by Alatenumo
Serena Williams is the one of the greatest players to ever grace the game of tennis. Her achievements include but are not limited to: 4 Olympic gold medals, 21 Grand Slam single titles (and counting), 13 double Grand Slam titles, 5 Tour final titles and 70 WTA titles. She’s the highest earning female athlete of all-time in terms of prize money and the oldest player to win a grand slam singles title. Despite these accomplishments, she is the most polarizing figure in tennis today. Her die hard fans are ready to go the extra mile to defend her legacy while her detractors who range from tennis fans to retired tennis players to the gentlemen and ladies of the fourth estate come up with excuse after excuse to deny her place in history. A number of sports journalists have abandoned the ethics of their profession by projecting their bias when commenting on Serena. This bias has since become the dominant narrative by which Serena is viewed in the Western world.
C P Scott the legendary editor of the Guardian once wrote, “Comment is free but facts are sacred.” While US Senator Daniel Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” In order to get a better understanding of Serena devoid of any bias, it is important to separate facts from opinion. In the next couple of pages, I will unpack some of these comments/opinions made by her detractors and cross check it with the facts. It is my hope that the reader of this piece would have a better appreciation of Serena from a broader factual perspective.
I. SERENA’S DOMINATION IS BECAUSE OF THE SPEED OF HER SERVE
Opinion: Her detractors often argue that Serena dominates the field because she possesses one of the fastest serves in the game.
Reality Check: To check the validity of this claim, I analyzed the players (men and women) with the fastest serve speed and checked for any correlation with their total Grand Slam titles. I have used Grand Slam titles as a proxy for tennis accomplishment because that is the benchmark often used to determine a player’s greatness. If her detractor’s claims are true, one would expect there to be a positive correlation between the speed of serve and the number of Grand Slam titles won.
Facts:
Table 1: Fastest Service Speed: Women
Player | Speed of serve | Gender | Grand Slam Single Titles |
Sabine Lisicki | 210.8 km/h (131.0 mph) | Female | 0 |
Venus Williams | 207.6 km/h (129.0 mph) | Female | 7 |
Serena Williams | 207.0 km/h (128.6 mph) | Female | 21 |
Julia Görges | 203.0 km/h (126.1 mph) | Female | 0 |
Caroline Garcia | 203.0 km/h (126.1 mph) | Female | 0 |
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 202.7 km/h (126.0 mph) | Female | 0 |
Nadiya Kichenok | 202.0 km/h (125.5 mph) | Female | 0 |
Anna-Lena Grönefeld | 201.1 km/h (125.0 mph) | Female | 0 |
Lucie Hradecká | 201.1 km/h (125.0 mph) | Female | 0 |
Ana Ivanovic | 201.0 km/h (124.9 mph) | Female | 1 |
Denisa Allertová | 201.0 km/h (124.9 mph) | Female | 0 |
Kristina Mladenovic | 200.0 km/h (124.3 mph) | Female | 0 |
Table 2: Fastest Service Speed: Men
Name | Speed of serve | Gender | Grand Slam Single Titles |
Sam Groth | 263.4 km/h (163.7 mph) | Male | 0 |
Albano Olivetti | 257.5 km/h (160 mph) | Male | 0 |
John Isner | 253 km/h (157.2 mph) | Male | 0 |
Ivo Karlović | 251 km/h (156 mph) | Male | 0 |
Jerzy Janowicz | 251 km/h (156 mph) | Male | 0 |
Milos Raonic | 250 km/h (155.3 mph) | Male | 0 |
Andy Roddick | 249 km/h (155 mph) | Male | 1 |
Roscoe Tanner | 246 km/h (153 mph) | Male | 0 |
Joachim Johansson | 245 km/h (152 mph) | Male | 0 |
Feliciano López | 245 km/h (152 mph) | Male | 0 |
Hubert Hurkacz | 243 km/h (151 mph) | Male | 0 |
Marius Copil | 242 km/h (150 mph) | Male | 0 |
Taylor Dent | 241.1 km/h (149.8 mph) | Male | 0 |
Ernests Gulbis | 240.3 km/h (149.3 mph) | Male | 0 |
Greg Rusedski | 240 km/h (149 mph) | Male | 0 |
Andy Murray | 240 km/h (149 mph) | Male | 2 |
Dmitry Tursunov | 237 km/h (147 mph) | Male | 0 |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 237 km/h (147 mph) | Male | 0 |
Source: Wikipedia
Analysis: Of the twelve women who posses the fastest serve in tennis, only three (Serena, Venus and Ivanovic) have won Grand Slam titles. Despite the fact that Sabine Lisicki clocked the fastest serve at 131 mph, she has not won a single Grand Slam title. On the men’s side, of the eighteen men who have the fastest serves, only two have won Grand Slam titles. Multiple Grand Slam winners like Nadal (14 GS), Federer (17 GS) and Djokovic (11GS) don’t even feature on the list even though most of the big servers detailed above play in the same era as them.
Conclusion: Speed of serve is not a sufficient condition for success on the tennis court.
II. SERENA’S PHYSIQUE GIVES HER A COMPETITIVE EDGE
Opinion: Serena’s anatomy gives her an unfair advantage.
Reality Check: Serena is 5’ 9″ tall and weighs 155 lbs. To check this claim, I analyze the weight and height of Serena’s contemporaries to see if there is any correlation, which might suggest that Serena has an unfair advantage due to her physique.
Facts:
Table 3: Height of Women Tennis Players
Player | Handside | Height | Grand Slam Titles |
Akgul Amanmuradova | R | 6′ 3″ | 0 |
Naomi Broady | R | 6′ 2″ | 0 |
Maria Sharapova | R | 6′ 2″ | 5 |
Venus Williams | R | 6′ 1″ | 7 |
Karolina Pliskova | R | 6′ 1″ | 0 |
Coco Vandeweghe | R | 6′ 1″ | 0 |
Mona Barthel | R | 6′ 1″ | 0 |
Amra Sadikovic | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Kiki Bertens | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Margarita Gasparyan | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Garbine Muguruza | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Victoria Azarenka | R | 6′ 0″ | 2 |
Petra Kvitova | L | 6′ 0″ | 2 |
Ana Ivanovic | R | 6′ 0″ | 1 |
Yanina Wickmayer | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Olga Govortsova | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Alexa Glatch | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Kristina Mladenovic | R | 6′ 0″ | 0 |
Daniela Hantuchova | R | 5′ 11″ | 0 |
Sabine Lisicki | R | 5′ 10″ | 0 |
Madison Keys | R | 5′ 10″ | 0 |
Eugenie Bouchard | R | 5′ 10″ | 0 |
Jelena Jankovic | R | 5′ 10″ | 0 |
Serena Williams | R | 5′ 9″ | 21 |
Andreja Klepac | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Katerina Siniakova | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Pauline Parmentier | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Samantha Stosur | R | 5′ 9″ | 1 |
Virginie Razzano | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Lesia Tsurenko | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Johanna Larsson | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Alison Riske | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Shelby Rogers | R | 5′ 9″ | 0 |
Angelique Kerber | L | 5′ 8″ | 1 |
Alize Cornet | R | 5′ 8″ | 0 |
Agnieszka Radwanska | R | 5′ 8″ | 0 |
Heather Watson | R | 5′ 7″ | 0 |
Timea Bacsinszky | R | 5′ 7″ | 0 |
Table 4: Weight of Women Tennis Players
Player | Handside | Weight | Grand Slam Titles |
Anna-Lena Groenefeld | R | 165 | 0 |
Akgul Amanmuradova | R | 163 | 0 |
Kiki Bertens | R | 163 | 0 |
Kaia Kanepi | R | 163 | 0 |
Margarita Gasparyan | R | 161 | 0 |
Garbine Muguruza | R | 161 | 0 |
Svetlana Kuznetsova | R | 161 | 1 |
Vera Dushevina | R | 161 | 0 |
Venus Williams | R | 160 | 7 |
Karolina Pliskova | R | 159 | 0 |
Alisa Kleybanova | R | 159 | 0 |
Karin Knapp | R | 159 | 0 |
Varvara Lepchenko | L | 159 | 0 |
Lucie Hradecka | R | 159 | 0 |
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | R | 159 | 0 |
Coco Vandeweghe | R | 155 | 0 |
Serena Williams | R | 155 | 21 |
Victoria Azarenka | R | 154 | 2 |
Polona Hercog | R | 154 | 0 |
Petra Kvitova | L | 154 | 2 |
Anastasija Sevastova | R | 154 | 0 |
Julia Goerges | R | 154 | 0 |
Ana Ivanovic | R | 152 | 1 |
Samantha Stosur | R | 150 | 1 |
Angelique Kerber | L | 150 | 1 |
Timea Babos | R | 150 | 0 |
Sabine Lisicki | R | 150 | 0 |
Alison Riske | R | 145 | 0 |
Bethanie Mattek-Sands | R | 145 | 0 |
Madison Keys | R | 145 | 0 |
Belinda Bencic | R | 139 | 0 |
Caroline Wozniacki | R | 139 | 0 |
Heather Watson | R | 138 | 0 |
Lucie Safarova | L | 137 | 0 |
Timea Bacsinszky | R | 137 | 0 |
Daniela Hantuchova | R | 137 | 0 |
Sloane Stephens | R | 135 | 0 |
Eugenie Bouchard | R | 134 | 0 |
Sara Errani | R | 132 | 0 |
Roberta Vinci | R | 132 | 0 |
Maria Sharapova | R | 130 | 5 |
Agnieszka Radwanska | R | 123 | 0 |
Dominika Cibulkova | R | 121 | 0 |
Source: WTA, Fox Sports
Analysis: Of the 23 players featured above who are taller than Serena, only 5 of them have won Grand Slam titles (Sharapova- 5 GS, Venus -7GS, Azarenka & Kvitova – 2 GS and Ivanovic 1 GS). There are two players in the sample who are shorter than Serena and have also won Grand Slam titles (Stosur 1 GS, Kerber – 1 GS). The above table shows that Serena has won more Grand Slam titles than taller and shorter players.
In terms of weight, of the 8 players who weigh more than Serena in the above sample, only two have won Grand Slam titles – Venus 7GS and Kuznetsova 1GS. Azarenka, Kvitova, Ivanovic, Stosur, Kerber and Sharapova who all weigh less than Serena have won between 1GS and 5 GS. Serena has won more titles than the combined number of players who are either lighter or heavier than her.
If one compares Serena with Azarenka, who has a comparable height and weight, one would notice that Serena has won 21 GS compared to Azarenka’s 2 GS.
Conclusion: Based on the facts above, Serena’s physique does not give her any undue advantage.
III. SERENA PLAYS IN A WEAK ERA
Opinion: Some suggest that Serena dominates because she plays in a weak era. To buttress their point, they claim that Serena found it tough when players like Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Jennifer Capriati and Kim Clijsters were on the scene.
Reality Check: Serena has been playing professional tennis since 1995 and she won her first Grand slam title in 1999. In order to test the validity of the claims made by commentators, I analyzed the list of Grand Slam champions from 1999 to date (Table 5) and also compared Serena’s head to head (H2H) record with the various Grand Slam champions who played during Serena Williams’s era (Table 6).
Facts:
Table 5: List of Ladies Grand Slam Champions 1999 to date
Player | 1999–2005 | 2006–2012 | 2013– Date | Grand Total |
Serena Williams | 7 | 8 | 6 | 21 |
Justine Henin | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
Venus Williams | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
Maria Sharapova | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Kim Clijsters | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Jennifer Capriati | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Amélie Mauresmo | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Li Na | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Lindsay Davenport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Petra Kvitová | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Svetlana Kuznetsova | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Victoria Azarenka | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Ana Ivanovic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Anastasia Myskina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Angelique Kerber | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Flavia Pennetta | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Francesca Schiavone | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Marion Bartoli | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Martina Hingis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Mary Pierce | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Samantha Stosur | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Steffi Graf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Grand Total | 28 | 28 | 13 | 69 |
Source: WTA
Table 6: H2H With Previous Grand Slam Winners
Player | Record | W% |
Flavia Pennetta | 7–0 | 100% |
Li Na | 11–1 | 92% |
Maria Sharapova | 19–2 | 90% |
Ana Ivanovic | 9–1 | 90% |
Amélie Mauresmo | 10–2 | 83% |
Petra Kvitová | 5–1 | 83% |
Mary Pierce | 5–1 | 83% |
Victoria Azarenka | 17–4 | 81% |
Monica Seles | 4–1 | 80% |
Kim Clijsters | 7–2 | 78% |
Francesca Schiavone | 7–2 | 78% |
Marion Bartoli | 3–1 | 75% |
Svetlana Kuznetsova | 9–3 | 75% |
Samantha Stosur | 8–3 | 73% |
Lindsay Davenport | 10–4 | 71% |
Angelique Kerber | 5–2 | 71% |
Jennifer Capriati | 10–7 | 59% |
Venus Williams | 16–11 | 59% |
Justine Henin | 8–6 | 57% |
Martina Hingis | 7–6 | 54% |
Steffi Graf | 1–1 | 50% |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 3–4 | 43% |
Source: Wikipedia, WTA
Analysis: The above table nullifies the claim that Davenport, Capriati, Henin and Clijsters retirement made the path easier for Serena. Between 1999 and 2005 when these players were in their prime, they were unable to surpass Serena’s Grand Slam haul. Furthermore, Serena has a superior H2H record against Davenport, Capriati, Henin and Clijsters of 10-4, 10-7, 8-6 and 7-2 respectively.
Moreover, in trying to discount Serena’s accomplishments, commentators conveniently ignore the presence of her sister Venus Williams, a seven time Grand Slam champion. Serena’s closest rival is Venus Williams who has defeated Serena 11 times and not Henin or Clijsters as suggested by some commentators. Inspite of this rivalry, Serena has a superior 16-11 H2H record.
Serena has played in three different eras and a look at Serena’s H2H with previous Grand Slam winners clearly demonstrates that Serena has prevailed in every era she finds herself in. Of the 22 Past Grand Slam champions, Serena has a superior H2H against 20 champions with the exception of Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.
Conclusion: Claims that Serena’s dominance is because she plays in a weak era is without merit.
IV. SERENA’S DOMINANCE PUTS A QUESTION MARK ON HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Opinion: Some people have used Serena’s dominance to cast doubt on the validity of her accomplishments.
Reality Check: To test this claim, I grouped past Grand Slam champions on a decade-by-decade basis starting from the 1960s to the 2010s to see if Serena’s dominance is something new in the ladies game.
Facts:
Table 7: Ladies Grand Slam Champions by Decade
Decade | WINNER | Grand Slam titles | % |
1960s | Margaret Smith-Court | 16 | 40% |
Maria Bueno | 5 | 13% | |
Billie Jean King | 5 | 13% | |
Darlene R. Hard | 3 | 8% | |
Lesley Turner | 2 | 5% | |
Ann Haydon Jones | 2 | 5% | |
Nancy Richey | 2 | 5% | |
Ann Haydon | 1 | 3% | |
Virginia Wade | 1 | 3% | |
Karen Susman | 1 | 3% | |
Angela Mortimer | 1 | 3% | |
Francoise Durr | 1 | 3% | |
1960s Total | 40 | 100% | |
1970s | Margaret Smith-Court | 8 | 20% |
Chris Evert | 8 | 20% | |
Billie Jean King | 7 | 17% | |
Evonne Goolagong | 4 | 10% | |
Martina Navratilova | 2 | 5% | |
Virginia Wade | 2 | 5% | |
Evonne Goolagong-Cawley | 2 | 5% | |
Barbara Jordan | 1 | 2% | |
Tracy Austin | 1 | 2% | |
Sue Barker | 1 | 2% | |
Chris Evert-Lloyd | 1 | 2% | |
Virginia Ruzici | 1 | 2% | |
Chris O’Neil | 1 | 2% | |
Mima Jausovec | 1 | 2% | |
Kerry Reid | 1 | 2% | |
1970s Total | 41 | 100% | |
1980s | Martina Navratilova | 15 | 38% |
Chris Evert-Lloyd | 9 | 23% | |
Steffi Graf | 8 | 21% | |
Hana Mandlikova | 4 | 10% | |
R.A. Cawley | 1 | 3% | |
Tracy Austin | 1 | 3% | |
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario | 1 | 3% | |
1980s Total | 39 | 100% | |
1990s | Steffi Graf | 14 | 35% |
Monica Seles | 9 | 23% | |
Martina Hingis | 5 | 13% | |
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario | 3 | 8% | |
Lindsay Davenport | 2 | 5% | |
Conchita Martinez | 1 | 3% | |
Serena Williams | 1 | 3% | |
Iva Majoli | 1 | 3% | |
Gabriela Sabatini | 1 | 3% | |
Jana Novotna | 1 | 3% | |
Martina Navratilova | 1 | 3% | |
Mary Pierce | 1 | 3% | |
1990s Total | 40 | 100% | |
2000s | Serena Williams | 10 | 25% |
Venus Williams | 7 | 18% | |
Justine Henin-Hardenne | 5 | 13% | |
Jennifer Capriati | 3 | 8% | |
Maria Sharapova | 3 | 8% | |
Amelie Mauresmo | 2 | 5% | |
Svetlana Kuznetsova | 2 | 5% | |
Justine Henin | 2 | 5% | |
Kim Clijsters | 2 | 5% | |
Ana Ivanovic | 1 | 3% | |
Lindsay Davenport | 1 | 3% | |
Mary Pierce | 1 | 3% | |
Anastasia Myskina | 1 | 3% | |
2000s Total | 40 | 100% | |
2010s | Serena Williams | 10 | 40% |
Victoria Azarenka | 2 | 8% | |
Petra Kvitova | 2 | 8% | |
Kim Clijsters | 2 | 8% | |
Li Na | 2 | 8% | |
Maria Sharapova | 2 | 8% | |
Francesca Schiavone | 1 | 4% | |
Marion Bartoli | 1 | 4% | |
Angelique Kerber | 1 | 4% | |
Flavia Pennetta | 1 | 4% | |
Samantha Stosur | 1 | 4% | |
2010s Total | 25 | 100% | |
Grand Total | 225 |
Analysis: The above table shows that in every decade since the 1960s there has always been a dominant champion (with the exception of the 1970s where two champions dominated). In the 1960’s Margaret Court was the dominant force and in the 1980s, 1990’s, 2000s and 2010s it was Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graff and Serena Williams respectively. Margaret Court and Serena Williams have both dominated two different décades and have each won 40% of Grand Slam titles within a decade (1960s for Court and 2010s for Serena – although this decade is yet to be completed as at the time of this analysis.) The maximum number of Grand Slam titles Serena has won in a decade is 10 compared to Graf’s 14 GS in the 1990s, Navratilova’s 15 GS in the 1980s and Court’s 16 GS in the 1960s. In Serena’s most dominant decade (2010s), there have been 9 other Grand Slam winners, however in Navratilova’s most dominant decade in the 1980s; there were 6 other Grand Slam winners.
Conclusion: Based on the above, it is a flawed argument to suggest that Serena’s dominance is a sufficient justification to downplay her greatness.
The Overall Verdict: The facts speak for itself. In short, the above analysis clearly shows that the opinions of Serena’s detractors who try to trivialize her achievements are not backed by the facts.
Selah.
Alatenumo
June 2016