Many have tried to close the lid on the unrelenting tennis ‘greatest of all time’ debate, but this is an argument that will likely never cease.
After all, the tribal favouritism that provokes so many disputes will likely see some supporters never waver in their defence of who they believe to be the true GOAT.
Naturally, the Big Three are most people’s overwhelming picks, with Novak Djokovic the frontrunner ever since winning an Olympic gold medal.
Upon achieving that feat, many argued that he had completed tennis.
And yet, when asked to give her verdict on who she thought was the ‘greatest of all time’, Billie Jean King did not name any of that legendary trio.
Billie Jean King names her tennis GOAT
As arguably the greatest advocate for the women’s game ever, the 12-time Grand Slam champion was always going to pick a female when asked this question.
And whilst she has always recognised the irresistible talent throughout the Big Three, her arguments for Serena Williams concerned how she completely changed the landscape of the WTA with just how good she was.
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
King claimed: “She’s the GOAT, the greatest of all time — or at least the greatest of her time, since every generation gets better.
“Serena has changed how tennis is played. In her time, the serves have gotten so much better in women’s tennis, and I think she’s the reason: She has pushed the other players to improve. When you have a great serve, it keeps you out of trouble.”
Ironically, when Martina Navratilova named her GOAT back in 2019, she too snubbed the Big Three, but did not mention Williams either.
How does Serena Williams compare to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic?
Williams may not have won every single elite tournament like Djokovic, or overseen a period of unprecedented dominance like Nadal did at Roland Garros, but that should not detract from her claim within this argument.
After all, she retired having won 23 Grand Slam titles, more than two of the Big Three, and just one shy of the Serbian superstar and the all-time record amongst both men and women.
Not to mention that she also amassed four Olympic gold medals across both singles and doubles, with a further 16 major titles won in the latter discipline as well.
Williams was keen not to just limit herself to singles, despite being the dominant force on the WTA Tour for two decades.
For that, she deserves so much credit.
| Grand Slam titles (singles & doubles) | Olympic gold medals | Total career titles (singles) | Weeks at world number one | |
| Novak Djokovic | 24 | 1 | 101 | 428 |
| Serena Williams | 39 | 4 | 73 | 319 |
| Rafael Nadal | 22 | 2 | 92 | 209 |
| Roger Federer | 20 | 0 | 103 | 310 |
A true physical marvel with the sensational technical quality to match, the 44-year-old revolutionised the women’s game, and is more than worth her place amongst these names and within this debate.
