It’s been seven years since former American tennis star John McEnroe caused a major stir by making a bold claim about Serena Williams’ potential ranking if she played in the men’s game. It had sparked a lot of debate among tennis enthusiasts, with Williams herself responding to those controversial remarks.
In a 2017 interview with NPR, McEnroe stated that Serena would rank 700th in the world if she were playing men’s tennis. Williams responded to that on Twitter:
“Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.”
Later, in a conversation with CBS Mornings, McEnroe defended his stance, maintaining that he has huge respect for Williams. He further discussed the reasons behind his comments.
After he had called Serena the ‘greatest female player that ever lived,’ the host questioned why he referred to her as the ‘female player’ and not just a ‘tennis player’. The former American tennis player defended himself, stating that he said what he felt and refused to apologize for his statement when the anchor asked if he would like to do so.
As he was concluding, McEnroe remarked that men and women playing together against each other would solve this and that nobody would have to “guess” then.
“Why don’t you combine? Just solve the problem. I’m sure the men would be all for this. The men and women play together, and then we don’t have to guess,” McEnroe said.
Even before McEnroe made those contentious comments, Serena Williams expressed her discontent over the manner in which female players are referred to. She called it demeaning and sexist that people do not simply refer to her as a tennis player without the prefix ‘women.’
No matter what, nothing can take away from the fact that Williams played a big part in making women’s tennis what it is today. Not only has she acted as a role model for various female players in helping them take up the sport, but she has also made the sport popular around the world by becoming a global icon.
With each passing year, women’s tennis is gaining a bigger fan following and recognition. Recent years have shown this by the fact that women’s tennis is now talked about as much on social media as men’s tennis.
