Chris Evert

Chris Evert

The two-handed backhand began as a child's compromise: Chris Evert was too slight to swing one-handed, so she used both, and the stroke became the template for the modern women's game. From the baseline she simply did not miss. She won 125 straight matches on clay between August 1973 and May 1979, still the longest run on the surface by anyone, and her seven Roland Garros titles remain the women's record in Paris. Her 18 majors also count six US Opens, three Wimbledons and two Australian Opens.

The consistency was the marvel: 260 weeks at world No. 1, 163 career titles, at least one major every year from 1974 through 1986, and a semi-final or better at 34 consecutive slams from 1971 to 1983. Across her career she lost barely one match in ten. The counterweight was Martina Navratilova, baseline ice against net-rushing fire over 80 matches, a rivalry that sharpened both and settled into lifelong friendship. Evert stopped in 1989, still ranked in the world's top four.