Her seven wins are more than any other player, while she holds the joint-record for most Open Era US Open wins with six, level with Serena Williams.

The 70-year-old has been doing her best to keep tabs on tennis since her retirement, having turned to coaching and media work after her playing days.

Evert thanked Rafael Nadal after his retirement, with the Spaniard having called time on his career last month.

What Billie Jean King did about ‘superstar’ Chris Evert in 1971

She also took time to appreciate another legend earlier this year, with Evert watching Federer practise before the 2024 Laver Cup got underway.

But upon turning 70, Evert has now received very high praise of her own, with her fellow legend Billie Jean King highlighting one year in particular in which the former shone brightly.

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“You know what Caitlin Clark did this year for women’s basketball – actually, just basketball, period?” said King, as quoted by the WTA Tour website. “Chrissie did that for tennis in 1971. I was there, so I can tell you all about it.

“I had to have a meeting with the older players and told them to shape up. I said, ‘She’ll put money in your pocket. Guys, she’s our next superstar.’ To this day, she’s the only player, man or woman, who won 90 per cent of her career matches.”

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King certainly has every right to pick out that stunning season from Evert, who won 30 of her 32 matches that year.

Even more remarkable was the fact that the American was just 16 years old, with King seeing her talents up close when they met in the 1971 US Open semi-finals.

King, a 12-time Grand Slam champion, won that clash, but Evert would quickly go on to assert her dominance at the tournament in the years to come.

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She finished her phenomenal career with seven French Open titles and six US Open titles, along with three and two titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open respectively.

Among her other remarkable feats are a total of 260 weeks as number one or number two, with at least one major singles title won for a record 13 consecutive years.

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