John McEnroe sparked a major debate recently when he said that Serena Williams would not even be a household name if she had to play in the men’s tennis circuit, and the former World No. 1 later said he regretted making the remarks. Alas, the discussion has raged on.
Former tennis player and current Tennis Channel analyst James Blake gave his take in an interview with Bill Reiter on CBS Sports Radio Wednesday night, and he could not have had higher praise for Williams.
“I’m getting to be tired of everyone saying she’s the best female tennis player. She’s in my opinion, in the conversation with (Michael) Jordan, and (Muhammad) Ali, and (Babe) Ruth, and should be in consideration for the best athlete of all time,” Blake said. “I’ve said that from when I played with her many years ago, that she is the toughest competitor, male or female, that I’ve seen, and that’s including getting to know Michael Jordan. You know all those stories you hear of him staying up late at night to win a pool game, or to win at ping pong, or to win at cards, you know she’s got that same attitude.
“When you combine that attitude with, also in my opinion, being the best athlete out there on the women’s side, it just makes for another once-in-a-lifetime situation.”
Blake said tennis fans are very fortunate at the moment because they’re witnessing an era where two of the greatest to ever play — Williams and Roger Federer — are still competing. For what it’s worth, Williams herself has said in the past that men’s and women’s tennis are essentially two different sports.
“The men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit harder. It’s just a different game,” she said years ago. “I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls, because I don’t want to be embarrassed.”
In reality, the debate doesn’t matter. Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles and is one of the most dominant athletes to ever compete in a sport. McEnroe, who loves sparking controversy in a variety of ways, did just that when he said Williams would be ranked “No. 700” in the world if she played with men. Since that is never going to happen, the point is moot.
