A late 1970s photo of Chris Evert, with her hair pulled back, a baseline stare, and complete focus, perfectly encapsulates what made her one of the most captivating athletes of her time. People are still staring at her face decades later. Now, just for different reasons.
The discussion about Evert’s plastic surgery didn’t start recently. It began subtly in 2012 when comments on tennis forums were sparked by television close-ups she was doing while broadcasting. Fans noticed a slight change in the area surrounding her eyes, a tightness that wasn’t there before. To put it bluntly, one Talk Tennis commenter said that the look “freaked them out” and speculated about several procedures. As is often the case with internet commentary, it was harsh, but it raised a question that remained.
Botox, dermal fillers, a potential facelift, blepharoplasty, an eyelid procedure, and even breast enhancement are allegedly being discussed. None of it has ever been publicly confirmed by Evert. Naturally, this silence tends to encourage conjecture more than any admission.
It’s important to note something that is frequently overlooked in these conversations. At a time when SPF 50 wasn’t exactly standard practice on the tour, Evert spent her professional career competing outside in the Florida sun. Over time, prolonged exposure to the sun causes actual, noticeable skin damage, and the pressure to appear camera-ready as a television personality only exacerbates the damage. It’s difficult to call it surprising if she decided to handle that with cosmetic surgery.
However, some observers believe Evert may have crossed the boundary between transformation and maintenance. It’s another matter entirely whether that’s a fair verdict. Evert wouldn’t be the first public figure scrutinized for decisions that men in the same profession seldom have to make, and the standards applied to women in the media and sports era differed from those applied to women themselves.
Everything else Evert has been dealing with complicates the picture and may make it uncomfortable to reduce her to before-and-after comparisons. She was found to have Stage 1 ovarian cancer in late 2021 after genetic testing connected her to the BRCA1 variant that had also killed her sister Jeanne. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy in addition to surgery. Then it returned in December 2023.
In light of this, conversations about facelifts seem oddly irrelevant. The internet is still occupied, though. This may be just what happens to women who continue to be visible as they get older: every change is noted and discussed, rarely with much generosity.
Evert does appear noticeably younger than many people her age, even at seventy. It’s really unclear if that’s due to careful living, good genetics, cosmetic surgery, or a combination of all three. She has endured more than the majority of people will ever encounter, and she continues to show up.
Perhaps that is the more intriguing tale. Simply put, fewer people click on it.
FAQs
1. Has Chris Evert confirmed having plastic surgery?
She has never publicly confirmed any cosmetic procedures.
2. What procedures has Chris Evert been accused of having?
Botox, fillers, facelifts, blepharoplasty, and breast enhancement have all been rumored.
3. When did plastic surgery rumors about Chris Evert begin?
Speculation started around 2012 during her television broadcasting work.
4. What health challenges has Chris Evert faced in recent years?
She battled Stage 1 ovarian cancer, which recurred in December 2023.
5. Why might Chris Evert’s appearance have changed naturally over time?
Decades of outdoor tennis under the Florida sun caused significant skin damage.