An Amazing Chris Evert Stat!

[RaulRamirez]

I'm casually watching - while kind of working - the Sabalenka-Zheng match, and I thought I saw a graphic that showed that Sabalenka had won 6 straight slam QF matches. The woman who had done this the most was Chris Evert...with 46 straight QF wins!

So, I checked her record (okay, on the wikipedia chart) and it is beyond remarkable.
Starting with her first major (she was 16, playing the 1971 US Open), she made at least the semis in her first 34 slams! (15 wins, 9 finals, 10 semis).
She lost in the third round of 1983 Wimby, and then made 14 straight semis or better before finally losing a QF match at the 1987 US Open.
So, I saw the graphic wrong: Evert won 48 straight slam QFs!

Now, Evert is not overlooked, but in most women's goat debates, it seems to come down to Serena and Steffi, and sometimes Martina N. All were amazing, but I'm not sure that Evert doesn't get shortchanged here. She "only" won 18 slams, but her consistent greatness seems unparalleled, and keep in mind that she did not enter the AO for 7 straight years (sandwiched between two finals) and she skipped RG three consecutive years, sandwiched between 4 consecutive wins. It's not inconceivable that she would have won 5 or more of those 10 slams.

But regardless of GOAT discussions, Evert made at least the semis in 48 of her first 49 slams, and 52 of her 56 overall.
Amazing!

 

[MichaelNadal]

Literally RIDICULOUS.
And armchair experts on TTW say she talks too much

 

[ibbi]

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/aryna-sabalenka-chases-chris-everts-record.756992/

 

[RaulRamirez]

Literally RIDICULOUS.
And armchair experts on TTW say she talks too much

I think she's earned that right, and she really doesn't self-promote that often (that I catch, anyway).

 

[insideguy]

Oh Man U could get me going on chris evert being most underrated great player ever

 

[jl809]

I'm casually watching - while kind of working - the Sabalenka-Zheng match, and I thought I saw a graphic that showed that Sabalenka had won 6 straight slam QF matches. The woman who had done this the most was Chris Evert...with 46 straight QF wins!

So, I checked her record (okay, on the wikipedia chart) and it is beyond remarkable.
Starting with her first major (she was 16, playing the 1971 US Open), she made at least the semis in her first 34 slams! (15 wins, 9 finals, 10 semis).
She lost in the third round of 1983 Wimby, and then made 14 straight semis or better before finally losing a QF match at the 1987 US Open.
So, I saw the graphic wrong: Evert won 48 straight slam QFs!

Now, Evert is not overlooked, but in most women's goat debates, it seems to come down to Serena and Steffi, and sometimes Martina N. All were amazing, but I'm not sure that Evert doesn't get shortchanged here. She "only" won 18 slams, but her consistent greatness seems unparalleled, and keep in mind that she did not enter the AO for 7 straight years (sandwiched between two finals) and she skipped RG three consecutive years, sandwiched between 4 consecutive wins. It's not inconceivable that she would have won 5 or more of those 10 slams.

But regardless of GOAT discussions, Evert made at least the semis in 48 of her first 49 slams, and 52 of her 56 overall.
Amazing!

And she had another ATG in her whole era unlike Steffi and Serena. I’m not sure Graf reaches 18 slams if her career overlaps with Navratilova’s in the way Evert’s did

 

[RaulRamirez]

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/aryna-sabalenka-chases-chris-everts-record.756992/

Oh...I did not see that thread at all.

 

[Kralingen]

Evert and Martina are GOATs

Court and Serena are weak era vultures

Steffi’s only rival got stabbed.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

That is something else. Crazy crazy crazy numbers.

 

[insideguy]

She didn’t lose a match for 7 years on clay. And was banned from french open for 3 of those years.

 

[Hitman]

Evert Navratilova is the greatest rivalry in tennis

 

[RaulRamirez]

Evert and Martina are GOATs

Court and Serena are weak era vultures

Steffi’s only rival got stabbed.

A bit harsh. But I tend to be unable to break the 4-way tie among them.
If you throw in doubles and mixed (but I/we never really do) I guess it would go to Martina.

I don't care for Court's statements, but if extending to earlier days, her claim to the mythical title is also strong. Just a monster resume.

 

[intrepidish]

Evert was incredible. Stuff like this highlights the inanity of looking for a single GOAT. Things were and are very different over time.

We just have some incredible sportspeople over time who should simply be celebrated and the idea of a GOAT has made this more difficult ironically.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Evert Navratilova is the greatest rivalry in tennis

I think so. And other than a few years when their relationship got frosty, a great, enduring friendship.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Evert was incredible. Stuff like this highlights the inanity of looking for a single GOAT. Things were and are very different over time.

We just have some incredible sportspeople over time who should simply be celebrated and the idea of a GOAT has made this more difficult ironically.

Agreed, It's been a mixed blessing at best, probably a net negative.

 

[Torben]

Chris Evert’s stat of winning 125 straight matches on clay is the one stat that amazes me to this day.

Unbelievable!

 

[Kralingen]

A bit harsh. But I tend to be unable to break the 4-way tie among them.
If you throw in doubles and mixed (but I/we never really do) I guess it would go to Martina.

I don't care for Court's statements, but if extending to earlier days, her claim to the mythical title is also strong. Just a monster resume.

All of them played far before my time, so I unfortunately am relying on the statements of historians I respect as well as stats and a few grainy videos.

However this is the shorthand I rely on when entering Women’s GOAT debates.

Btw, Martina’s doubles achievements should count.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

The sort of numbers that make me understand why my sister was named after her and why I was named after nobody.

 

[Gizo]

She entered 303 professional tournaments during her career, winning the title in 157 (51.8%) of them. In other words, she had 11 more titles (157) than match defeats (146) during her career.

He relentless consistency year after year was staggering. That extended to her practice sessions. She regularly hit 3 lots of 50 shots, and was only 'allowed' to miss a maximum of 3 shots out of 150, otherwise she had to start again from scratch !

Clearly as has been said a few times, she was a bigger 'victim' of the reduced importance of grand slam counting (which only became a big deal in the 90s - Evert said of her time 'no-one was counting then') and especially of the Australian Open (which she only entered 6 times reaching the final every time) and RG (which she missed 3 years in a row from 1976-1978 to play in World Team Tennis when she wasn't losing on clay), than Navratilova.

 

[Kralingen]

The sort of numbers that make me understand why my sister was named after her and why I was named after nobody.

Carpenter GOAT.

 

[RaulRamirez]

All of them played far before my time, so I unfortunately am relying on the statements of historians I respect as well as stats and a few grainy videos.

However this is the shorthand I rely on when entering Women’s GOAT debates.

I only caught kind of the tail end of Court, but luckily (if getting old indicates luck) saw the others' careers unfold.
For whatever reason, Evert didn't seem to have quite the dominant peak of Martina, Steffi and Serena, but her consistency was (as shown) insane. She was always great, and almost never beat herself.

 

[insideguy]

I only caught kind of the tail end of Court, but luckily (if getting old indicates luck) saw the others' careers unfold.
For whatever reason, Evert didn't seem to have quite the dominant peak of Martina, Steffi and Serena, but her consistency was (as shown) insane. She was always great, and almost never beat herself.

The reason was she didn’t go to Australia and was banned from 3 French opens. If things were like today back then you might look at her dominance differently. People generally concentrate on everts career after Martina got good and forget about her before that.

 

[insideguy]

I will say if there is any arguments about Martina and Chris evert is they both benefitted by Tracy Austin’s body falling apart early.

 

[RaulRamirez]

The reason was she didn’t go to Australia and was banned from 3 French opens. If things were like today back then you might look at her dominance differently. People generally concentrate on everts career after Martina got good and forget about her before that.

Agreed. And she wasn't the only player - one either tour - who either faced the RG ban or decided to skip the AO, but it has to figure in somehow.
It's kind of crazy how someone who has been a part of the game in some capacity all these years has gotten overlooked.

 

[WeekendTennisHack]

But you have to admit, in her era, the other women beside a few others, were not just weak, but stupidly weak.

 

[mental midget]

She didn’t lose a match for 7 years on clay. And was banned from french open for 3 of those years.

yeah this is the one i was trying to remember. something like 150 matches or whatever, i forget...absolutely bonkers. talk about mental strength, unreal focus there.

 

[Gizo]

I remember when she was on ESPN First Take during US Open title (during a rare occasion in which tennis was discussed, I think it was in 2019 when there was a lot of excitement about how Gauff would do), when they discussed who was the greatest (they love their tedious GOAT debates) between Serena, Graf and Navratilova and her name was never mentioned once. She doesn't have the ego and / or insecurity to shout out her own name, and make her own case, and she had already forgotten large chunks of her achievements, milestones etc. a while ago.

 

[RaulRamirez]

But you have to admit, in her era, the other women beside a few others, were not just weak, but stupidly weak.

You still had, I think the last part of BJK and Court, a terrific Evonne Goolagong (terrific), and others that aren't coming immediately to mind along with Martina, and briefly Tracy Austin. Also, Wade, Shriver, Mandlikova. Not bad at all!

 

[NonP]

And her erstwhile beau Connors is her ATP counterpart, making the QF or higher at every major (but the AO which was a Slam only in name) for a whopping 12 straight seasons - it's actually 12 and a half if you include the Wimby/USO QFs in '73 - except once when he was upset by botting Curren in 4R during the latter's '83 Wimby run (if perhaps a hair short of Kev's insane '85 follow-up where he blew Jimmy off the court in the SF). That's what it took to stop Jimbo's mind-boggling streak.

And that's why, with all due respect to Dre, Muzz and Djoker, Jimbo would get my nod as the greatest returner of the OE. In terms of year-round consistency he and Chrissie were second to none and they've got their ATG weapon to thank.

A couple more things:

Evert and Martina are GOATs

Court and Serena are weak era vultures

Steffi’s only rival got stabbed.

They're all worthy candidates... but my gal Martina is tops, man or woman!

Evert Navratilova is the greatest rivalry in tennis

It is, at least in the OE. I mean a whopping 80 matches between the two... and 3 quarters of 'em finals at that. No other duo will ever come close.

 

[MichaelNadal]

She entered 303 professional tournaments during her career, winning the title in 157 (51.8%) of them. In other words, she had 11 more titles (157) than match defeats (146) during her career.

He relentless consistency year after year was staggering. That extended to her practice sessions. She regularly hit 3 lots of 50 shots, and was only 'allowed' to miss a maximum of 3 shots out of 150, otherwise she had to start again from scratch !

Clearly as has been said a few times, she was a bigger 'victim' of the reduced importance of grand slam counting (which only became a big deal in the 90s - Evert said of her time 'no-one was counting then') and especially of the Australian Open (which she only entered 6 times reaching the final every time) and RG (which she missed 3 years in a row from 1976-1978 to play in World Team Tennis when she wasn't losing on clay), than Navratilova.

Lmao.
Basically if you played her, you knew you were going home.

 

[insideguy]

You still had, I think the last part of BJK and Court, a terrific Evonne Goolagong (terrific), and others that aren't coming immediately to mind along with Martina, and briefly Tracy Austin. Also, Wade, Shriver, Mandlikova. Not bad at all!

There were good to great players at the top but the depth obviously was not the same as today. But can’t hold that against her.

 

[Torben]

For whatever reason, Evert didn't seem to have quite the dominant peak of Martina, Steffi and Serena, but her consistency was (as shown) insane. She was always great, and almost never beat herself.

You bring up a word and phrase that sum up Evert’s illustrious career. The consistency she showed throughout her career coupled with her unwavering determination on the court was the stuff of champions. There wasn’t anything that fazed her even during the most tense times in any match. You must remember the pressure she was under facing an all time great net rusher like Navratilova. She could keep her cool under all circumstances.

You couldn’t be more right in saying she never beat herself on court.

One of the greats in all of tennis.

 

[NatF]

Most Evert stats are tbh but this one is certainly insane, the consistency...just incredible.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Most Evert stats are tb but this one is certainly insane, the consistency...just incredible.

Like literally never an off day lol

 

[Gizo]

Lmao.
Basically if you played her, you knew you were going home.

Haha yeah, and there was good chance you'd be bagelled or breadsticked as well. She dished out a huge number of them during her career, including a double bagel to Navratilova in the final of Amelia Island (either the 2nd or 3rd biggest clay court event around at the time) in 1981.

There was typically no easing off from her, even after she went up a double break in a set.

 

[NYTennisfan]

That IS amazing. For perspective, Djokovic will be playing his 47th Grand Slam semifinal total on Friday. She essentially made 11.5 years worth of semis consecutively. Just WOW

 

[nolefam_2024]

Literally RIDICULOUS.
And armchair experts on TTW say she talks too much

She USED to talk too much in 2021. Now she is on the program. She accepts Nole as the ultimate GOAT.

 

[TheNachoMan]

That is absurd consistency. Like Cena never missing a show on Monday nights for 50 years or whatever.

 

[WeekendTennisHack]

You still had, I think the last part of BJK and Court, a terrific Evonne Goolagong (terrific), and others that aren't coming immediately to mind along with Martina, and briefly Tracy Austin. Also, Wade, Shriver, Mandlikova. Not bad at all!

I suppose the early rounds is what I meant. Wasn't she routinely winning 6-0, 6-1 in the early rounds of slams in the 70s?

 

[RaulRamirez]

I suppose the early rounds is what I meant. Wasn't she routinely winning 6-0, 6-1 in the early rounds of slams in the 70s?

I'd have to look that up, but I wouldn't doubt it. And then, it's the age-old question of Was she just that great or was the competition subpar? For all players, I tend to lean towards their greatness.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I'd have to look that up, but I wouldn't doubt it. And then, it's the age-old question of Was she just that great or was the competition subpar? For all players, I tend to lean towards their greatness.

I don't know about WTA in the 70s. It looked more like ATP in pre open era to me but I have not seen both. Still seems Evert had it very easy.

 

[WeekendTennisHack]

I'd have to look that up, but I wouldn't doubt it. And then, it's the age-old question of Was she just that great or was the competition subpar? For all players, I tend to lean towards their greatness.

If you just watch some of those matches, you will see how bad those players were.

 

[Pheasant]

Chris Evert has a strong case with Martina as being the GOAT of women's tennis. She has some ridiculous records that won't ever be approached again.

In her first 34 slam events, she made the semis 34 straight times. This is so absurd.
Her 48 straight QF wins in slam events is perhaps even more absurd than the above---thanks OP for pointing this out. I had no idea that she did this.
She skipped 9 events during her absolute peak, yet still bagged 18 slam titles, despite having a ridiculous road block in the way named Martina.
Evert's 125 match winning streak on clay is absolutely ridiculous. That's longer than Fed's record streaks of 65 on grass and 56 on hard courts combined.
Also her .8997 winning pct for an entire career that featured 1309 wins is stupendous. As a case in point, Sampras never had a single .900 season.
My favorite is the fact that she played 56 slam tourney, yet made the semis in 54 of them(92.8% of them).
13 straight years of winning at slam title was incredible for that era. I believe that's still a record.
19 straight years of making a slam semi shows remarkable longevity. I don't see that record going down anytime soon.

Evert was a massive superstar when I was growing up. She's the WTA's first blockbuster star that I ever remember. It's really too bad that Martina took fitness to levels never seen before in the WTA. Unfortunately for Evert, Martina went 10-4 against her in slam finals. But I don't hold that against Evert.

If one values sustained excellence over nearly 2 decades of play, then Evert is the GOAT.

 

[RaulRamirez]

The sort of numbers that make me understand why my sister was named after her and why I was named after nobody.

Christine Marie Slice?

 

[RaulRamirez]

Chris Evert has a strong case with Martina as being the GOAT of women's tennis. She has some ridiculous records that won't ever be approached again.

In her first 34 slam events, she made the semis 34 straight times. This is so absurd.
Her 48 straight QF wins in slam events is perhaps even more absurd than the above---thanks OP for pointing this out. I had no idea that she did this.
She skipped 9 events during her absolute peak, yet still bagged 18 slam titles, despite having a ridiculous road block in the way named Martina.
Evert's 125 match winning streak on clay is absolutely ridiculous. That's longer than Fed's record streaks of 65 on grass and 56 on hard courts combined.
Also her .8997 winning pct for an entire career that featured 1309 wins is stupendous. As a case in point, Sampras never had a single .900 season.
My favorite is the fact that she played 56 slam tourney, yet made the semis in 54 of them(92.8% of them).
13 straight years of winning at slam title was incredible for that era. I believe that's still a record.
19 straight years of making a slam semi shows remarkable longevity. I don't see that record going down anytime soon.

Evert was a massive superstar when I was growing up. She's the WTA's first blockbuster star that I ever remember. It's really too bad that Martina took fitness to levels never seen before in the WTA. Unfortunately for Evert, Martina went 10-4 against her in slam finals. But I don't hold that against Evert.

If one values sustained excellence over nearly 2 decades of play, then Evert is the GOAT.

Not much to add. She was amazing.

 

[RaulRamirez]

She entered 303 professional tournaments during her career, winning the title in 157 (51.8%) of them. In other words, she had 11 more titles (157) than match defeats (146) during her career.

He relentless consistency year after year was staggering. That extended to her practice sessions. She regularly hit 3 lots of 50 shots, and was only 'allowed' to miss a maximum of 3 shots out of 150, otherwise she had to start again from scratch !

Clearly as has been said a few times, she was a bigger 'victim' of the reduced importance of grand slam counting (which only became a big deal in the 90s - Evert said of her time 'no-one was counting then') and especially of the Australian Open (which she only entered 6 times reaching the final every time) and RG (which she missed 3 years in a row from 1976-1978 to play in World Team Tennis when she wasn't losing on clay), than Navratilova.

Per her practices. I believe it but didn't recall that detail. I do recall an old Sports Illustrated feature on her that talked about spectators in Florida watching her practice sessions as they might watch Ted Williams take batting practice. With great reverence and awe over the skill and perfectionism.

 

[WCT]

Chris Evert has a strong case with Martina as being the GOAT of women's tennis. She has some ridiculous records that won't ever be approached again.

In her first 34 slam events, she made the semis 34 straight times. This is so absurd.
Her 48 straight QF wins in slam events is perhaps even more absurd than the above---thanks OP for pointing this out. I had no idea that she did this.
She skipped 9 events during her absolute peak, yet still bagged 18 slam titles, despite having a ridiculous road block in the way named Martina.
Evert's 125 match winning streak on clay is absolutely ridiculous. That's longer than Fed's record streaks of 65 on grass and 56 on hard courts combined.
Also her .8997 winning pct for an entire career that featured 1309 wins is stupendous. As a case in point, Sampras never had a single .900 season.
My favorite is the fact that she played 56 slam tourney, yet made the semis in 54 of them(92.8% of them).
13 straight years of winning at slam title was incredible for that era. I believe that's still a record.
19 straight years of making a slam semi shows remarkable longevity. I don't see that record going down anytime soon.

Evert was a massive superstar when I was growing up. She's the WTA's first blockbuster star that I ever remember. It's really too bad that Martina took fitness to levels never seen before in the WTA. Unfortunately for Evert, Martina went 10-4 against her in slam finals. But I don't hold that against Evert.

If one values sustained excellence over nearly 2 decades of play, then Evert is the GOAT.

Quoted for truth. Just INSANELY consistent over such a long period.

 

[jrepac]

I'm casually watching - while kind of working - the Sabalenka-Zheng match, and I thought I saw a graphic that showed that Sabalenka had won 6 straight slam QF matches. The woman who had done this the most was Chris Evert...with 46 straight QF wins!

So, I checked her record (okay, on the wikipedia chart) and it is beyond remarkable.
Starting with her first major (she was 16, playing the 1971 US Open), she made at least the semis in her first 34 slams! (15 wins, 9 finals, 10 semis).
She lost in the third round of 1983 Wimby, and then made 14 straight semis or better before finally losing a QF match at the 1987 US Open.
So, I saw the graphic wrong: Evert won 48 straight slam QFs!

Now, Evert is not overlooked, but in most women's goat debates, it seems to come down to Serena and Steffi, and sometimes Martina N. All were amazing, but I'm not sure that Evert doesn't get shortchanged here. She "only" won 18 slams, but her consistent greatness seems unparalleled, and keep in mind that she did not enter the AO for 7 straight years (sandwiched between two finals) and she skipped RG three consecutive years, sandwiched between 4 consecutive wins. It's not inconceivable that she would have won 5 or more of those 10 slams.

But regardless of GOAT discussions, Evert made at least the semis in 48 of her first 49 slams, and 52 of her 56 overall.
Amazing!

Don't get me going on this....already happening on another thread! LOL....Evert has some amazing stats, even if fewer GS wins and weeks at #1

 

[jrepac]

All of them played far before my time, so I unfortunately am relying on the statements of historians I respect as well as stats and a few grainy videos.

However this is the shorthand I rely on when entering Women’s GOAT debates.

Btw, Martina’s doubles achievements should count.

I would love to see someone of Martina's S&V skill level playing today. Would be tremendously interesting to see.
Was watching Taylor Townsend at the USO last week and was surprised to see that she was not S&V very much in her match..
Disappointing since she was one of the few left...loved watching her topple Simona Halep a few years back S&V'ing her way through the match.

 

[BTURNER]

Chris Evert has a strong case with Martina as being the GOAT of women's tennis. She has some ridiculous records that won't ever be approached again.

In her first 34 slam events, she made the semis 34 straight times. This is so absurd.
Her 48 straight QF wins in slam events is perhaps even more absurd than the above---thanks OP for pointing this out. I had no idea that she did this.
She skipped 9 events during her absolute peak, yet still bagged 18 slam titles, despite having a ridiculous road block in the way named Martina.
Evert's 125 match winning streak on clay is absolutely ridiculous. That's longer than Fed's record streaks of 65 on grass and 56 on hard courts combined.
Also her .8997 winning pct for an entire career that featured 1309 wins is stupendous. As a case in point, Sampras never had a single .900 season.
My favorite is the fact that she played 56 slam tourney, yet made the semis in 54 of them(92.8% of them).
13 straight years of winning at slam title was incredible for that era. I believe that's still a record.
19 straight years of making a slam semi shows remarkable longevity. I don't see that record going down anytime soon.

Evert was a massive superstar when I was growing up. She's the WTA's first blockbuster star that I ever remember. It's really too bad that Martina took fitness to levels never seen before in the WTA. Unfortunately for Evert, Martina went 10-4 against her in slam finals. But I don't hold that against Evert.

If one values sustained excellence over nearly 2 decades of play, then Evert is the GOAT.

I would love to see someone of Martina's S&V skill level playing today. Would be tremendously interesting to see.

Was watching Taylor Townsend at the USO last week and was surprised to see that she was not S&V very much in her match..
Disappointing since she was one of the few left...loved watching her topple Simona Halep a few years back S&V'ing her way through the match.

This is definitive evidence that comparing their singles slam results with each other and other GOATS, Evert has a far better record than Navratilova. .

Slam Career win/loss percentage: 1.Tie Court & Graf 90% 3. Evert 89% 4. Serena 87% 5. Martina 86%

% of majors entered that were won: 1. Court 51.1% 2 .Graf 40.7% 3. Evert 32.1% 4. Martina 29.9% 5. Serena 28.4%

% of majors where final was reached: 1.Court 61.7% 2. Evert 60.7% 3. Graf 55.6% 4. Martina 47.8% 5. Serena 40%

Slam finals conversion rate: 1.Court 83% 2.Graf 73.1% 3.Serena 71.9% 4. Martina 56.3% 5. Evert 52.9%

% of major where sf's were reached: 1. Evert 92.9% 2.Court 83% 3. Graf 66% 4. Martina 65.7% 5. Serena 49.4%

Semifinals conversion rate: 1.Court 86.6% 2.Serena 82.5% 3. Graf 81.1% 4. Martina 72.7% 5. Evert 65.4%

% of major where QF's were reached: 1. Evert 96.4% 2. Court 91.5% 3. Martina 79.1% 4. Graf 74.1% 5. Serena 66.7%

QFinals conversion rate: 1. Evert 96.2 2. Graf 88.1% 3. Court 83.7% 4. Martina 83% 5.Serena 74.1%

*Here a low number is a better number
* % of slams with losses in Rds1, 2 or 3: 1.Evert 3.6% 2. Court 6.4% 3. Graf 13% 4. Martina 13.4% 5. Serena 21%

In 5 of these 9 categories of achievement, Evert ranks in the top 2. In only 1 of these 9 categories does Martina even rank in the top 3 . Martina is inevitably ranked 4 or 5. In only 2 of these 9 of these categories does Martina do better than Evert, Semifinal and final conversion numbers.