Evert vs Navratilova

Chris Evert
Head to head
37–43
As of the end of the rivalry. Last match: Navratilova d. Evert 6–2 6–2, Virginia Slims of Chicago, 1988
WTA; USTA
Martina Navratilova
The short answer

Navratilova leads Evert 43–37 in 80 matches between 1973 and 1988, and 60 of those were finals. It was the baseliner against the net-rusher: Navratilova sliced 81 % of her backhands and came forward, Evert won the longer rallies from the back.

The split

EvertNavratilova
Clay113
Grass510
Hard88
Carpet1322
Major finals410
Wikipedia (surfaces); WTA and USTA (major finals)

How the rivalry is played

  • From November 1975 to August 1987, one of the two was world No. 1 for 592 of 615 weeks. Each won 18 major singles titles.

    WTA
  • In 22 charted matches, Navratilova sliced 80.6 % of her backhands, Evert 5.9 %. Navratilova won 53.9 % of the short points, Evert 61 % of the seven-to-nine-shot rallies.

    Match Charting Project, our tally of the charted matches

The matches that defined it

  1. 1978 · Wimbledon final
    Navratilova 2–6 6–4 7–5

    Navratilova's first major, after Evert had led their head-to-head 21–5. She won 12 of the last 13 points.

    Tennis.com
  2. 1985 · Roland-Garros final
    Evert 6–3 6–7 7–5

    Ended a run of 13 straight final losses to Navratilova and won back No. 1. Often called the best match of the rivalry.

    Tennis.com

Questions

What is the Evert vs Navratilova head-to-head?

Navratilova leads 43–37 in 80 matches.

How many finals did Evert and Navratilova play?

60, of which 14 were major finals. Navratilova won 10 of the 14.

What we don't claim

  • The charted sample is 22 of 80 matches, weighted toward finals from 1978 on.
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