About this item
In the annals of sports, no individual rivalry matches the intensity, longevity, and emotional resonance of the one between two extraordinary women: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Over sixteen years, Evert and Navratilova met on the tennis court a record eighty times - sixty times in finals. At their first match in Akron, Ohio, in 1973, Chris was an eighteen-year-old star and Martina, two years her junior, was an unknown Czech making her first trip to the United States. It would be two years before Martina finally beat Chris, and another year - after Navratilova had dropped twenty pounds and improved her game - before Evert publicly betrayed her first hint of concern. By then, the women were already friends and sometimes doubles partners, and the colorful story that would captivate the world was under way.
About the Author
Johnette Howard is an award-winning writer and author who has worked as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, a feature writer and columnist at The Washington Post and Newsday, and an enterprise writer for The National Sports Daily. Her columns were nominated for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in general commentary. She is currently a columnist for ESPN.com.Howard's work has been included in seven anthologies, including "Best American Sports Writing of the Century."Howard's inspiration to write "The Rivals: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship" (Broadway Books) came from watching Evert and Navratilova's many showdowns on Saturday mornings at Wimbledon. Seventeen years after covering her first match there, Howard still thinks Centre Court is one of the two or three most perfect sports venues in the world.You say hello or follow Howard on Twitter at @johnettehoward.
