Women's tennis has evolved very much so over the course of the last 30 years or so. It continues to develop into an extremely competitive sport and th...
Women’s tennis has evolved very much so over the course of the last 30 years or so. It continues to develop into an extremely competitive sport and the bar has been raised some more with each decade.
Women are faster, stronger, and harder working in the world of professional tennis and we’ve been lucky enough to see some absolutely great players. Here are the 7 best since 1980, in my opinion.
Venus Williams has been one of the best players in modern tennis, and it’s crazy to think about the fact that she finds herself at #7 here. With 10 grand slam wins, her career has been wildly successful. Perhaps the most impressive stat is her four Wimbledon titles.
After Venus is Justine Henin-Hardenne. I put her ahead of Venus because she was simply better, and won more slams in a shorter span. While she cut her career short, she’s on the way back up now as she’s returned to the sport.
The next player on my list is one who I do believe should have been ranked higher, if not for a very unfortunate event. Monica Seles was the best woman in the world in her young prime, even beating the likes of Steffi Graf with ease. Unfortunately, a fanatical lunatic decided to stab her during a match, which effectively ruined her career.
4. Chris Evert. She ruled the 1970s and part of the 1980s, and had a long, successful career. 18 grand slams says it all.
After Seles is the other Williams sister, as Serena now has more grand slams, not to mention the fact that she’s younger than Venus. The last few years have been dominated by Serena ever since Henin retired, and she still has a handful of good years ahead of her.
2. Martina Navratilova. What an outstanding career she had, and she just never seemed to go away. 18 grand slams and a shining career.
1. Steffi Graf. The queen of women’s tennis, she was the Roger Federer of the women’s game. 22 grand slams.
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Modern tennis has gone through many changes, and the 1980s were the years that served as the transition for this. Racquets quickly went from wooden ones to graphite ones, and much more happened as well.
Let’s take a look back at the classic decade for the sport by remembering some of the most entertaining tennis players from the decade. These are all based on my personal favorites, and not based on who I thought was best. Anyway, here goes.
The early 1980s were dominated by Bjorn Borg before his early retirement. At the top of his game, he was undoubtedly the best in the world and one of the best to ever play the sport.
Next on my list is Stefan Edberg, whose career began in the 1980s and lasted into the 1990s. The Swedish net player was one of the best volleyers in the history of the sport, and one of the last pure volleyers as well.
Boris Becker. Ah, the jump serve. Becker popularized this method of serving in the 1980s, and just about everyone I knew tried to emulate it in their own way. Becker was a true warrior on the tennis court, and I’m a big fan of what he did for the sport.
Ivan Lendl was one of the steadiest players to ever play the sport. His career was a storied won, with a handful of grand slam wins and even more tournament victories. Lendl’s baseline play was downright scary.
1. John McEnroe. What can you say about Mac? His charisma, his hustle, and everything else that he did on the court is legendary. To see him as a commentator through his retirement is simply a delight. I was shocked to see how well he plays when I saw him play at a senior tour event.
It was hard to narrow this list down to just five, as there are many others I could have mentioned. How do these players compare to yours?
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When Steffi Graf ruled the sport people did not enjoy it. When both of the Williams girls were devastating everyone on the road to the championship, the public did not appreciate it. And presently when grand slams are more well balanced than before? Tennis lovers do not appreciate this.
The majority confess that the Williams girls dominate most of the time. Although injuries and diminished non-Slam tournament schedules denote they presently meet prior to the championship match. Though yet again allow us to recall that very recently the previously referenced whining regarding this regular matchup in the final round and their governance over other athletes.
So currently we have Dinara Safina boasting the number spot in the WTA race and the US Open seeds. And what do people imply? She doesn’t deserve it since she has never won a Grand Slam (not to mention that she has been defeated in a couple slam finals recently.) But she’s getting to slam title and she is fairly entertaining along the way, on the court and off.
Earlier Safina was forced to battle it out yet again, practically becoming the 1st #1 seed to be defeated in the first round. Was it entertaining? I thought so. Although we’ll learn all regarding the inaccuracy of the ranking system, yada, yada.
And then there was Venus Williams last night–additionally pushed to 3 pairs. Also engaging. (Furthermore note that Venus didn’t have the best of summers post Wimbledon.) But in all likelihood to be heard is the prevalence of injuries among the sisters Williams and their “distractions” off the courts.
Furthermore presently Kim Clijsters is back and as opposed to being very excited – which we ought to be since she is affable and polite and a fine player – fans are all saying “okay what does it reveal about the women’s game that she might return and maintain a 6-2 finish for the summer season?”
Well I suppose it reveals that she – as she always has -exercises very well. Also that she is a seasoned player and she has nearly zero to lose.
So let’s simply cease all the bashing, please. Yes, there are problems in the ladies game. (For example the lack of diversity in terms of playing style.) But I for my part love that it is anyone’s guess as to who’ll play in that final in under 2 weeks. And I am excited about seeing how they end up there.
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