Tennis champ Jimmy Connors is claiming in his new memoir The Outsider that his 1970s romance with fellow tennis champ Chris Evert ended because she had an abortion. Connors and Evert were engaged and supposed to tie the knot in 1974, but the tennis champ claims her abortion of their love child was too much to handle and they ended the relationship.

"An issue had arisen as a result of youthful passion and a decision had to be made as a couple. Chrissie... made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future," wrote Connors in The Outsider.

Connors claimed that he was comfortable with having the child, but she did not offer a say in the matter and informed him of her decision by phone. Her decision triggered previous nerves about going through with a wedding and he advised Evert that they "take a step back and think about giving this a little more time." It ultimately proved to be the end of their relationship.

Their romance rocked the tennis world because it was the first high-profile couple to ever grace the sport. Connors was the bad boy of the men's tour and Evert was the sweetheart of the women's tour. They both shared the No. 1 ranking in 1974 and even won Wimbledon in the same year.

Connors went on to wed Playboy Playmate of the Year Patti McGuire in 1979 and the couple have two children together. Meanwhile, Evert has been married on three occasions and all of them ended in divorce. She most recently divorced Australian golfer Greg Norman in 2009. Connors retired from pro tennis in 1994 and Evert retired from the tour in 1989.

Connors coached former world No. 1 Andy Roddick from 2006-2008 and still occasionally competes in tennis exhibition. Evert has been a tennis commentator for ESPN since 2011 and runs a tennis academy named after her in Boca Raton, FL.