"I wanted to feel like another one of the girls at school": When Chris Evert opened up on making cheerleading 'sacrifice' after her father's ultimatum

Chris Evert once opened up about how she learned the harsh lesson that pursuing a professional tennis career would require her to renounce her other interests. The American disclosed that an ultimatum from her father and coach Jimmy played a pivotal role in her coming to that realization.

Evert's father was a professional tennis coach who began training her in the sport when she was just five years old. Although the former World No. 1 enjoyed honing her tennis skills and even achieved success on the junior circuit, she still wanted to fit in with her peers at school.

In a 2010 article for ESPN, Chris Evert recounted how she tried out for the cheerleading squad in the eighth grade, in an effort to feel like a regular teenage girl. Although the American was glad to have made the squad, she soon realized that the demanding schedule would clash with her tennis training.

"When I was in eighth grade, I was competing in tournaments two weekends a month and doing quite well. At the same time, I wanted to feel like just another one of the girls at school. So without really thinking about it, I tried out and made the boys' basketball cheerleading squad. It would have been a significant time commitment that interfered with tennis," Chris Evert said.

Evert revealed that this led her father to give her an ultimatum, telling the former World No. 1 that he wouldn't dedicate his free time to coaching her in tennis if she wanted to become a cheerleader.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion disclosed that, although she found it easy to prioritize tennis, the pivotal moment prompted her to realize that she would need to make many "sacrifices" if she wanted to succeed in the sport. Chris Evert also credited her father for not pressuring her but instead allowing her to come to the conclusion independently.

"My dad told me I had a decision to make. He wasn't going to give me his full support and spend all his free time with me on the tennis court if what I wanted was to become a cheerleader," she said.

"I thought about it, and in the end it was a fairly obvious choice to make. Still, that was a defining moment for me, because I realized I would have to make sacrifices in order to reach my potential. And I have always respected my dad for allowing me to come to that conclusion on my own," she added.

Chris Evert on her father 'blurring the line' between parent and coach: "I was in my early teens, I needed more emotional support from him"

Chris Evert - Source: Getty

During the same piece, Chris Evert admitted that her father Jimmy would often blur the line between being a parent and a coach by engaging her in discussions about her game even after they had spent an entire day training together.

As a young teenager at the time, the former World No. 1 admitted that she yearned for more emotional support from her father, disclosing her desire for him to praise her appearance or express pride in her growth.

"Inevitably, though, there were times when he blurred the line between coach and father. At night, after we had spent the entire day on the court, he would occasionally still have tennis on the brain. He'd want to discuss a stroke I was trying to refine or the match from earlier that day," Chris Evert said.

"I was in my early teens, and I needed more emotional and less athletic support from him. I needed him to tell me I looked pretty that day or to say he was proud of me," she added.

Chris Evert revealed that her mother Colette would typically step in to defend her father's "lack of sensitivity," reminding the 18-time Grand Slam champion that Jimmy didn't grow up with any sisters and was inexperienced regarding dealing with young girls.