By Jareem Garvin
Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Monica Seles, do any of these names ring a bell?
When you think of tennis, these are some of the first times that might pop to your head. These females have made a major impact in the game of tennis. They have put up numbers, stats, and showed in game that they are equal if not better than some pro male tennis players.
Have you ever wondered who would be considered the best tennis player of all time? Have you ever thought about, if Serena and Novak had a singles game of tennis who would be crowned victorious?
If we made it so that men and women played in the same league, we would have had some of these answers. We would be able to see what person alive is able to hold the title of best tennis player currently.
As of right now Serena Williams holds the title of best female tennis player in history, with a grand total of 23 grand slam titles. Serena has the most recorded gram slam titles in tennis history. Novak Djokovic has 20 gram slam titles but is 1 away from tying for most grand slam titles in the males tennis league.
Although I am comparing two people in different divisions of the same sport. If we put both Serena and Novak in the same league, wouldn’t you also wonder if their stats would remain the same or vary because of the different competition that they are facing?
When it comes to tennis gender shouldn’t be a factor that is implied when it comes to who you play. Many female athletes who play tennis can play just as good if not better than a lot of male tennis players. Serena Williams has a very high win/loss ratio percentage when it comes to her tennis career.
Between tennis and gender, Serena Williams' win percentage is 77%, while when it comes to Novak Djokovic, he only has a 69% win rate. Both of these phenomenal athletes have shown that they are part of the best to ever play. Now when you think about this, you may say that he’s not as good of a player as her because he has a lower win percentage. I say that you can’t justify this because some people he faces are really good opponents while others are below his level of competition.
I can also say the same about Serena, maybe to some they feel that her competition is too easy. Or perhaps she doesn’t have enough competition to push her to her potential. We have seen her peak, but imagine if she had more people to play against, more people to learn from, she might have a different average but I believe that she would become a better tennis player.
Many will say, “men are stronger, faster, and hit harder than women,'' when it comes to tennis, being strong is a good thing, but how precise you are is what's important. Playing tennis you can’t rely on pure strength or speed, it's a combination of technique, athleticism, speed, and skill.
If you don’t take time to input all of these skills into the way you play, anyone can find a way to break through your play style. Tennis requires so much time ,practice, patience, and dedication, that while some men might say they can be Serena, in reality they would get mopped by her.
Women and men should play in the same tennis league, there are very few things that make a difference in how they play, and how great of an athlete they can become. If we allow men and women to play in the same tennis league we will be able to crown who is the best tennis player alive, and not keep having multiple discussions about it.
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