Chris Evert not pleased with Jimmy Connors’ revealing book
On May 14, former tennis superstar Jimmy Connors will release “The Outsider,” a collection of memoirs that details the heights of his professional career in tennis, his glorious matches, his relationship with mother Gloria and his dealings with obsessive-compulsive disorder. A preview of the book drew criticism from Chris Evert, Connors’ beau in the early 70s. What drew fire was Connors hinting in several lines of the book that Evert has had an abortion while they were engaged, which ultimately drove them apart a year later in 1974.
Evert was not pleased that Connors was using a sensitive period in their relationship as a marketing tool. It also didn’t appear that Connors consulted her before pushing the matter into the hands of his publisher, HarperCollins.
“In his book, Jimmy Connors has written about a time in our relationship that was very personal and emotionally painful,” she said in a statement obtained by RadarOnline.com several days ago.
“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,” Evert continued. “I hope that everyone can understand that I have no further comment.”
Connors, however, seemed content to reflect on a compelling narrative.
“I was happy to let nature take it’s course,” Connors hinted that Evert wanted to go forward with the abortion, something that he disagreed with. “It was a horrible feeling, but I knew it was over. Getting married wasn’t going to be good for us.
Connors also said that Evert was doing it to protect her career. Evert was 19, while Connors was 22. And both were at the heights of their careers. Evert, Connors claimed, was a devout Catholic.
“Chrissie made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future,” Connors wrote in his book. “She asked me to handle the details.”
Evert would marry former alpine ski racer for the U.S. Ski Team in 1988. They divorced in 2006. Evert later married Greg Norman, a former professional golfer who was at the top of the world, holding the No. 1-ranked title for over 300 weeks. Evert and Norman divorced in 2009. Connors ended up marrying Patti McGuire in 1979.
Both Evert and Connors have had very successful careers. Evert won 18 grand slam singles titles; Connors won eight of them.
