Serena Williams is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the history of tennis. In a spanning over two decades, the American star has added some of the biggest records of sport to her name. With 23 major titles, Serena tops the list of the highest number of Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. However, the American takes the second spot behind Margaret Court(24) in the all-time list.
Being just a slam behind Margaret Court, a question that has for long remained unanswered is – Should Serena be considered the greatest of all time? Former World No. 1 and a nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles opened up about the American’s chances.
Monica Seles on who is the greatest off all-time
Seles recently graced the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with her esteemed presence during one of the day sessions. Post viewing the matches, the hall of famer sat down for a light chat. During the conversation, Seles said, “I think that’s a tough one because it’s so hard to compare different eras, different times in the history of the sport.”
The youngest French Open champion went on to name some of the big players of women’s tennis. However, she refrained from counting herself in the list. “I think they’re all truly great. For me, when I look at her, Margaret Court, Stefanie Graf, Chrissie Evert, Martina Navratilova. I’m still under that 10 number. These ladies are above by quite a few. That is an unbelievable record,” she said.
Seles on why she thinks Serena Williams is already a great champion
Putting forward her thoughts on this, Seles said, “I think also the barriers Serena was able to break were so huge off the court for us women.”
Seles was all praise for Serena as the latter proved the world that it was possible to play tennis and be successful even after the birth of a child.
“She was able to have a daughter and come back to the sport is just fantastic to see. That has trickled down to someone like Victoria Azarenka, to lower ranked players. That’s fantastic that we, as women, don’t have to make that choice between a family and a career. In terms of that, Serena is just a champion to me both on and off the court, broken so many barriers.”
Seles’ opinion on whether Serena could match the record of Margaret Court
Having experienced the difficulties associated with the sport, Monica asserted that she would love to see Serena continue playing. However, Seles made a strong point citing Serena’s age.
“As a former player who competed against her, I would love to see her play, but I also understand the sport is not kind to us after a certain stage.”
The legendary star further added that it would be a challenge for Williams to win a major now. But, she ended up with the assertion that it is only Serena who can do it. “It’s super competitive. It will definitely be a challenge for her to come back, but if anybody can do that challenge, that is Serena.”
Serena and Seles have played against each other a total of 5 times in their career. The two first faced each other in the 1997 Chicago Open and last played in 2001 Toronto. In the 5 meetings, Serena led the head-to-head race 4-1. Seles played her last professional match in 2003. On the other hand, has been out of the tour since the 2021 Wimbledon after suffering a hamstring injury.
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The post ‘Sport Is Not Kind to Us After a Certain Stage’ – Monica Seles Remains Skeptical Over Serena Williams Reclaiming Past Glory appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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