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Jeanne Evert Dubin, world-ranked tennis player and sister of Chris Evert, dies at 62

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February 25, 2020 at 11:37 a.m. EST
Fourteen-year-old Jeanne Evert sits between her parents, Colette and James, in a 1972 family photo with siblings, clockwise from bottom left, John, Chris, Drew and Clare. (AP)

Jeanne Evert Dubin, a former world-ranked tennis player and a younger sister of 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert, died Feb. 20 in Delray Beach, Fla. She was 62.

The cause was ovarian cancer, according to an online obituary posted by Lorne & Sons Funeral Home in Delray Beach.

One of five tennis-playing children raised by teaching pro Jimmy Evert and his wife, Colette, Mrs. Evert Dubin was born in Fort Lauderdale in October 1957. She had a standout junior career in which she was the nation’s top-ranked player in her age group.

Mrs. Evert Dubin turned pro in 1973, at 15, after having already beaten established stars Rosie Casals and top-ranked Margaret Court. For two years, she teamed with sister Chris in doubles, and they were ranked as high as No. 4. Mrs. Evert Dubin was the youngest to represent her country in Wightman Cup competition in 1973. She did not lose a match in helping the United States reach the Fed Cup final in 1974.

She reached a career-high 28th in the world in 1978, when she retired from competition.

She met husband Brahm Dubin while she was competing at a tournament in Montreal in 1978. They married the following year and were the parents of Eric and Catie. Mrs. Evert Dubin later coached for many years at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

Her husband died in 2006. In addition to her mother, children and sister, she is survived by another sister; two brothers; and four grandchildren.

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