It was the French Open final battle between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka this year. While a thrilling encounter was underway on Court Philippe-Chatrier, tennis legend Chris Evert was in the commentary panel, offering her voice during the match. Despite the match turning out to be interesting, Evert faced massive backlash from the fans for her commentary skills. They pointed out that Evert was being repetitive with her opinions throughout the match, which became tiring for the fans to hear. Weeks after that controversy, tennis legend Monica Seles offered her honest opinion about Evert’s commentary.
While the French Open was one of the controversial moments involving Evert, she has often faced heat from the fans in other tournaments where she has donned the commentator’s role. Despite years of experience on the court, it looks like Evert hasn’t been able to translate that off the court. Amid this, Seles came to her rescue as she got candid on her feelings about Evert’s commentary.
During an interview in The New York Times, Seles mentioned, “I personally love listening to Chrissy (Evert), obviously, because she can cover so many different generations and the expertise. She has so much life experience, which I think for the younger generation is so important to hear.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Chris Evert attends day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage )
In another such controversial incident, Evert was the subject of criticism from the fans during the Wimbledon match between Emma Raducanu and Aryna Sabalenka. Throughout the match, Evert kept focusing on Raducanu’s personal life instead of the happenings during the match. Fans condemned Evert’s commentary skills, and they had had enough of that in recent weeks. However, Seles has a differing opinion and she feels that Evert can use her experience to fend off such controversies.
Last year, Evert caused a major uproar in the tennis world over her inappropriate comments about Karolina Muchova. The American legend had to issue an apology later and clarify her comments.
When Chris Evert’s commentary raised eyebrows
During the US Open last year, Evert was in the commentary box for the match between Naomi Osaka and Karolina Muchova. Despite the latter winning the encounter, she was the subject of some objectionable comments from Evert. During the encounter, Evert described Muchova as, “She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better.”
However, her comments didn’t go down well with the tennis world, with the players as well as the fans raising their voices against Evert. Later, Evert issued an apology, saying, “I apologize if I offended you both, certainly not my intention. The power, mobility, and athleticism has improved so much, and many women I interview have men idols who they aspire to play like. Again, maybe my delivery could’ve been better, so sorry!”
While Evert surely has all the experience in the world when it comes to tennis, such controversies don’t seem to cease. What do you think about Evert’s commentating skills? Let us know your views in the comments below.
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