how tennis is, it’s how close they are today.
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If we talk about the World Tour, I can’t help asking you about Roland Garros, a tournament that you won 7 times. How did you see the victory of Barbora Krejcíková?
I was very surprised, it was a great story. She had just mastered the circuit in doubles, but had never achieved anything successful in singles. So for her to go through the rounds and beat the best players like she did, play the level of tennis that she had, they didn’t even know she was there. But it was a great story, it was also a recognition for Jana Novotna, his former coach. She was very impressed with the way it looked complete. She had never been in that situation. It is very impressive indeed. I mean, it’s like Emma (Raducanu) at the US Open. It is very impressive that the players have never been so successful individually, they can go through 7 matches undefeated, in Emma’s case it was 10. Krejcíková beats seven really quality players and does not disappoint.
You were the number one in the world and today a number one in the world is out of tennis, Naomi Osaka, what do you think of your fight for mental health?
I think it had to be exposed to the public, open. I think that many players have mental conflicts, not only in tennis but in other sports, and many people in life have suffered. I think it just transcends tennis, it’s life. And I think that’s something that we didn’t talk about enough, that’s been a taboo, a private personal topic that people are embarrassed to talk about, but, I mean, I have anxiety disorder, and I like it, yeah! finally someone talks about this. You don’t have to be a professional athlete, you can be a mother and have anxiety disorders, you know. Life has been especially difficult these last two years with the covid and everyone has been in their own head. There is a lot of pressure that comes with being the most famous tennis player in the world. Osaka was and maybe still is.
She went from living in a very humble way and not having a lot of money, not having big houses and not having, you know, fancy things, and suddenly you’re out to win and everyone wants to be your friends. Everyone tells you how cool you are and your reality really changes and life really changes dramatically. She was unsuccessful as a junior junior player. Sometimes when you are successful as a junior, you become a little more famous and gradually rise up like a star, in the way you tried it out as a top junior. Naomi’s story came out of nowhere, she didn’t do it at the beginning, in the youth. I think it’s not just about the pressure in tennis matches, but also about the pressure that she puts on herself, because once she won a grand slam; you think you need to win more and more and you shouldn’t lose. So I try to understand her, but I think when you really think about it, Naomi struggled with it, and she said it, she was very honest about it, and hopefully now she’s away from tennis and she’s getting the help she needs. I hope he comes back stronger than ever.
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Evert on gender equality
Chris Evert today.
One of your biggest struggles has been gender equality on and off the tennis court, have you seen significant changes?
We’ve come a long way since the 1970s, when we received a tenth of what men received in awards. When they got $ 15,000, the winners, the winner in women would get $ 150, or 10 percent. It took 30 years to get to this point where we have equality at the grand slam awards.
The monetary prizes increase a little each year in women’s tennis. However, it is still a big issue on people’s minds, it is still one of the reasons why it is not totally the same. In society, 30, 40 years ago, the whole culture was a man’s world, and only men were athletes and women were not. The women had to take care of the house and the woman did not work, so in that sense we have come a long way, we are still the number one sport in women’s sports, which is good to the extent that I believe that we are equal to men in tennis it’s closer than in any other sport, so that’s an advantage.
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It shows the depth in the game and women’s tennis, it shows what younger women can do. The 18-19 year olds are coming in and they are starting to have a presence at the top of the list, and it was very impressive for Raducanu. Win three qualifying matches and then play seven more matches, won 10 matches, for crying out loud! Still he coped well with the pressure. Leylah was the same, very impressive, with his new tennis IQ, his maturity on the court; the way they deal with pressure and the way they deal with crowds in their games. Being teenagers they have all the qualities. It’s great to see the new faces, the new names, it’s great for tennis.
(Osorio) She won the WTA Bogotá and she is still a teenager; I know of all your results. I am looking forward to seeing you soon.
The WTA finals are played in Latin America and the best tennis player in this part of the world is Colombian, Camila Osorio, have you seen her play?
No, but I have read about it and the great results it had. He’s in the ranks of the top fifty, he’s risen impressively. She won the WTA Bogotá and she is still a teenager; I know of all your results. I am looking forward to seeing you soon. It is good for Colombia that they have a young talent on the way. In general, it is incredible for Latin America to have WTA titles and championships. In recent years, the WTA finals were in Asia, Singapore, Shenzhen. It was six and seven years. From there tennis really took off and was really very successful. Since then we’ve had some good players come out of Asia, so maybe this will happen in Latin America with these finals in Guadalajara. I applaud the coming out of Latin American players; they have had good tennis players, but not many tournaments. This really promotes women’s tennis and makes young women excited, excited and start dreaming of playing internationally. I think it is good to have it in Mexico. I think it will be good for that part of the world.
Finally, a favorite for the Guadalajara tournament …
I don’t know how you can tell any of these women apart. Each of them has had their bright moments this year. Let’s put it this way: I think (Aryna) Sabalenka may be the next to win a grand slam, so I would pick her. Everyone here in Guadalajara deserves it.
Hugo Santiago Caro Jimenez
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On twitter: @HugoCaroJ
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