"It was a little uncomfortable to go into locker room, Renee Richards would be there" - When Chris Evert felt uneasy by transgender player's presence

Tennis legend Chris Evert once shared how 'uncomfortable' she was by the presence of transgender player Renee Richards in the locker room during the 1977 US Open.

Richards was born Richard Raskind, and he competed in the men's pre-Open US National Championships five times between 1953 and 1960 and won first-round matches two times. He also advanced to the semifinal of the US Men's 35 Championships in 1975.

Raskind had a sex-change operation in 1975 and took the name Renee Richards. She wanted to compete in the 1976 US Open as a woman but refused to take a chromosome test to determine her eligibility, so the tournament organizers denied her entry. She also could not play in Wimbledon and the Italian Open that year because of the same issue.

However, Richards was not one to back down easily. She went to New York state court to sue the USTA (United States Tennis Association), the governing body of the New York Slam. The rule was subsequently changed in favor of the then-43-year-old, and she was granted permission to compete in the Grand Slam tournament in 1977.

The American was handed a tough draw, though, as she faced United Kingdom's Virginia Wade in the first round, who had won the Wimbledon Championships earlier in the year.

Despite the speculations that 6'1" Richards would overpower Wade easily because she was a transgender athlete, the Brit dominated the game throughout and won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

Chris Evert, the top seed at Flushing Meadows that year, claimed in 2012 that she was first 'uncomfortable' with Renee Richards' presence in the women's locker room. Her perspective shifted gradually though as she came to know the 'gracious' player better.

"It was a little uncomfortable to go into the locker room. Renee [Richards] would be in there — do you look, do you not look? But she was just such a gracious person, with no resentment about the press coverage. It was a life lesson and definitely made me a better person," Evert said in an interview as quoted by The New York Times.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion eventually won the 1977 US Open. She defeated Wendy Turnbull in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, in the championship match to take home her third consecutive New York Major title.

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Chris Evert emerged victorious in all of her matches against Renee Richards

Chris Evert pictured at WTA 50th Anniversary Gala

Chris Evert won every match she played against Renee Richards. The pair faced each other seven times.

The former World No. 1 defeated Richards for the first time in the W15, Hilton Head, SC tennis event in 1978, claiming the match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Their last meeting took place in the Deerfield Beach tournament in 1980, with Evert winning 6-4, 6-0.

The duo's sole meeting in a Grand Slam tournament occurred in the third round of the 1979 US Open, where Chris Evert was the defending champion and the big favorite to win, having lifted the trophy for four years in a row. The 68-year-old made short work of Renee Richards, 6-2, 6-1, but eventually finished as the runner-up.