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Chris Evert talks Naomi Osaka, stardom and her ‘fairytale’ US Open debut

(Courtesy of IBM)

When Chris Evert was 16 years old, she took center court at the 1971 US Open.

An amateur at the time, Evert was the youngest player to ever reach the semifinals of the US Open. She upset three seeded players to set up a meeting with Billie Jean King, already a five-time Grand Slam winner and the eventual US Open champion that year.

“That was like my coming out story,” Evert told Just Women’s Sports of her first Grand Slam appearance. “I lost in the semifinals to Billie Jean King, but it was a fairytale tournament for me.”

Evert became an instant American icon and embarked on one of the most storied careers in sports. Later dubbed “The Ice Maiden” for her stoic and powerful drive, Evert was a symbol of the 1970s tennis boom that showed young women they could achieve their dreams of playing and succeeding in professional sports.

By the end of 1974, Evert was the best women’s tennis player in the world — a title she would hold six more times. She became the first player, male or female, to win 1,000 singles matches and she compiled the second-most career match wins, behind only Martina Navratilova. When she was finally ready to step away from the court in 1989, Evert had won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, tied for the fifth-most in women’s history.

Exactly half a century since Evert’s Cinderella debut, the 2021 US Open begins Monday in New York. The women’s draw features some of the fiercest young talent and current legends of the game.

“The US Open is an innovator,” Evert said. “I think they’re the leader of all the Grand Slams.”

New this year at the tournament is technology from IBM, the digital partner of the USTA, that will keep fans informed about the players and matches with real-time player rankings and insights.

“It’s trying to bring the audience and fans interest in a little bit more,” Evert said of the AI-powered innovations that will be featured on the US Open app, USOpen.org and the ESPN broadcast.

The women’s singles draw opens with several intriguing first-round matchups. World No. 1 Ash Barty will square off against former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, defending champion Naomi Osaka will face Marie Bouzkova and two-seed Arya Sabalenka will meet Nina Stojanović. The first round also features Sloane Stephens versus fellow American Madison Keys in what will be a rematch of the 2017 US Open final.

The US Open will be Osaka’s first Grand Slam since she withdrew from the last two major tournaments for mental health reasons.

Like Evert, Osaka made her Grand Slam debut at the US Open, winning the 2018 tournament in an epic showdown with Serena Williams. When Osaka spoke up about the consequences of media scrutiny on players’ mental health earlier this year, Evert reflected on her own experiences of dealing with stardom at a young age.

“When this mental health situation came up with Naomi, it brought me back to analyze how I felt at that point,” Evert said.

“Sometimes, I didn’t come out of my hotel room for two days. There was depression, but it wasn’t labeled back then. We didn’t know what it was. It was ‘Oh, Chrissie’s taking her losses hard.’”

Evert empathizes with Osaka but acknowledges that the attention she received was likely not as extreme.

“In my day and age, they weren’t camping out on your lawn,” she said. “If you went to a restaurant, you’d get your picture taken, but it wasn’t as intrusive.”

America’s major was without fans in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. During the tournament’s two-week run this year, spectators will take their seats, but they will be without several familiar stars.

Last week, Venus and Serena Williams withdrew due to injuries, making it the first time since 2003 that both sisters will miss the US Open. Serena, who has been on a four-year chase for a 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie her with Margaret Court for the most ever, hasn’t played since retiring from her first-round match at Wimbledon in June.

“It’s unfortunate because she loves playing in New York,” Evert said of Serena’s withdrawal. “When you do get older, the body doesn’t respond as quickly to injuries as it once did. But one thing’s for sure — she has a lot to go on to after tennis.”

Off the court, Williams and Osaka have led the way as the highest earners in all of women’s sports this year.

Evert credits the collaboration between the Women’s Tennis Association and other top athletic organizations as more women in sports — beyond professional tennis players — pursue higher compensation.

Evert also mentioned her longtime competitor and friend, tennis great Billie Jean King, as a brazen force behind the monetary success of professional women’s tennis.

“I don’t think other sports had a Billie Jean King. I feel very lucky that she was in tennis,” Evert said. “We could not have made the advances and the progress as quickly as we did if we didn’t have Billie Jean to be our spokesperson.”

WNBA Teams Make Big-Name Cuts Ahead of 2025 Season Tip-Off

Atlanta Dream player Haley Jones looks on during a 2024 WNBA game.
The Atlanta Dream waived third-year guard Haley Jones on Wednesday. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Big-name roster cuts dominated the WNBA headlines on Wednesday, with teams scrambling to meet the league's size and salary cap requirements before Friday's 2025 season tip-off.

The Golden State Valkyries, Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, and Dallas Wings announced finalized rosters, leaving a handful of teams still weighing their options as the clock ticks down.

Expansion side Golden State caused the most Wednesday commotion, dropping 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella story Kaitlyn Chen (UConn) and 2023 No. 8 overall draft pick Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina), among other cuts, after initially waiving this year's No. 17 overall pick Shyanne Sellers (Maryland) last week.

With this year's No. 5 overall pick Justė Jocytė (Lithuania) choosing to remain overseas for this summer's EuroBasket, the Valkyries will now make their WNBA debut without a single 2025 draftee.

2023 WNBA Draft Class takes a hit

The hits kept coming for the 2023 WNBA Draft class, as Atlanta's No. 6 overall pick Haley Jones (Stanford) and Minnesota's No. 7 selectee Grace Berger (Indiana) joined Amihere on the league's cutting room floor on Wednesday — leaving only five 2023 first-rounders currently on WNBA rosters.

On the flip side, the Connecticut Sun dropped 30-year-old guard Diamond DeShields on Thursday morning — just three months after signing the 2021 WNBA champion.

Ultimately, rookies, mid-career players, and veterans alike are on the chopping block this week, with teams showing little mercy for fan favorites as they hone in on what promises to be a highly competitive 2025 WNBA season.

NWSLPA Voices Player Safety Concerns, Demands NWSL Protocol Change

Utah's Alex Loera leads both Angel City and Royals players and staff in prayer for LA's Savy King on the field after an NWSL match.
Last weekend’s Angel City vs. Utah Royals match continued after ACFC’s Savy King needed life-saving care. (Harry How/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) is advocating for an immediate change in protocol in the name of player safety, with the union voicing concerns about the handling of Angel City defender Savy King's mid-match medical event last Friday.

Following current league guidelines, the game between the LA club and the Utah Royals resumed play on Friday, picking up where they left off after King's on-pitch collapse required nearly 10 minutes of life-saving intervention from medical staff.

Amid a crowd of visibly distressed players and coaches, paramedics rushed King to an area hospital, with the 20-year-old later undergoing successful surgery to fix a previously undetected heart abnormality.

"These moments demand humanity, sound judgment, and restraint," the NWSLPA posted on Wednesday. "Any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end. The match should not have continued."

"Our members are elite, world-class competitors who have proven they can perform under unimaginable conditions. That does not mean they should have to," the statement continued.

"Incidents of this severity must prioritize our collective humanity and should automatically trigger suspension of the match. The Players Association is committed to making this the standard in [the] NWSL."

NWSL player safety again takes center-pitch

As the NWSL braces for rapid expansion, the NWSLPA remains laser-focused on ensuring player safety never takes a backseat, both on and off the field.

That priority was mirrored in the league's own Wednesday post.

Shortly before the NWSLPA's statement hit feeds, the NWSL issued its own statement, saying "Player Safety is paramount to the NWSL. The seriousness of this incident requires a deliberate process that is careful and methodical. That process is underway and will include necessary revisions that prioritize the consideration of player, staff, and fan well-being."

The lack of an instant protocol change doesn't sit well with NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke.

After reviewing the league's post, Burke told Front Office Sports "The reality is these decisions are made in real time. A decision needed to be made last Friday night.... Five days later, they still [haven't] decided whether or not this game should have been suspended." 

"This is a human issue. The right thing to do was to call this game. It doesn't take this long to realize that."

Alexis Ohanian Buys 10% Stake in WSL Champions Chelsea FC

Angel City lead founding investor Alexis Ohanian points to the team crest on his jacket during a 2022 NWSL event.
Alexis Ohanian reportedly paid £20 million for a 10% stake in Chelsea FC. (Jessica Rapfogel/Imagn Images)

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is Chelsea FC's newest owner, with the husband of tennis icon Serena Williams reportedly dropping £20 million ($26.6 million) on a 10% stake in the WSL champions earlier this week.

Ohanian is no stranger to investing in women's sports, from launching Angel City as the 2022 NWSL expansion club's majority owner to last year's founding of Athlos NYC, an annual women's track and field event with a $663,000 purse.

"I've bet big on women's sports before — and I'm doing it again," Ohanian posted on social media on Wednesday. "I'm proud to announce that I'm joining @ChelseaFCW as an investor and board member. I'm honored for the chance to help this iconic club become America's favorite @BarclaysWSL team and much, much more."

"These players are rewriting the game. Undefeated season. Eyes on the treble," said Ohanian about Chelsea FC's historic 2024/25 success. "But this isn't just about winning titles. It's about finally matching their talent with the resources, visibility, and respect they deserve."

Ohanian's investment comes amid soaring valuations for women's pro teams — with Chelsea's $257 million price tag ranking as the highest in all of women's soccer.

Calling Ohanian's buy-in "game-changing," Blues manager Sonia Bompastor told reporters on Thursday that "It's really important for the women's game but also for England to have someone to invest in a team like Chelsea."

"We want to be the leaders," she continued. "We want to be the team who shows to every other team how you need to perform and how you need to invest in the women's game."

Women's clubs still successful after splitting with men's teams

Ohanian's investment also indicates Chelsea's commitment to further distancing their women's team operations from their men's side, following last June's ownership move to place the women's squad under an independent subsidiary.

Though most European women's teams remain closely affiliated with their men's counterparts, severing ties is on the rise, with US billionaire Michele Kang assuming majority ownership over women's clubs Olympique Lyonnais and the newly promoted London City Lionesses in recent years.

With skyrocketing revenue — plus Kang's fleet proving that independence benefits women's teams — expect to see even more US investors eyeing women's sports opportunities abroad.

FIFA Sets $1 Billion Revenue Goal for Women’s World Cup

A 2023 World Cup match's attendence of 40,499 is displaying during the game.
The 2023 World Cup garnered $570 million in revenue. (Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images)

FIFA is setting a new goal for the Women's World Cup, with organization president Gianni Infantino stating this week that the governing body is aiming to generate $1 billion in revenue from the international championship tournament.

"Women's football and women in football are crucially important," Infantino said at the 2025 Saudi Arabia/US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.

"It's growing as well, and exponentially, and we are targeting [growth] as well to have $1 billion revenue just with the Women's World Cup to reinvest in the women's game."

The public push to hit the billion-dollar mark comes after the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand became the first edition of the tournament to break even, generating a revenue total over $570 million.

The 2027 World Cup will take place in Brazil, becoming the first iteration ever held in South America, while the US — as the only bid on the table — has a near-guaranteed lock on hosting the 2031 edition.

As FIFA takes aim at its $1 billion target for the 2027 tournament, the 2031 World Cup could have a leg up in the revenue game, with FIFA expanding the competition's field from 32 to 48 teams just last week.

Consequently, that 16-team increase boosts the total matches from 64 in 2027 to 104 in the 2031, instantly creating 62.5% more inventory — a move that could help meet or potentially exceed FIFA's bold new revenue goal.

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