When it comes to assessing which tennis legend stands above the rest as the greatest to ever grace the court, there is plenty of room for debate. All tennis players and fans of the sport have spent countless hours debating the merits of the true tennis legends to determine which is truly the greatest.
Is it Andy Murray? Boris Becker? Steffi Graf? Martina Navratilova? Roger Federer? The correct answer may well be none of the above. The best tennis player in history may well be the most famous in the world right now – Serena Williams. Here’s why.
The Numbers
If we are going to describe an athlete as the greatest of all time, it’s best to start with the numbers. It is perhaps worth noting first off that her odds for the biggest tennis event on the calendar, the French Open, are not looking so hot.
According to the latest French Open odds, Serene is on a mere 14/1 shot of winning the women’s singles, trailing behind the likes of Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek. Despite this, we believe that the best place to look is her record, rather than her future odds.
Serene has a staggering 23 Grand Slam victories, more than any other active tennis player in the world. She has held a total of 72 World Tennis Association titles, including a jaw-dropping 186 consecutive weeks ranked as the WTA’s top player.
She played and won her most recent Grand Slam while heavily pregnant, and holds the most titles ever from both the Australian Open and the US Open (but not the French Open, interestingly enough). She also has the second-highest number of female Wimbledon titles in history, losing out the top spot to Martina Navratilova.
She has also won the coveted title of Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award and has topped numerous polls as America’s most beloved athlete. When you take these numbers together, it’s clear that few can compare to Serena Williams.
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What Her Peers Think
When assessing the merits of Serena Williams’ fascinating career, where better to look for advice than from her sporting peers. Roger Federer, arguably the single greatest male tennis player to have ever lived, has repeatedly referred to Williams as the greatest player of all time, noting especially that, unlike many other top players, Serena started from nothing and did not have the luxury of a private tennis coach growing up.
Meanwhile, her long-time rival Maria Sharapova, who has a well-documented and years-long feud with Williams, has nonetheless been graceful enough to admit that Serena is the best player she has ever gone up against.
Finally, let’s see what a more biased source has to say; her older sister Venus Williams, herself a former Tennis world champion. Venus has described her sister as the “best competitor in the game” on numerous occasions and has said that her sister is the only person she is afraid to play against. You can’t get a much better endorsement than that.
It is clear that few can hope to hold a candle against Serena Williams. Let us know if you agree!
