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Jimmy Connors betrays ex-fiance Chris Evert by hinting in his new memoir that she aborted their child


Tennis great Chris Evert has been on my mind in the past week because of the Jason Collins coming out story.

In the same way that Kobe Bryant was quickly supportive – publicly – of Collins coming out, Evert did likewise back in 1981 when both Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King came out.

It was important that Chrissie, America’s sweetheart and the number one player in the world at the time – be a visible straight ally to her rivals then and she has steadfastly remained one in the years since.

So I feel bad for Chrissie that a former love is hanging out some dirty laundry from nearly 40 years ago in order to sell books.

Jimmy Connors, the former tennis champ who was engaged to Evert in 1974 when both won the Wimbledon singles crowns, strongly hints in his new memoir, Outsider, that Evert had an abortion that year and left him out of the decision process.

According to an excerpt in the New York Daily News he writes: “An issue had arisen as a result of youthful passion and a decision had to be made as a couple.”

Connors writes he wanted to “let nature take its course” and accept responsibility “for what was to come. … Chrissie . . . made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future.”

What was riding was one of the greatest careers in the history of sports as Evert went on to win Wimbledon three times, the US Open six times, the French Open a record seven times and the Australian Open, which she rarely played in, twice. She also has the highest winning percentage of any player – male or female – in tennis history.

Connors writes: “It kept going back to the same old question: Can two number ones exist in the same family?”

Apparently not. Connors went on to marry Playboy centerfold Patti McGuire with whom he has two children while Evert was married to British tennis pro John Lloyd for eight years then to Olympic skier Andy Mill – the father of her three sons – for nearly two decades. She left Mill to be with golfer Greg Norman to whom she was married to for 15 months before they split.

Evert has just released this statement: “In his book, Jimmy Connors has written about a time in our relationship that was very personal and emotionally painful. I am extremely disappointed that he used the book to misrepresent a private matter that took place 40 years ago and made it public without my knowledge. I hope that everyone can understand that I have no further comment.”

She currently works as a commentator for ESPN during the major tennis tournaments and runs her own tennis academy in Florida.

Earlier today, Chrissie wrote this on Twitter: “Thank you guys for your support this week; means a lot to me…”

FILE UNDER: Tennis

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

10 Remarks

  1. I remember to this day when Chris and Martina were working the commentary of a televised tournament and apparently it was left to Chris to give Martina her Hall of Fame ring.

    Chris got down on one knee, held out the ring and Martina gasped, “I’ve been waiting for this for so long!”

    Not sure if Martina was referring to the Hall of Fame ring or a proposal from Chris.

    It was very cute.

  2. Connors just wants to sell his book and doesn’t care what he says and how it may hurt Cris Evert. I never liked him. I have followed tennis since the 60′s and always thought he was stubbornly opinionated, argumentative and obstinate.

  3. Very tasteless and low-class of Connors. I never liked him either, and never could understand that Chris was ever with him.

  4. On the other hand it is a book about his life and that relationship was part of his life.It is not an autobiography if you skip over or lie about stuff.Where do you draw the line?

  5. @Ken-I remember that. It was lovely to see. Chris could have cared less what people thought. I hope you’ve watched their ESPN documentary. Absolutely fascinating.

  6. Just about anyone can dig up something very unpleasant on someone and include it in a book if they choose to. Thankfully people with some class that write books keep certain things private that it should be only between themselves and the ones they had a relationship with. Connors has no class.

  7. The very fact that he added the account of her abortion simply reveals his true nature! His thinly veiled attempt to disgrace and hurt Chris instead proves him to be a vindictive, weak man who must need some cash!!

  8. hi,

    Jimmi is not very intelligent,he is just a v good tennis player

  9. February 14th, 2016 at 6:36 pm
    Rose McDonald says:

    Connors never showed an ounce of class or respect for anyone or anything when he was a young guy, he hasn’t changed.

  10. It’s obvious that they still have unfinished business. It sounds like her parents were strict with her and taught her to hide her emotions and it carried over to her personal life by not discussing her pregnancy decisions with Jimmy. I can understand that he got upset and started to cheat on her. I don’t think she understood that it bothered him that much and just got hurt when she saw him with someone else. It’s also obvious thru the years for example when they played mixed doubles they still had chemistry. I think he just responded to her comments about seeing him in the stand and he defended himself by explaining why. When someone writes their memoirs it is supposed to include the details about their life. I also think her failed marriages and his infidelity’s that he admitted to his marriage shows neither one of are over it and again have unfinished business. In a way, it’s too bad they both aren’t single to try to figure it out because it will just continue to bother them. I feel bad for both of them. There are always two sides to every story, but it could also be a lot of misunderstanding.

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