The ‘greatest of all time’ debate in tennis continues to rumble on, with many fans and pundits landing on one of the ‘big three’.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal shared 66 Grand Slam titles as they dominated the landscape of tennis for two decades.
Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic motivated each other in tennis, spurring each other on to break new ground in the sport.
Despite their dominance, Federer opted for another name when asked to pick his ‘greatest of all time’ in tennis.
Roger Federer named Serena Williams as the ‘GOAT’
During his playing days in 2018, Federer admitted that he had to be in the conversation for the debate but he also conjured up another name.
The Swiss star believes Serena Williams should join the discussion alongside the ‘big three’ as a real trailblazer in the sport.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in 2018, Federer said: “It’s been fascinating to watch. She had a totally different upbringing — I came up through Switzerland with the federation, she did it with her dad and her sister.
“It’s an amazing story unto itself — and then she became one of the greatest, if not the greatest tennis player of all time.”
Asked to confirm whether he meant in the women’s game or of all time, Federer simply responded: “Overall.”
Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her incredible career, including seven Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns.
Serena Williams absolutely deserves to be considered the greatest of all time
The sheer number of trophies and accolades Williams earned throughout her career is arguably more impressive than Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.
As well as her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the American also won a further 14 major trophies in doubles.
The star also won 73 career titles, which puts her fifth in the all-time standings, as well as four Olympic gold medals.
It’s also important to note that Williams played much of her career sporadically in order to help her deal with injuries.
It’s staggering to think how many titles she would have won if she played the same number of tournaments as Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.
