Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert shared an emotional and powerful moment in the recently released trailer of their upcoming Netflix documentary, ‘Chris & Martina: The Final Set.’ From talking about their tennis rivalry to battling cancer together, this is a series about them surviving together.
The tennis rivalry between Navratilova and Evert is widely considered one of the greatest rivalries in the history of tennis. Their rivalry lasted for 15 years from 1973 to 1988, where both of them faced each other 80 times. The final head-to-head record was led by the former Czech-American tennis player with a score of 43-37. The two players constantly traded the world no. 1 ranking during their careers, and both retired with exactly 18 Grand Slam singles titles each.
Now, the tennis legends have shifted their historic on-court rivalry into a shared, parallel battle against cancer and have formed a deep friendship. Both of them were diagnosed with aggressive forms of the disease within months of each other, and they leaned on each other for physical and mental support. Their intertwined health battles and their companionship are featured in the Netflix documentary, ‘Chris & Martina: The Final Set.’
The trailer of the documentary was released on June 3, 2026, where both of them shared a powerful moment, talking about their careers and their cancer journeys together. Talking about their rivalry and how cancer took a toll on her mentally and physically, Evert said:
“In the beginning it was fine for me to be friends with her because I was better than her. Sometimes it takes terrible things to happen for you to realise how you really feel about things. The second time (cancer diagnosis) really hit home, how precious every moment is, how precious life is. Some of the strength in my tennis comes into play with my cancer,” said Chris Evert.
Navratilova also opened up about their journeys together, saying:
“Chris was the enemy and she’s the one that I had to beat to get to number one. The goal is to get free of cancer. You don’t ever know how much it’s going to hit you one way or the other, you know. She’s still scared. There’s no competition of whose cancer was worse. We’re in the same boat.”
Evert and Navratilova’s Netflix documentary
Evert was diagnosed with Stage 1C ovarian cancer and a malignant tumor in her fallopian tube in 2021, which lasted for six months after treatment. Her cancer reoccurred in 2023 in her pelvic region. She went through surgery to remove the cells, chemotherapy, and more to bounce back. Navratilova, on the other hand, was diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer in 2010.
The disease reoccurred in 2023, when she noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck, which revealed Stage 1 throat cancer. While going through check-ups for this, she also discovered early-stage breast cancer. After intensive treatments, she was declared completely cancer-free by mid-2023.
When Martina Navratilova opened up about her bond with Chris Evert
In August 2025, Martina Navratilova appeared at Andy Roddick’s Served Media, where she was asked about her fascinating friendship with Chris Evert after being each other’s rivals through their entire tennis journey. When Roddick asked her if they were close and if they spoke to each other often or if it was unspoken, she replied:
“We call here and there and we text. Usually we’re sending each other tips on what shows to watch on Netflix. But yeah, no, we connect and then we’re doing a documentary actually that’ll be out hopefully early next year on on our relationship and and and rivalry, but it had all of those all those aspects of it, the respect, the hate, the rivalry, the but most of all respect that never went away. And empathy. I think we were always very empathetic to the other,” said Martina Navratilova.
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