It’s not every day that rivals-turned-friends share admiration for each other. That’s why the evergreen bond between two of the iconic WTA icons, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, is so special. “She has been such a support for me. Coming over to my house, cooking me soup, cooking me pasta, really taking care of me, calling me, making sure I’m OK. If I’m going to go through the trenches, there’s nobody I’d pick more than Martina,” said Evert last year, in an interaction with WTA, while celebrating her 50-year Wimbledon anniversary, featuring Martina Navratilova. Well, new-age’s Madison Keys has got a perspective to share on this intriguing aspect.
But we do have such rare friendship on the ATP side, too. It’s that of 22-time Major king Rafael Nadal and Swiss Maestro Roger Federer. Just like Navratilova and Evert, these two tennis GOATs have, time and again, proved their bond is bigger than their classic rivalry. It becomes evident from the 20-time Slam winner’s honest confession. “I’m his No. 1 fan; I think his game is simply tremendous. He’s an incredible competitor and I’m happy we’ve had some epic battles in the past,” he said on his beloved nemesis, back in August 2019, as reported by the US Open website. Looking at these two examples, can we say good friends can also be great rivals, and vice versa?
The 2025 Australian Open queen is competing at the Indian Wells right now. She’s already made it to the quarterfinal stage after winning her R16 encounter against Croatia’s Donna Vekić. Speaking in a post-match interview, dated March 12, Keys was asked an interesting question which was related to the bond between tennis players and their rivalries. It was mainly based on Navratilova-Evert’s friendship. When asked if close friends can also be tough rivals, Keys said, “I think that it’s definitely possible.”
Take, for example, Navratilova’s intense on-court battles with Evert. In 80 of their WTA matches, Martina Navratilova beat Evert 43 times, leading the head-to-head record 43-37. “I think you need quality of players and uncertainty of who’s going to win,” Navratilova said back in 2023, as reported by WTA’s website. She added that “you also need the one-on-one conflict that people get excited about. You see on social media, some of the fans, oh my god, they are all in. It’s like a cult of personalities.”
Coming back to Keys, she added, “I think that there’s probably matches where you have played a close friend and neither one of you played great tennis at the same time, but I think at the same time, some of my best matches have also been against really close friends. So I think it’s possible. I think when you throw in the extra element of being incredibly close, it’s kind of a 50/50 chance on if you kind of see some of those extra nerves bubble up during the matches.”
Perhaps Keys was also referring to her own bond with a special compatriot. One who broke her dream to win a maiden Slam back in 2017 at the Flushing Meadows. But despite the bitter experience, their friendship has only got stronger lately.
A look at Madison Keys’ lifelong friendship with Sloane Stephens
The two WTA stars first crossed paths during their junior days and turned into best friends soon. During an interaction with Nike, in 2022, Stephens revealed, “In tennis, you’re kind of just around the same people all the time. I think we were like, “Oh, hi, like, let’s be friends. We’re close in age.”
Interesting fact: For the uninitiated, both Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens turned pro in 2009.
In the same interview, Keys touched upon the reason why their friendship is so strong. “I think it’s because we’ve been competing our entire friendship. It’s very natural that we both know that the other one wants to win that day. And it’s nothing against our friendship or the other person; it’s just sports.”
This spirit was witnessed clearly when Stephens beat Keys with a dominating score line of 6-3, 6-0 in that 2017 US Open final. The result was brutal, to say the least for Keys. But despite the setback, she ensured their friendship would stay unaffected. “Sloane is truly one of my favorite people,” she said at that time. “To get to play her was really special. Obviously, I didn’t play my best tennis today and was disappointed. But if there’s someone I have to lose to today, I’m glad it’s her.”
It’s just pure bliss to witness such adorable and loving relationships in a competitive sport like tennis. Do you remember other such bond between on-court rivals? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova’s Timeless Bond Steals the Spotlight as Madison Keys Reflects on Tennis Rivalries appeared first on EssentiallySports.
