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Is it right to rank Venus Williams' career achievements below Andy Murray's? Everything to know about the new list that has stirred up controversy

ESPN has announced that they will publish a list of the top 100 athletes that have graced the world of sports since 2000. The broadcasting giants have published the bottom 50 athletes including tennis superstar Venus Williams at a lowly rank of 86. She is joined by the Brit star Andy Murray who finds himself at No. 80 on the list.

Venus Williams being six places below has raised some questions among the fans who believe that the American deserves a higher ranking.

Williams started her career as a poster girl for women's tennis. She is one of the best tennis players of all time and has etched her name in tennis folklore with her achievements and records. She won seven Major singles titles including five at Wimbledon, but it was the Grand Slam doubles stage where she truly shone.

Not only has Williams won a doubles title at all four Grand Slam events, winning 14 Major doubles titles overall, but she has in fact won a Grand Slam title at least twice on all three surfaces.

Furthermore, Venus Williams has won four Olympic gold medals for America, one in the singles event in 2000 and three in the doubles tournament at the Games. Therefore, her contribution to tennis deserves more recognition than an 86th rank among the top 100 athletes. The American has often been overshadowed by her superstar sister Serena, but that does not diminish her achievements.

Apart from her domination on the tennis court, Venus has also played a big role in promoting equal pay for men and women in tennis. Notably, the American advocated equal pay at Wimbledon and succeeded as the tournament announced the same prize money for both male and female athletes in 2007. Thus, having arguably had a better career than Andy Murray and many other players on the ESPN list, Venus Williams should not have been placed as low as No. 86.


Venus Williams bags No. 86 with the 'Big Three' and Serena Williams expected in the Top 20

Venus Williams has been joined by Andy Murray among the top 50-100 athletes since 2000 as per ESPN's latest list. The tennis duo shares the bottom half with some of the soccer stars of the generation such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luka Modric, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Meanwhile, golfer Rory Mcllroy and cricket superstar Virat Kohli find themselves below Venus Williams on the rankings, at No. 93 and 97, respectively. More tennis stars are expected to feature in the top half of the rankings.

Serena Williams and Roger Federer are expected to be among the top 10 ranked athletes since 2000 for their contribution to tennis. Federer and Williams were the face of tennis worldwide before their retirement in the early 2020s. The duo took tennis to another level, making it famous across the globe.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the favourites to be among the top 20 for their impressive records in tennis. The Spaniard has won 22 Grand Slam titles, two short of Djokovic's record of 24 Majors. Meanwhile, the top three in the list could be Tom Brady, LeBron James and Lionel Messi with a winner decided among them.

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