Chris Evert

Chris Evert, who pulled out of the French Open tennis tournament less than two weeks ago, hinting at imminent retirement, will play at Wimbledon later this month. The Women's International Tennis Assn. said that Evert, 34, would go to Wimbledon after competing in a grass-court tournament at Eastbourne in southern England, used by many players as a warm-up for the Grand Slam event. The Eastbourne tournament starts June 19, Wimbledon June 26. Evert flew back to the United States after losing to Austrian teen-ager Barbara Paulus in the European Open at Geneva last month and said she would reconsider her schedule for the rest of the year.

Chris Evert said today that she'll definitely play Wimbledon next week, despite an ear infection that knocked her out of a warm-up tournament. Evert, a three-time champion who decided at the last minute to play Wimbledon this year, said her condition has improved since the illness struck early Wednesday. "I'm feeling much better," she said as she left for London with her husband, Andy Mill. "I shall be on medication for at least another three days but I shall definitely be playing at Wimbledon next week."

I write to point out the racism in sports reporting in the Times. I refer to the article by Lisa Dillman entitled "After 16 in a Row, It's No Longer Sweet 16 at the Open for Evert," and the accompanying picture of Evert. I am struck that Ms. Dillman and or the Times chose to omit a reference to Ms. McNeil in the article headline and a photo of Lori. It seems like such a slap in the face of a young black woman who is apparently extremely talented and no doubt has worked extremely hard to get to the position of being able to defeat Chris Evert, America's treasured darling of woman tennis players.

Martina Navratilova, seeking a record sixth consecutive Wimbledon title and an end to a disappointing year, took just 32 minutes to defeat Claudia Porwik of West Germany 6-1, 6-0 in a first-round match on Center Court today. Second-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany, fresh from beating Navratilova in the French Open, defeated Adriana Villagran of Argentina 6-0, 6-2.

After having her injured right foot examined Thursday, Chris Evert was cleared to continue in the French Open, but her third-round match Friday was pushed back one day. Officials said that Evert, seeded third, had a bone scan to check for a fracture in the area where she had a bone spur. The injury forced her to withdraw from the Italian Open three weeks ago. "The tests were negative, and right now it is diagnosed as bursitis," said Maureen Hanlon, a Women's International Tennis Assn.

Natalie Exon denies she looks like Chris Evert, though she has donned pigtails before--and she refuses to admit she watches videotape of Evert in her spare time. But Exon can't deny her style could be mistaken for the former queen of tennis. "I think it's my flat strokes," said Exon, who will be a senior at Woodbridge High next year. "All the coaches say it's stupid, but it's just something that I do." Chris Ganz, Exon's coach, said there are many more similarities Exon probably isn't aware of.

The key to beating Steffi Graf? Wait until she's sick, apparently. Graf obliterated her first-round opponent, Julie Salmon of England, 6-1, 6-2, and said afterward that she felt fine. "I am perfect," Graf said. As she improved her record to 194-7 since becoming No. 1 in 1987, Graf was playing her first match since she played in a weakened condition and lost the French Open final to Arantxa Sanchez of Spain. On that day in Paris, Graf was recovering from a virus and feeling sick, but that wasn't so unusual.

Sitting in his Orlando, Fla., home Sunday, watching the Buffalo Bills fall behind the Miami Dolphins by 28 points, ex-Bill Darryl Talley turned to Twitter to voice his frustration. First he tweeted: "Does anyone out there have 1 billion I can borrow? I'd like to buy the Bills and give back to the good people of Buffalo the team they deserve." Then he added: "The Bills need to fire more than a coach. I see a few players who need to be sent packing." Bills owner Ralph Wilson had less to say than Talley about his team's 38-10 defeat.

Facing her toughest challenge of the week, top-seeded Chris Evert fought off unseeded Arantxa Sanchez of Spain, 7-6, 6-4, Sunday at Largo, Fla., to win her second consecutive $200,000 Eckerd Open. It was the first tournament title of the year for Evert, who won $40,000. Sanchez, 16, won a spot in the final by defeating unseeded Patricia Tarabini of Argentina, 6-2, 6-2, in a semifinal match rained out Saturday and resumed Sunday morning.

Chris Evert will make an "official statement" if she decides to retire from women's tennis, but said today that she will play fewer matches this year and next. Evert was referring to reports that she would retire from tennis after this season and was considering an international farewell tour. The reports also said she and NBC-TV had held discussions about her becoming a tennis commentator for the network.