Renée Richards (born August 19, 1934) is an American ophthalmologist, author and former professional tennis player. In 1975, Richards underwent sex reassignment surgery. She was denied entry into the 1976 US Open by the United States Tennis Association, citing an unprecedented women-born-women policy. She disputed the ban, and the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor in 1977. This was a landmark decision in favor of transsexual rights.^[2]

Early life[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

Richards was born Richard Raskind in New York City, and was raised, as she put it, as "a nice Jewish boy".^[3][4][5][6] When she was six the family moved to Forest Hills.^{[citation needed]} Raskind excelled at tennis from early on, and was ranked among the top-10 Eastern and national juniors in the late 1940s and early 1950s.^{[citation needed]} She was captain of her high school tennis team at the Horace Mann School in New York City,^{[citation needed]} and at 15 won the Eastern Private Schools Interscholastic singles title.^{[citation needed]}

She attended Yale, where she found it slightly uncomfortable being Jewish, and where she played on the tennis team in singles competition, then captained the team in 1954.^[3] After Yale, Raskind attended medical school at the University of Rochester,^{[citation needed]} then served in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant Commander.^{[citation needed]} She pursued a career as an eye surgeon, specializing in strabismus (eye misalignment).^{[citation needed]} Raskind reached the final of the men's national 35-and-over tennis championships in 1972.^{[citation needed]}

Transitioning sex[link]

In the mid-1960s Raskind traveled in Europe dressed as a woman, intending to go to North Africa to see Georges Burou, a famous gynecological surgeon at Clinique Parc in Casablanca, Morocco, regarding sex reassignment surgery. She changed her mind, however, and returned to New York, marrying and becoming a parent of one son.^[7] Raskind was referred to surgeon, Roberto C. Granato, Sr. by Harry Benjamin, and in 1975, successfully transitioned.^[8][9]

Tennis career after transitioning[link]

Richards was barred from playing as a woman in the U.S. Open in 1976 unless she submitted to chromosomal testing. She sued the United States Tennis Association, and in 1977, she won the right to play as a woman without submitting to any testing.^[10]

Richards played from 1977 to 1981. She was ranked as high as 20th overall (in February 1979), and her highest ranking at the end of a year was 22nd (in 1977). In her first professional event as a female, she was a finalist in women's doubles (with Betty Ann Stuart, in 1977) and continued to have a successful career afterward. Her greatest successes on court were reaching the doubles final at the U.S. Open in 1977, with Betty Ann Stuart — the pair lost a close match to Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve — and winning the 35-and-over women's singles. Richards was twice a semifinalist in mixed doubles (with Ilie Năstase) at the U.S. Open. In 1979, she defeated Nancy Richey for the 35 and over singles title at the U.S. Open. Richards posted wins over Hana Mandlíková, Sylvia Hanika, Virginia Ruzici, and Pam Shriver.

She later coached Navratilova to two Wimbledon wins and was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.^[11]

Author[link]

In 1986, Richards published an autobiography, Second Serve. In 2007, Richards published a second autobiography, No Way Renee: The Second Half of My Notorious Life, in which she describes regret over the type of fame that came with her transsexuality—she said in 2007, that she did not regret undergoing the sex reassignment process in itself.^[1] Each of these volumes was co-authored with John Ames.^{[citation needed]}

Family[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

Richards' father, David Raskind, was an orthopedic surgeon, and her mother was one of the first female psychiatrists in the United States. Her sister, Josephine, is a retired psychiatrist. Richards' son, Nicholas Raskin, is a filmmaker and stockbroker.

Film[link]

Richards's first autobiography served as the basis for the made-for-television film Second Serve starring Vanessa Redgrave as Richards. 'Redgrave was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.^{[citation needed]} The film won Emmys for makeup and hairstyling.^{[citation needed]}

Renée is a 2011 documentary film about Richards. The film was one of the anchor films of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.^[12] The documentary premiered on ESPN on October 4, 2011.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline[link]

Men's Singles[link]

(As Richard Raskind)

Women's Singles[link]

(As Renée Richards)

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Grand Slam doubles tournament timeline[link]

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles tournament timeline[link]

See also[link]

• List of select Jewish tennis players

References[link]

External links[link]

• Renee Richards on glbtq.com
• Second Serve at the Internet Movie Database
• Jews in Sports biography

Chris Evert

Chris Evert in the 1970s.
Country	United States
Residence	Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Born	(1954-12-21) December 21, 1954 (age 57) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Turned pro	1972
Retired	1989
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$8,895,195
Int. Tennis HOF	1995 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1309–145 (90.05%)
Career titles	157
Highest ranking	No. 1 (November 3, 1975)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1982, 1984)
French Open	W (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986)
Wimbledon	W (1974, 1976, 1981)
US Open	W (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977)
Doubles
Career record	117–39 (75.0%)
Career titles	32
Highest ranking	No. 13 (September 12, 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1988)
French Open	W (1974, 1975)
Wimbledon	W (1976)
Last updated on: August 14, 2006.

Christine Marie "Chris" Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former world #1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981.

Evert's career win–loss record in singles matches of 1,309–145 (90.05%) is the best of any professional player, man or woman, in the Open Era. On clay courts her career match win loss rate of 94.05% (316/20) remains a WTA record. In tennis writer Steve Flink's book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, he named Evert as the third best female player of the 20th century, after Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.^[1] Evert never lost in the first or second rounds of a Grand Slam singles tournament. She won 157 singles championships. In women's doubles, Evert won three Grand Slam titles and 29 regular tour championships.

Tennis career[link]

Evert began taking tennis lessons when she was five years old from her father, Jimmy Evert (a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947). By 1969, she had become the No. 1 ranked 14-under girl in the United States. Evert played her first senior tournament in that year also, reaching the semifinals in her home town of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, losing to Mary-Ann Eisel 7–5, 3–6, 6–1. (For years, this was the record for the furthest a player had reached in her first senior-level tournament.^{[citation needed]} That record was broken when another Floridian, Jennifer Capriati, reached the final of the tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1990 at the age of 13.) In 1970, Evert won the national sixteen-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight player clay court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15 year-old Evert defeated Françoise Durr 6–1, 6–0 in the first round before defeating Margaret Court 7–6, 7–6 in a semifinal. Court was the World No. 1 player and had just won the Grand Slam in singles. These results led to Evert's selection for the U.S. Wightman Cup team, the youngest player ever in the competition.^[2]w

Evert made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1971 U.S. Open, aged 16, receiving an invitation after winning the national sixteen-and-under championship. After an easy straight-sets win over Edda Buding in the first round, she faced the American No. 4 Mary-Ann Eisel in the second round. Evert saved six match points with Eisel serving at 6–4, 6–5 (40–0) in the second set before Evert went on to win 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. She made two further comebacks against Durr (2–6, 6–2, 6–3) and Lesley Hunt (4–6, 6–2, 6–3), both seasoned professionals, before losing to Billie Jean King in a semifinal (6–3,6–2). This defeat ended a 46-match winning streak built up through carefully selected participation in junior tour events.

In 1973 Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and the Wimbledon Tournament. A year later, she won both those events during her then record 55 consecutive match win streak, which included 8 other tournament wins. She ended the year with at 100-7 match record, winning 16 tournaments including two Grand Slams (French and Wimbledon) and was a finalist in her first Australian Open, and for a fourth straight year, reached the semi-finals at the U.S. Open. She was chosen as the year-end number one over her closest rivals, Billie Jean King and Evonne Goolagong, each of whom had 6 titles including a Grand Slam (King the U.S. Open and Goolagong the Australian), by the leading experts and authorities of the day, except Bud Collins.

Her fiancé at the time, Jimmy Connors, won the Wimbledon men's singles title that year and media attention surrounded the "Love Match" of tennis that summer. They partnered in the mixed doubles event at the 1974 U.S. Open, finishing as runners-up. Their engagement was short-lived, as the marriage was called off later in the year. However, their on-again off-again relationship continued over the next couple of years.

For the next five years, Evert was the world's No. 1 player. In 1975, she won the French Open again and the first of four straight U.S. Open titles by defeating Evonne Goolagong Cawley in a three-set final. Also in November of that year the official WTA computer ranking system was instituted, with Evert being the first No. 1. In total, Evert logged 260 weeks at number one (third all-time behind Graf and Navratilova respectively). She also won Wimbledon again in 1976, again beating Goolagong in a three-set final. In all, Evert won 26 of 39 matches with Goolagong. Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis.^[3]

A new rival to Evert's dominance emerged on the scene in the later part of the 1970s in the form of Martina Navratilova. Though frequent doubles partners, and good friends off the court, their fierce on-court rivalry is remembered as one of the greatest in tennis history. Evert had the best of their earlier encounters, at one point holding a 30-18 edge. However, in late 1982 Navratilova overhauled her game and fitness to begin a 13 match win streak that culminated in dramatic fashion at the 1984 U.S. Open (tennis), on what came to be known as Super Saturday . They entered the final with 30 match wins a piece. In a thrilling three set win, Navratilova overcame a first set deficit and a decidely pro-Evert crowd to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Eventually the Evert-Navratilova rivalry saw a final match record of 43-37, in favor of Martina. However, it should be noted that Evert had a slight edge over Navratilova in their matches played outdoors, 23 to 21.

Though successful on all surfaces, it was on clay courts where Evert was most dominant. Beginning in August 1973, she won 125 consecutive matches on the surface, with a loss of only 8 sets; a run which continues to stand as the benchmark among both men and women players.^[4] The streak was broken on May 12, 1979, in a semifinal of the Italian Open, when Evert lost to Tracy Austin 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(4) after Evert lost a game point to go up 5–2 in the third set. Evert said after the match, "Not having the record will take some pressure off me, but I am not glad to have lost it." Evert rebounded with a another clay court streak that reached 64 matches (including titles at the 1979 and 1980 French Open) before ending with a semi-final loss to eventual winner Hana Mandlíková at the 1981 French Open (a record of 189 victories in 191 matches on clay from 1973 to 1981). Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling had a similar run of clay court dominance from 1935 through 1939, winning the French Championships three consecutive years (not playing there the other two years) and incurring only one loss on clay during that five year period.

Evert won the French Open singles title a record seven times. Three of her victories came in three-set finals against Navratilova. In 1975, Evert defeated Navratilova to defend her title from the previous year 2–6, 6–2, 6–1. In 1985, Evert prevailed 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, a win that saw her capture the World No. 1 computer ranking for the fifth and final time. And, in 1986, the 31 year-old Evert won her last Grand Slam title by beating Navratilova 2–6, 6–3, 6–3. Evert beat Navratilova en route to her last grand slam final in the Australian Open in 1988, at the age of 33.

Evert retired from the professional tour in 1989. During her career, she won 157 singles titles and 32 doubles titles. Her record in finals was 157–72 (.686). She reached the semifinals in 273 of the 303 tournaments she entered. Evert won the WTA Tour Championships four times and helped the United States win the Fed Cup eight times. Evert's last match was a 6–3, 6–2 win over Conchita Martínez in the final of the 1989 Fed Cup.

Perhaps of all of Evert's records and accomplishments, what may be her greatest single achievement is her record of having won at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986: '74 French, Wimbledon; '75 French, US Opens; '76 Wimbledon, US Open; '77 US Open, '78 US Open; '79 French Open; '80 French, US Opens; '81 Wimbledon; '82 US, Australian Opens; '83 French Open; '84 Australian Open; '85 French Open; '86 French Open. This is an unparalleled record of consistency in the world's biggest tournaments, made even more impressive when its realized that Evert did not even participate in the Australian Opens held in 75-80, 83 or the French Opens in 76-78, thereby further reducing the number of chances to win one of the sport's four crown jewels.

In fact, between September 1971 (her Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open) and June 1983 (her twelfth visit to The Championships Wimbledon), Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. This stunning string, however, was broken in the third round at Wimbledon in 1983, when the All England Club refused Evert's request to delay her match with Kathy Jordan to recover from food poisoning. This defeat also ended her attempt to be the holder of all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, as Evert was then holder of the '82 Australian, U.S., and the '83 French titles. In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Evert fell short of the semi-finals a mere 4 times (1983 Wimbledon 3rd round; 1987 US Open quarter-final; 1988 French Open 3rd round; 1989 US Open quarter-final).

In total, Evert reached a record 34 Grand Slam finals, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her career: seven at the French Open (a record), six at the U.S. Open (an open era record), three at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open (both on grass). In addition, Evert won three grand slam doubles titles, at the French in 1974 with Olga Morozova, and 1975 with Navratilova, and again with Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1976.

Evert's overall record in Grand Slam events was 297–38 .887 (72–6 at the French Open, 94–15 at Wimbledon, 101–13 at the U.S. Open (most singles match wins in history), and 30–4 at the Australian Open (never failing to reach the final). Evert faced Navratilova in the final of 14 Grand Slam events, with Evert losing 10 of those encounters. (Navratilova defeated Evert at least once in the final of each of the four Grand Slam events, whereas three of Evert's four wins were at the French Open and the fourth was at the Australian Open.) In their 8 semi-final clashes, their record stands at 4 wins a piece. Evert defeated Navratilova in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open (1975), Wimbledon (1976 and 1980), and the Australian Open (1988) but lost to Navratilova in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open (1981), Wimbledon (1987 and 1988), and the French Open (1987). An interesting footnote, in those semi-final rounds, each player won twice on grass, once on hard, and once on clay.

During her career versus selected rivals, Evert was: 40–6 against Virginia Wade, 37–43 against Martina Navratilova, 26–13 against Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 24–0 against Virginia Ruzici, 23–1 against Sue Barker, 22–0 against Betty Stöve, 22–1 against Rosemary Casals, 21–7 against Hana Mandlíková, 20–1 against Wendy Turnbull, 19–7 against Billie Jean King (winning the last 11 matches with a loss of only 2 sets), 19–3 against Pam Shriver, 18–2 against Kerry Melville Reid, 17–2 against Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 17–2 against Helena Suková, 17–3 against Andrea Jaeger, 16–3 against Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, 15–0 against Olga Morozova, 13–0 against Françoise Durr, 9–4 against Margaret Court, 8–9 against Tracy Austin, 7–0 against Mary Joe Fernandez, 6–3 against Gabriela Sabatini, 6–5 against Nancy Richey Gunter (winning the last 6 matches), 6–8 against Steffi Graf (losing the last 8 matches), and 2–1 against Monica Seles.

Evert was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be Sports Illustrated magazine's sole recipient of "Sportswoman of the Year" award in 1976.^[5][6] In April 1985, she was voted the "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years" by the Women's Sports Foundation. Evert served as President of the Women's Tennis Association from 1975–76, and from 1983 to 1991.^[7] In 1995, she was the fourth player ever to be unanimously elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame following a worldwide ballot of 185 sports journalists whilst 1999 saw Evert rated No. 50 among North American athletes of the 20th century.^[3][8] In 2005, TENNIS Magazine named her fourth on its list of TENNIS Magazine's 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era.^[9] In 2012, Tennis Channel conducted a poll of players and experts to determine the 100 greatest players of all-time, in which Evert ranked ninth overall, and fourth highest among women (finishing behind Graf, Navratilova, and Court respectively.)

Personal life[link]

Evert was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colette Thompson and Jimmy Evert,^[10] and raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.^[11] She is partially of Luxembourgish ancestry. Jimmy was a professional tennis coach, and tennis was a way of life in his family. Chris and her sister Jeanne Evert became professional tennis players, and their brother John Evert attended Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, on a full athletic scholarship for intercollegiate tennis. Evert is a 1973 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale.

Early in her career, before she won her first Grand Slam event, Evert signed a contract with Calvin Klein to endorse a line of sportswear^{[citation needed]}. Company president Carl Rosen thought so highly of her that he named a yearling racehorse in her honor. The horse Chris Evert went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown, be voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly, and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Evert's romance with the top men's player Jimmy Connors captured the public's imagination in the 1970s, particularly after they both captured the singles titles at Wimbledon in 1974. Evert and Connors also occasionally played mixed doubles together. In 1974, they were the runners-up at the U.S. Open. They got engaged, when she was only 19, but the romance did not last. A wedding was planned for November 8, 1974, but it was called off.

In 1979, Evert married the British tennis player John Lloyd and changed her name to "Chris Evert-Lloyd." After Evert's affair with British singer/actor Adam Faith, the couple separated,^{[12][13][14][15]} yet the couple reconciled and chronicled their marriage in a biography Lloyd On Lloyd co-authored by Carol Thatcher.^[16] The marriage ended in divorce in 1987.

In 1988, Evert married two-time Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill. They have three sons: Alexander James (born October 12, 1991), Nicholas Joseph (born June 8, 1994), and Colton Jack (born June 14, 1996). On November 13, 2006, Evert filed for divorce.^[17] The divorce was finalized on December 4, 2006, with Evert paying Mill a settlement of U.S. $7 million in cash and securities.^[18]

Evert and Australian golfer Greg Norman were married on June 28, 2008, in the Bahamas.^[19] On October 2, 2009 they announced they were separating after only 15 months, saying in a statement that they "...will remain friends and supportive of one another's family."^[20] Their divorce was final on December 8, 2009 after 18 months of marriage.

Current work[link]

Evert operates a tennis academy bearing her name in Boca Raton, Florida. She also helps coach the Saint Andrew's School high school tennis team. She is also currently (2009) a contributor to Tennis Magazine. In June, 2011 she joined ESPN as a tennis commentator.^[21]

Career statistics[link]

Records[link]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
• Luxembourgian American

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• Amdur, Neil; Evert, Chris (1982). Chrissie, My Own Story. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-44376-3. 
• Howard, Johnette (2006). The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova: Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship. New York: Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-1885-1. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Evert

• Chris Evert at the Women's Tennis Association
• Chris Evert at the Fed Cup
• Chris Evert at the International Tennis Federation
• Chris Evert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame