Reanne Evans admits that even world mixed doubles partner Ronnie O’Sullivan doesn’t quite match up to her sporting idol Serena Williams.
Dudley’s Evans, 36, is a record 12-times women’s world champion and has been paired with the Rocket and quickly installed as favourites for next week’s four-team tournament.
With the 46-year-old world No1 O’Sullivan having claimed his own record-equalling seventh world title at the Crucible earlier this year they look the ones to beat in Milton Keynes.
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Evans puts O’Sullivan up there as one of the greatest sportspeople of all time. And that admiration is eclipsed by just one person, the now retired 23-times grand slam tennis champion Williams.
The 40-year-old American is already teasing that she could return after calling it a day at the US Open and Evans prays that is the case – as she never got to see her heroine play live.
Evans said: “Serena has been a massive inspiration to me. I never thought about it so much when I was younger, I just loved watching her play and the way she played.
“But as you get older you start to think about her career, what she has been through, what she has done for black women, and women in sport in general and where she came from.
“Away from the court too. She is also a mum and I could relate to that being a mum playing sport myself. It is difficult. Everything about her is inspirational.
“And hopefully I can take a bit of that into me. She has been my biggest role model in sport, 100 percent. I have always watched tennis, my mum loves the game.
“The Williams sisters came along and changed the game, and took it to new levels. And while I don’t believe this myself, some kind people have said I have done that in women in snooker.
“If that’s the case the others have caught up and I’ll need to change it again! For me Serena is up there with Ronnie in that they changed their sport, and maintained it for so many years.
“I would have loved to have seen her get the 24 grand slams but she is the best ever in any sport. When you are young you just try and win things for yourself.
“But as you get older you realise that you are not just doing it for you, but for young girls coming up, or women that may have quit the sport and are starting again.
“Inspirational people can change your life, and while it’s difficult to talk about yourself like this, I really hope I have had a part to play in helping women want to take up snooker and be on TV.
“Last year once after being on TV I had a message from a father saying ‘My daughter absolutely loves you and wants to start playing, until she saw you she thought there were only female referees’.”
The other pairs in the four-team round-robin group see Neil Robertson paired with reigning world champion Mink Mutcharut, Mark Selby play with Rebecca Kenna and Judd Trump with Ng On Yee.
But even though Evans rates O’Sullivan as the best in his sport and is friendly with the Rocket having done Legends events together, she confesses there were some mixed feelings about the pairing.
Evans added: “There were some mixed emotions. I knew I had got the best player in the world and the best to ever pick up a cue in my eyes.
“But also then you have to perform in front of him! I have had the privilege of playing with him in Legends nights and exhibitions, hopefully that will make me more relaxed.
“We will not just be playing for ourselves as usual, but for the team and that is a different mindset and different pressure. What if you let Ronnie down, and your team down!
“But if I play a decent safety shot, he should do okay with the next shot. I am really looking forward to it, and I think it is a really good and exciting format.
“I’m not sure that even with all my experience I will handle the pressure better than the other three women players! Don’t get me wrong, some of what I have done will help.
“But every day is a different experience. I’m not actually that confident as a person, I wish I was more confident. However I will go there, do my very best, enjoy it and hopefully we can win the thing.
“There is a strong competitive edge between the women, I get that even with my best friend Maria [Catalano]. Off the table we all get on really well and have a good laugh, but on it, we are players and it is a different story.”
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
