For half an hour, I listened to Pastor Margaret preach to her beloved congregation, and later she talked to me about prayer, Christianity, her stance on same-sex marriage, and three S words: scriptures, sin, and Serena. It was December 2017 and Serena Williams, who had almost died in childbirth earlier in the year, was expected to compete at the Australian Open the following month, aiming to equal Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena Williams is still chasing the record of 24 Grand Slam titles in women’s singles Margaret Court (pictured) still holds the women’s Grand Slam singles record Many already regarded Williams as the greatest women’s player of all time anyway and the view was that another triumph in Melbourne would confirm that. Williams didn’t play in Melbourne that year in the end, but Court, who won a total of 62 Grand Slam titles, including multiple victories in women’s doubles and mixed doubles, gave the impression she didn’t like being written out of the record books. . She wasn’t particularly kind about Williams’ search. “I don’t lose sleep over him chasing my records,” he said. “I don’t think anyone will break 62, but 24 will probably do.” As it happens, 24 probably won’t go. Not in the women’s game anyway. Not for a while. When Williams played her first singles match for a year at Wimbledon last week, she was beaten in three sets in the first round by Harmony Tan, a French player ranked 115th in the world. Williams was beaten in three sets in the first round at Wimbledon by Harmony Tan (pictured) It was a thrilling, roller-coaster of a match, but Williams came up short. Afterwards, he did not say whether he would play at Wimbledon again. She suggested she would like to play in the US Open this summer, but her days were so dominant that when she appeared in a tournament, she was expected to win. He is 40 now. She is a mom and an entrepreneur, an activist, an icon. The game went on without her and it went on without the game. Even with a competitor as formidable as Williams, it’s pretty safe to say the No24 will never win. That time has passed. Ash Barty may have retired unexpectedly last year, but there is too much talent out there to give Williams much of a chance at one last hurrah. And because her loss to Tan came close to drawing a line in her top-flight career, it reopened the debate about where she sits in the pantheon. The greatest of all time in the women’s game? Or the greatest of all time in the game? Williams has, after all, won more Grand Slam singles titles than any of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Williams has won more Grand Slam singles titles than any of Roger Federer (pictured, left), Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (pictured, right) Debates about the best in any sport are endlessly convoluted because there is no right answer. Statistics prove a point, but not the whole point. Stats alone give Cristiano Ronaldo a chance to be the greatest footballer of all time, but even though he is a great player, he wouldn’t be in my top 10. He wouldn’t even be my best player called Ronaldo. Debates about the greatest inevitably favor current or recent players. More people will be quick to anoint Lionel Messi the pinnacle of men’s soccer because we’ve seen his genius on our televisions twice a week for the past 20 years and his genius has rarely seemed to weigh down. Pele’s qualities, however, have faded into memory. The same applies, even more so, to Ferenc Puskas. When I was in Brazil last month, Zico told me that Garrincha would be in the top five players of all time and yet Garrincha has disappeared from the public mind, especially in Europe. Stats alone give Cristiano Ronaldo a chance to be the greatest footballer of all time The passage of half a century can do that. My top five, in no particular order, would be Pele, Diego Maradona, Messi, Johan Cruyff and Zinedine Zidane. In men’s tennis, the numbers favor Nadal, but I will always argue that Federer is the greatest of all time. There is also an argument for Rod Laver, whose achievements in the late 60s also fell victim to the caress of time. Despite the greatness of the big three of this era, none of them have won the Calendar Slam. Laver did it twice. Nadal is halfway to joining him this year. So I understand the desire to declare Williams the top of her sport, especially now that she is on the brink of retirement. Her rise from Compton, in South Central Los Angeles, is one of the most inspiring against-the-odds stories in sporting history and now that many of Court’s views have attracted so much resentment, the desire to knock the Australian off the summit a strong pull. Williams will undoubtedly go down as one of the greats when she retires from tennis But the unpleasant truth is that Court’s claim to being the best isn’t so easily dismissed, no matter what you think of her. Her remarkable streak began before the start of the Open era in 1968, but has barely slowed since its inception (she won the Calendar Slam in 1970). She’s won a number of titles at the Australian Open, her home, sure, but she hasn’t won it as many times as Nadal has at the French Open. She won the French Open more times than Serena, and for all those who point out, rightly, that Williams showed almost superhuman desire, dedication and talent to reach four Grand Slam finals after the birth of her daughter, Olympia, it’s also worth remembering . that Court won three Grand Slams after the birth of her eldest son, Daniel. The inconvenient truth is that Margaret Court’s claim to being the best is not so easily dismissed Court, like Steffi Graf and Maureen Connolly, also won the Calendar Slam of all four majors in one year, a feat that eluded Williams and other greats of the game such as Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King. And that’s before we mention Court’s 38 Grand Slam women’s and mixed doubles titles. Graf and Navratilova are my favorite players, but that’s a product of my age. Court’s legacy may be tainted by her bigotry, but does that mean she wasn’t the greatest tennis player ever? Some want to try to reinterpret history because of who the Court has become. Perhaps it’s enough to say that Williams is the best you can identify with a clear conscience. From there, in the women’s game, the crown still belongs to Court.
