Yes, we all fondly remember her perfect personality in the USO 2009 semis, the USO 2011 final, the USO 2018 final. Just perfect!!

No, Navratilova is the greatest American player ever.

Yes Lamb

Yeah for sure. Especially since she became no. 1 again after winning.

Please don't.

No Grand Slam? Only 73 of 240 tournaments won? Only a 84.6 career match winning percentage? Not even one slam final won against one of the top 10 all-time greats of the game? Don‘t be asinine.

no. but she's one of the best of all time for sure. Graf 88' will likely never be duplicated again. She virtually had a perfect season. All four grand slams, The gold medal at the olympics. during a much shorter career then Serena, Graf spent almost her entire career ranked #1. With 10 extra yearsm serena only won one more grand slam then Graf did. As far as sheer dominance during the peak of her career, nobody has nor ever will rival what Graf did. Certainly not to take away from Serena being dominant for over 20 years, which is also an amazing feat... But, to call one or the other the GOAT is kind of like comparing the top men... You can make an argument for Rafa, Novak, or Roger all for different reasons. Same applies to the women. Martina Navritilova is also Truly amazing, and one could argue she is the GOAT as well, just look at her career, She dominated in singles and DOUBLES!

The criteria for GOAT measurement is dominance, longevity with consistency, versatility & Elo rating (very important metric in today's era). By using that metric Graf is clearly the GOAT then it's Martina then there is a big gap then Serena.

​@@strawpaladin213Excellent comment. You can make a case for these 3 players. They played in different eras, they had different priorities and faced different challenges. It's quite shocking when people try to impose what they think on others. Serena is my favourite, but I also admire the brilliance of Steffi and Martina. I doubt if these players even think about these stuff. They are enjoying their lives

@@kofipokuantwi-boateng5446 It is our job to think about this stuff and bash people who disagree with us.

Poor Oracene…

Dementieva wasn’t her biggest rival. Of her 5 wins against Serena, Serena was injured in 2 matches and two of Dementieva’s wins came in Sydney lol. Serena won every big match they played.

Hingis retired in 2002 when Serena had won only 4 slams, returned in 2006 but never was a top player again (never made another slam semi). Capriati retired in 2004 when Serena had won only 6 slams. Henin retired in 2008 when Serena had won only 8 slams, returned in 2010 but never made even the top 10 again. Venus Williams won her last non-Wimbledon slam in 2001, her last Wimbledon title in 2008 when Serena had won only 8 slams. Davenport won her last slam in January 2000 and retired in 2008 when Serena had won only 9 slams. Dementieva never won a slam, retired in 2010 when Serena had won only 10 slams. Jankovic never won a slam, reached slam quarters or better only 8 times, has a low career winning percentage of only 63.5. Petrova made slams semis or better only twice, has a low career winning percentage of only 63.8. All that explains why Serena was able to win 13 slams in the 2010s.

Serena is mentally strong, but she is not the mentally strongest player ever, unlike Djokovic. She cracked too many times under pressure. She also had the added benefit of being able to rely on her serve in pressure moments, something players like Nadal and Djokovic did not. She’s definitely up there but she isn’t as mentally strong as Graf, Evert or Seles.

Being able to rely on your serve in pressure moments is mental strength in itself. If it were easy everyone would be doing that in pressure moments. Serena never lost a grand slam finals after winning the first. I genuinely want to know what makes Monica Seles mentally tougher than Serena. I feel she chocked a lot of times after she came back from the stabbing incident especially in the 1998 French open. If Evert was that tough, how come she lost so many grand slam finals

But when Serena loses the first set in a slam final she is usually toast. And in the ultimate pressure situation of her career, the USO 2015, she cracked.

@@carrerau7138 but she has never lost a slam final after winning the first set. And going by your argument, I guess Novak Djokovic is also mentally weak

@@kofipokuantwi-boateng5446 If you want to see a mentally strong female player watch Steffi‘s slam finals. Won 4 even though her opponent served for the match. 4 more even though her opponent was a break ahead and “only“ had to serve the set out to win. Won 13 slam finals in 3-setters. Compared to the great Steffi Serena was a mental midget.

Serena indeed had a few Steffi moments!

Which Maria?

@@carrerau7138 Serena's biggest non-rival lol ... 😭 Not Tatjana Maria surely 😂😂😂

@@djordjenikolic9059 Stefanie Maria Graf??

But when Serena lost the first set in a slam final you could be almost sure it would be a 2-set loss. She lost the first set in a slam final 12 times. Turned around only 2 finals, lost one in 3 sets but lost the other 9 in 2 sets. She lacked the mental strength on the big stage.

Which draw was that?

@@carrerau7138 several of them. Main one comes to mind, 2007 Aussie open, 2005 Aussie open, 2012 US Open, 1999 Us Open, 2010 Wimbledon.

@@bklynfinesse8709 Harder than drawing Seles, Sanchez, Evert, Navratilova in Wimbledon 1989?

​@@carrerau7138evert retire that year and says she could not compete like years ago, navratilova last grand slam was in 90' far away of her peak, seles was not even in her peak but she was good, Sánchez was good, but serena draws was better and harder, remember BEST tennis era ever, keep comment because serena IS 24/7 in your mind

@@thisp666 1989 was one of Navratilova’s best years ever. That is a fact, the numbers don‘t lie. Only 2007 Henin was better among Serena‘s opponents. And we all know how Serena was humiliated by 2007 Henin…. 😂

Hopefully not.😱

@@carrerau7138 i feel soory for u and your generation........but Serena is even a goddess here from Tehran(iran)

@@1990june OK, her performances at the USO 2009, 2011 and 2018 will never be forgotten. That is her legacy, that is what people will still remember in 20 years from now. Whereas with Steffi, Evert or Navratilova people will always think of their great slam finals.

@@carrerau7138 doesnt matter....

Roberta saved tennis that day!!

Honestly, it was the competition that took it away. She never relly had nor needed a lot of mental strength to win, her skill far outclassed everyone she played against except a few... Henin was the only one early in her career, and at the end there were way too many stronger players to count that could beat her.

@@strawpaladin213 has nothing to do with competition. Pregnnacy took her mental strength. Do you know the effects of postpartum depression?

@@strawpaladin213 and i know youte not talking about henin the drug cheat who got caught twice and tried to use her retirement to silence her positive drug test. Furthermore serena is a way better play than henin. Henin couldnt even beat an injured serena in grand slam final let alone serena at her peak. If competition took her mental strength serena would've never come back to tennis. Serena wasnt having an issues in matches leading up to final then would completely not show up in finals. Thats mentality or lack there of

@@Official.tadiwa the list of players that made Serena look terrible is fairly extensive at the end of her career. Kerber, mugurutha, andreescu(two times), yes Halep, Osaka. I kind of feel the Andreescu match really drove the nail in the coffin of her career though. She already withdrew from a final vs Andreescu before that us open, yet seemed perfectly healthy during her run to the final at the us open a week later… when she met Andreescu in the final, bianca completely outplayed her in almost every conceivable facet of the game and only the crowd kept her hanging on for a moment during a comeback in the second set. The net, umpire, ball kids, line callers didn’t give her anything complaining to work with, so she couldn’t explode like the year before with Osaka. She truly got thoroughly and soundly beaten and I think at that point she knew she would never win another grand slam. Too many young fresh talented players with serves and power and finesse and a more well rounded game then she could now deal with. Honestly I feel her best shot was the match against Halep she lost… Watching kerber dismantle Serena with accuracy, foot speed, and error free tennis was something to behold. Mugurutha overpowered her in that final badly. I had never seen anybody do that to Serena up until that match, but Serena was simply overpowered and looked lost on the court that day.I watched them all. Just as I’ve watched so many times when Serena won as well. I truly think Serena was one of the greatest players of all time, but I don’t feel like her accomplishments where better then when I watched Graf play. You can say it was many different things that brought down her mental strength… having a baby changes the body yes. There have been other players that have had babies and returned to the sport successfully however. Clijsters likely is the most impressive. As for Henin… at grand slams, Henin was 4 win 2 losses against Serena. I’m pretty sure that means Serena couldn’t deal with her. Serena lost three matches at grand slams in a row against Henin.

@@strawpaladin213 your paragraph is too much and i cbf reading it. Serena greatness isnt dependent on someone being stabbed is it?

I think you need to review your history. Going out early in majors? She was always a fierce competitor, had issues along the way as all the Champs do, just look at what is happening with the other players. She was phenomenal period

@@lorrismcintosh7930 my point is whenever she was actually trying to accomplish something she choked. trying to win a grand slam? choke. trying to break steffi's record, multiple chokes before finally doing it. trying to break courts record? massive chokes and never did it. she didnt need her mental strength at all. and if and when she did have to rely on it it inevitably let her down.

@strawpaladin213 She is human. That's what happens in sports. Sometimes, the nerves set in. Why are you so focused on the negative?

@@lorrismcintosh7930 I'm Not. if you read my reply and actually read it I simply stated that wiliams is the highest skilled player to ever play the game. she never needed the mental side. this clip says she was so strong mentally... I happen to heavily disagree. I am not negative I am realistic, She relied on her superior skill level to win her matches, had nothing to do with mental strength imho. You can disagree all you like but there are countless examples of her choking due to mental stress. Ever seen her at wimbeldon 2014? when she looked like she came to court drunk or stoned out of her mind? Venus told her not to even play that day yet she ignored her then couldnt even serve a ball? lost all respect for her after that. You can't tell me that someone stable ever does something like that to their partner, let alone family.

@strawpaladin213 I can't even imagine what you're like when you negative. God bless.

In your dreams