Martina Navratilova lights up close friend Chris Evert's 70th birthday with heartfelt tribute: "Champion of champions"

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert are very good friends, but they're far more than just that. They were rivals and even nemeses at times, but all of that was always accompanied by tremendous mutual respect. Navratilova expressed all of that in a very nice birthday message she wrote for Evert on X.

On December 21st, Chris Evert officially turned 70, which is quite the landmark occasion for the legendary former player who shared many moments with Navratilova on the court.

"Happy 70th today to my friend, nemesis, partner and most of all an amazing, strong, resilient and compassionate woman, champion of champions! Lots of love, m. Here is looking at you, kid :)," wrote Navratilova.

Evert is also extremely fortunate to be celebrating this milestone given her double diagnosis of ovarian cancer. The tennis icon's resilience on both occasions, however, was remarkable as, despite the early detection, she bravely overcame her condition to the delight of many colleagues and tennis players alike.

Chris Evert's famed rivalry with Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert present the 2024 French Open Women's singles trophy to Iga Swiatek. - Source: Getty

The Evert-Navratilova rivalry was in many ways what the Nadal-Federer rivalry ultimately ended up being. In the end, they finished as big friends who respect each other tremendously. During their playing days, however, they were fierce rivals, and their long list of head-to-head matches proves that.

The rivalry is considered one of the greatest rivalries in the history of both tennis and sports in general. It lasted between 1973 and 1988, contesting 80 matches overall, sixty of which were finals. Martina Navratilova ultimately had the better score in the H2H matches with a 43-37 lead, including 36-24 in the finals.

At their peak, they dominated the tennis world quite similarly to how Nadal and Federer dominated before Novak Djokovic showed up. Some of the more iconic tennis matches they played include their first Grand Slam final, which was the 1975 French Open, where Evert finished on top of the pile.

They would go on to play 13 more Grand Slam finals, with Evert winning only three of those. In many ways, Navratilova dominated the matchup, but there wasn't any resentment between them as they remain very close friends to this day.

When it comes to respect, there is no bigger respect than simply acknowledging the greatness of a player. For Martina Navratilova, it's reflected in the many things she said about Evert, most notably calling for Roland Garros to build her a statue too because she deserves it. In an interview with tennis.com, she said:

“If Rafa has a statue there, then Chris should have a statue, also. They can make room on the grounds, she’s the OG queen of clay.”

Evert returned the favor, in a show of the telltale respect between them, when she asked whether Martina Navratilova deserves a statue of her own at Wimbledon, after having won the title 9 times.