From Ocean Shine

NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - For more than half a century, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have been pillars of modern sport, rivals, friends, and inspirations who wrote a thrilling chapter in the world of tennis.

Their rivalry defined an era, transcended the boundaries of the game, and helped redefine what mathematics could be: fierce, passionate, political, glamorous, and unabashedly honest with themselves.

Now, more than 50 years after they first met as teenagers, the two women whose lives have forever intertwined sit in New York ahead of the premiere of their Netflix documentary, "Chris and Martina: The Final Set," to talk not just about a rivalry etched in memory, but about a friendship that has endured long after the final match.

“It’s really amazing when you think about the first time we met,” Navratilova, who will turn 70 later this year, said, reminiscing about the distant past. “I remember it better than Chris, because Chris was already famous and I was a nobody.”

She added, before smiling at her fierce rival and close friend, "If you had told us what would happen, we would have said, 'You're crazy.' And if you had told us what our career in the game had turned out to be, we would have said, 'Impossible. This can't happen.'"

Everett nodded and said, "We were very different in our youth. I was that good, Catholic, devout, and disciplined girl... I had painted nails and wore little earrings, and you know... I tried to be feminine at the same time, and Martina was the athlete, she was the player. We were very different in everything."

Everett, 71, added, "But there is something. I think the depth of all our experiences and feelings, and that we have gone through the most important aspects of each of our lives, everything that has happened between illness and marriage and everything."

She continued, "We were always present in each other's lives... that's what we had in common."

Illness deepens friendship

This shared bond deepened during their similar battles with cancer. Evert was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021, and Navratilova with throat and breast cancer two years later. Both players emerged victorious from these battles, transforming an already extraordinary bond into something much deeper.

Everett said, "Well, Martina was my friend at the time, but I think it highlighted the fact that she was very loyal and very supportive and that she would always be by my side. We shared this experience. It's nice to be in a trench with someone you really care about."

For Navratilova, this ordeal strengthened a friendship that had been built up over decades.

She said, "Our friendship has taken to different levels. Trust and empathy... our relationship already had a lot of those, but now we're thinking, 'Oh no, we could both die.'"

Navratilova continued, "It got really serious, this isn't a tennis match. So that doubled everything up."

"I know how strong she is. And she knows how strong I am... When it came down to it, we were always fine. We got through it with flying colors," she said, before smiling at her rival who had become her close friend.