James Andrew "Jimmy" Evert (September 9, 1923 – August 21, 2015) was an American
tennis coach and player. He was the father of
Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...
, who was one of the world's top women tennis players in the 1970s and 1980s.
Evert was born in
Chicago,
Illinois. As a youngster, he was a two-time U.S. age-group champion. He won the 1940 Illinois state high school championship while playing for
Senn High School of Chicago.
After serving briefly in the
United States Army, he attended the
University of Notre Dame on a tennis scholarship, where he majored in economics. In 1947, he won the men's singles title at the
Canadian Championships. After retiring as a player, he became a professional tennis coach.
Evert taught all five of his children at the tennis center in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
, which was named in his honor in 1997. He also coached
Brian Gottfried,
Harold Solomon
Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). ...
and
Jennifer Capriati.
Evert died from pneumonia on August 21, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale. He was 91.
Jimmy Evert, father of tennis great Chris, passes away at 91
/ref>
References
External links
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evert, Jimmy
American male tennis players
American tennis coaches
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's tennis players
Tennis players from Chicago
Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Tennis people from Florida
Tennis people from Illinois
Chris Evert
Military personnel from Illinois
1923 births
2015 deaths
Deaths from pneumonia in Florida
United States Army personnel of World War II
Professional tennis players before the Open Era