Richard Robert Ingham Evans (born February 1939)[1][2] is a British sports journalist, author, and historian who is most closely associated with tennis.
As a teenager he was educated at Canford School,[3] a boarding school in Dorset. His journalistic career in tennis began at Wimbledon in 1960.[4] He has written 23 books, including biographies of Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe, as well as serving the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in several roles; as its first press officer in 1973, as European Director from 1974 to 1977, and on its Board of Directors from 1977 to 1979.[5] In 1986 he was the third recipient of the ATP's Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award.[6] In 2000 he was one of the founders of the International Tennis Writers' Association (ITWA), and served as its president from 2001 to 2004.[7]
In 2016, Evans stated that in his judgment Lew Hoad was the greatest player in the world before the emergence of Roger Federer,[8] and "was without question the strongest man who ever played the game."[9]
In 2024 he was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game.[4]