Serena Williams is the greatest female athlete of all time, and it starts with what she’s accomplished in her sport.
Tennis stars Steffi Graf, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Helen Wills and all the others can argue about who is the second-best in the world of women’s tennis, but Williams is the definitive No. 1.
Court’s 24 Grand Slam titles are the most all-time, and Graf follows with 22. Williams trails closely behind with 21 Grand Slam titles.
But don’t worry. She will end with more majors than Court and Graf. She’s pulverizing any and all competition she faces with no sign of slowing down, and several more majors are on the way.
The gulf in class between Williams and her competitors is unbelievably large, which makes her stick out noticeably. At 33, when most tennis players are in the twilight of their careers, she makes seasoned pros look like amateurs.
At times, I wonder if it would be more fair for the field if Williams were to play left-handed.
One of the knocks on Williams is that she has a career Grand Slam, but she hasn’t done it in a calendar year. Both Court and Graf have completed calendar Grand Slams (in 1970 and 1988, respectively).
Don’t worry about that, either, because Williams is going to complete her calendar Grand Slam on Sept. 12 at the U.S. Open Women’s Final.
She might face some adversity along the way, and maybe she’ll drop a set or two on her quest, but she’ll hoist the trophy in less than two weeks.
Williams started her U.S. Open campaign Monday with a dominating performance against Vitalia Diatchenko, who retired early in the second set due to injury without winning a single game. Williams’ next few opponents will be lucky to fare any better than Diatchenko.
Williams is on a mission, and she looks unstoppable.
The only person with a good chance to stop Williams is Williams herself. As long as she has the correct mindset and remains healthy, she’ll be the champion.
When you consider she has 13 Grand Slam doubles titles playing with her sister Venus to go with her singles résumé, the debate about Williams extends beyond tennis.
The question becomes “Is Williams the greatest female athlete of all time?”
It’s hard to compare athletes across eras. It’s even harder to compare them across sports. It’s nearly impossible to compare them across eras and across sports, but I’ll stick my neck out there and answer the question above with a resounding “yes.”
Athletes don’t do what Williams is doing. Logic says her body should be breaking down and the hourglass of her career should almost be out of sand.
But Williams is as dominant as she’s ever been. If she continues defying her age and winning titles in dominating fashion, let me pose this question:
Which female athlete is more deserving of the title, “Greatest of All Time?”
Jack Woods is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Jack_TDR.