Thursday is a very special day in tennis, as one of the greatest legends in the history of the sport, Chris Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam champion and the WTA’s first No. 1, celebrates her birthday.
Evert was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on December 21st, 1954, and it didn’t take her long to hit her stride—at age 16, she reached the semifinals of the first Grand Slam she ever played, the US Open in 1971, and she would win her first Grand Slam title at age 19 at the French Open in 1974.
That was just the beginning, as Evert went on to win seven French Opens (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985 and 1986), six US Opens (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982), three Wimbledons (1974, 1976 and 1981) and two Australian Opens (1982 and 1984) for a career total of 18 majors.
Here are highlights from when she beat her greatest rival to win her 18th major in Paris in 1986: