Chris Evert pays tribute to songwriter Burt Bacharach on his demise

Tennis legend Chris Evert paid a heartfelt tribute to Burt Bacharach, one of the most celebrated songwriters since the late 1950's.

The Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy award winner was famous for his combination of pop, jazz, rock, and Brazilian music. He had great success working alongside singer Dionne Warwick and the singer-composer duo made the Billboard magazine's top 40 singles chart 20 times.

The "Casino Royale" title-track composer died in Los Angeles on Wednesday (February 8), of natural causes, at the age of 94. With a career that spanned over decades, he worked with artists including Warwick, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Costello.

Writer and broadcaster Richard Evans took to social media to pay his tribute to the music maestro. He revealed that Bacharach was a tennis fan and friends with players in the 1970's and 80's.

"Sad to hear of @BurtBacharach 's death at 94. Burt was a big tennis fan and friend of players on WCT tour in 1970-80's. Listening to him play piano for us in #PalmDesert one evening a musical expert told me that his music was incredibly complex to sing.@dionnewarwick got it!" he tweeted.

Chris Evert re-tweeted it and added her own tribute to the "Walk on By" composer.

"He was the best music composer in many eras! Loved his music / him as well…. RIP," Chris Evert tweeted.

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Chris Evert sends heartwarming wishes for Jessica Pegula’s mother battling health crisis

Chris Evert at the 2022 Wimbledon Centenary Celebrations

Jessica Pegula recently shared the trials and tribulations that she and her family have gone through over the past year. In a first-person article in The Players' Tribune, the American revealed that her mother, Kim Pegula, suffered a cardiac arrest, following which, she also had a brain injury due to lack of oxygen.

Pegula recalled receiving the shocking news a few days after the 2022 French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals of the singles and finals of the doubles and had cracked the Top 10 in the rankings. She felt concerened about her family's well-being and unsure about the future.

"Suddenly, I went from “Let’s celebrate top 10 in the world” to “Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?” “Does my dad and family need help?” “Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.” I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT," she wrote.

However, once she got a grasp of the situation, Pegula maintained a positive outlook and won the title at the Guadalajara Open in November last year. She also went as far as the quarterfinals in singles and semifinals in doubles with Coco Gauff at the 2023 Australian Open.

Although her mother is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and memory issues, she is on her way to recovery. Chris Evert took to social media to thank the World No. 4 for sharing her story and wish her mother well.

"Thank you for sharing this heartbreaking and heartwarming story, Jessie. Your mother is incredible and resilient. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way," Evert tweeted.