"For maybe the last two generations, she is, but of all-time? It depends how you measure it" - Martina Navratilova on Serena Williams' GOAT status
Martina Navratilova believes Serena Williams deserves to be called "The GOAT" of tennis across the last two generations of players but chose not to term one specific player as the single greatest player of all time.
The Croatian-American tennis great was neutral in her assessment of Williams' place in the GOAT debate and believes players across generations cannot be compared. She also opined that there are different measurements of success that can be used to determine whether a player is the greatest ever in tennis.
Navratilova, who still holds the record for most WTA titles won (167), spoke about Serena Williams and her GOAT status in a recent interview with the WTA.
"Everybody talks about the GOAT, but you cannot compare generations," Navratilova said on the same. "There are a handful of people, all-time greats that belong in there."
"For maybe the last two generations, she (Williams) is that. But of all-time? It depends how you measure it. It’s really hard for me to say because, obviously, I’m not impartial," she added.
The greatest to ever do it.
Thank you, @serenawilliams ❤️ https://t.co/lZ6OezBoGu
Navratilova further stated that she does not believe Steffi Graf was the greatest back in the day when she was dominating the tour and won 22 Grand Slams. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion reflected on the different circumstances in different eras of the sport, owing to which she opined that players across generations cannot be pitted against one another.
Having said that, she feels Serena Williams is undoubtedly the greatest player of the modern era.
"But neither was I thinking Steffi Graf was the greatest when she won 22 majors. You have to look at the whole body of work. We weren’t even playing the Australian Open or even the French Open for a bunch of years. The big one for us was the year-ending championship, which I won eight times. These days, Serena’s the greatest in terms of most majors," Navratilova said further.
Serena Williams' 108 #USOpen match wins is one of her many impressive records. https://t.co/pNeIy1OT69
"She’s got an amazing body that’s very, very strong" - Martina Navratilova on Serena Williams' fitness
Navratilova further expressed her opinion on Serena Williams' fitness, which contributed to her having a 27-year-long professional career. She stressed that improved fitness and training methods have helped players over the last few years to play on for longer, but applauded Williams for working hard on her body and fitness given the demands of the modern-day game.
"She’s got an amazing body that’s very, very strong," Navratilova said on the same. "And she worked hard to improve on that body. Obviously, these days the training and recovery is so much more sophisticated than it was in my day."
"It’s easier for players to have that longevity. But surfaces are still hard and everybody’s hitting the ball hard. Serena hasn’t played as many matches as we did, but she paced herself really well," she added.
Just @serenawilliams things 👑
#Wimbledon https://t.co/XBwqDmWQmu
Serena Williams' record of 23 Grand Slam singles titles stands second only to Margaret Court's all-time record of 24. Williams also won 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and two other Major titles in mixed doubles. Meanwhile, Navratilova won 18 singles, 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles in her illustrious career.