Pam Shriver believes that women’s tennis has actually gone backwards in some aspects.
Shriver reached the singles final of the US Open in 1978, when she was just 16 years old.
The American was beaten in this final by Chris Evert, who was a dominant force alongside Shriver’s doubles partner Martina Navratilova.
When discussing how tennis has changed since she retired in 1989, Shriver actually named two things that she thinks WTA players did better in her era than they do today.
Pam Shriver suggests that WTA players served better in her generation
Shriver spoke to fellow Grand Slam doubles champion Patrick McEnroe on The Tennis Worthy Podcast, where she was asked about how tennis players have improved since her era.
The 22-time major doubles winner was quick to highlight how much more power WTA players hit with today.
“Power, much better,” answered Shriver. “Yeah, I would say the power quotient is just outrageous. When you sit courtside and watch a match, I just can’t, it looks like a different sport really the way it’s played.”
Shriver was then asked the reverse of this question, to which she spoke about how point construction and serving was better in her era, suggesting that the latter is particularly relevant on the WTA Tour.
“I think we constructed points better,” said Shriver. “I think we had, you know, you couldn’t rely on the power, so you had to kind of shot placement. Get to the net and use the net position to disrupt.
“I think we actually served really well for our generation. Old serve mentality that I don’t see in the women’s game the way it was back in our day. So that’s some of the things we did better.”
Is Iga Swiatek now the favourite to win Roland Garros?
What a performance!
Which WTA players have won the most service points this year?
Shriver was playing during the era where serving and volleying was very prominent, whereas in today’s era it is a lot more rare to see it.
Unsurprisingly the player who has been the most dominant on serve this year is world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who has won two thirds of her service points this year.
Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are also up there, being joined by more surprising names in the top 10 including Taylor Townsend and Sonay Kartal.
| Players who have won the most service points in 2026 (Having played at least 10 matches) | Service points won |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 67% |
| Elena Rybakina | 64.6% |
| Jessica Pegula | 63.7% |
| Sorana Cirstea | 62.9% |
| Linda Noskova | 62.8% |
| Karolina Muchova | 62.6% |
| Elise Mertens | 62.4% |
| Taylor Townsend | 62.3% |
| Qinwen Zheng | 61.7% |
| Sonay Kartal | 61.6% |
The best players are not always the best servers though, with Coco Gauff having continual serving issues despite her impressive results.
Gauff may have struggled more based on Shriver’s comments, with athleticism being one of her greatest strengths.
