Jimmy Evert

EVERT, JIMMY Jimmy Evert--one of the greatest American tennis teaching professionals of all time--passed away peacefully in Fort Lauderdale on Friday evening August 21, 2015. Evert, 91, was surrounded by his loving family. He died of natural causes. The son of Charles John and Christine Marie Grotz Evert, he was born September 9, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. Evert was a fine player in his younger days. He went to Notre Dame and was an All-American player for their squads in the 1940's. In 1947, he won the Canadian Championships. He earned a No. 11 ranking in the U.S.. But it was as a teaching professional of the highest order that he built his lofty reputation. In that arena, he was un-surpassed. Evert moved from Chicago to Florida with his wife, Colette, in 1948. For 49 years, he was the city of Fort Lauderdale's tennis director. He became a fixture at Holiday Park--fittingly renamed the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in 1997--where he taught a wide range of top flight junior players. He was most proud of the fact that all five of his children reached at least the final of a national junior championship in the United States. His renowned daughter, Chris Evert, became one of the best women players in history, securing 18 Grand Slam singles titles, winning at least one major title for 13 consecutive years (1974-86), and finishing seven seasons as the No. 1 ranked woman in the world. The work he did at Holiday Park was extraordinary. Not only did he coach and groom all of his kids as players, but he worked with other standouts across the years including world No. 1 Jennifer Capriati and two highly ranked players who both resided in the world's top ten--Brian Gottfried and Harold Solomon. All of those players came under guidance, as did 1963 U.S. Championships finalist Frank Froehling.