Born into a tennis-playing family, American legend Chris Evert was introduced to the sport by her father, Jimmy Evert. He coached Chris and her siblings, playing a key role in shaping her into one of the greatest players of all time, who finished her career with 18 Grand Slam titles and several other achievements to her name. Other than coaching his five kids, Jimmy had also coached the likes of Brian Gottfried, Harold Solomon, and Jennifer Capriati. But interestingly, Jimmy Evert is not only celebrated in the tennis world for being one of the greatest tennis instructors, but even his own tennis career is worth mentioning.
If we take a look at Chris Evert’s father’s tennis career, Jimmy Evert was a two-time U.S. age-group champion, and after making his amateur tour debut in 1938, he went on to win the 1940 Illinois state high school championship while playing for Senn High School of Chicago. Following that, he briefly served in the US Army before attending the University of Notre Dame on a tennis scholarship, where he majored in economics. Then in 1945, Evert won the Middle States Championships in Elmsford, New York, before clinching the big title in 1947!
In 1947, James Andrew ‘Jimmy’ Evert defeated his compatriot Emery Neale by 2-6,6-3,5-7,6-1,6-2 to win the Canadian International Championships. He won three titles in his career, but this title in Vancouver stands tall among the rest! Recently, Chris Evert shared an ecstatic reaction seeing a fan highlighting her father’s heroics in 1947. Evert shared that post on her own X handle with the caption, “awwww, thx for posting this! .” Even her elder son, Alexander James Mill, shared the post on his own IG stories with a heartfelt note in the captions. He wrote, “Good ole Jimmy“, while celebrating his grandfather’s 78-year-old astonishing feat on Canadian soil.
awwww, thx for posting this! https://t.co/EvO1YRinh9
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) August 10, 2025
Jimmy Evert had reached number 11 in the U.S. rankings. After having a successful career both as a player and as an instructor, he died from pneumonia on August 21, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale at the age of 92. While paying tribute to her father at that time, Chris Evert had shared a tweet saying, “It’s an honor and a blessing to have been your daughter. You will be in my heart forever. RIP Dad… XO.“
Chris Evert has time and again reflected on how much of an impact her father had on her life. Let’s now take a glimpse at some of those moments where Evert is seen showcasing her love and admiration for her dad.
Chris Evert opens up about the impact of her father on her life
In 2013, during an interview with PBS, Chris Evert stated, “I came from a very structured family… My father was the breadwinner… and my mom would take care of the kids. There were rules. My dad was the head of the family, no doubt about that.” She was raised in a catholic household, and her father was very strict. Evert couldn’t act on her own accord. When he started to train all five of his kids to play tennis, Chris Evert had no choice but to fall in love with the sport. So, that’s how it started, and just like Chris, even her fans are now grateful to Jimmy Evert for introducing the sport to his daughter.
In February 2025, in an interview with We Are Tennis, Chris Evert recalled how her father advised her not to show any emotions during the early stages of her career. “When I was a kid, my dad taught me not to show my emotions. He pretty much spearheaded that, ‘Don’t show your emotions, because you don’t want your opponent to see how you’re feeling. They’ll use that to their advantage.’ It came easy to me, though, because I’m not a real, like, vibrant, emotional person anyway. I’m more introverted than extroverted anyway.“
Other than giving her tennis advice, he also played a crucial role in handling Chris Evert’s finances. While speaking to Forbes in 2014, Evert credited her father for taking good care of her wealth. She explained that when her fellow athletes were losing money on risky investments, her father ensured that she wouldn’t face such trouble.
Two years later (2016), in another interview with the Daily Mail, Evert revealed that her father was proud of her, but he always made sure that she didn’t let her tennis success go to her head. He was the one who always encouraged her to stay humble. Speaking more about her father in that interview, Chris Evert added, “He worked as a tennis coach until he was 75 and, even though I made millions, he never lived off my money like some people on the circuit these days.” In the tennis world, when it comes to these super dads, we have mostly heard about Richard Williams’ inspiring journey with Serena and Venus Williams. What are your thoughts on Jimmy Evert travelling the extra mile to see his daughter’s success?
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