Ex-American star identifies why Serena Williams is ‘definitely at top of GOAT’ list

Former American tennis player Jill Craybas highlights Serena Williams is “definitely at the top of the GOAT list” considering the American tennis icon’s numbers and impact on the game. 

During her astonishing career, Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles in singles. Williams also enjoyed major success in doubles as the American was also a 14-time Slam champion in women’s doubles and a two-time Slam champion in mixed doubles respectively. 

A bit surprisingly, Williams didn’t manage to beat Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slams. After winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, Williams made four more Slam finals. Stunningly, Williams went 0-4 in her last four Slam finals. Although Williams didn’t get the all-time Slam record, some still believe that she should be considered the greatest of all time despite Court having more Slams. 

Craybas on why Williams is undoubtedly one of the GOATs

“She [Serena Williams] is definitely at the top of the list and I think Chris [Bowers] makes a good point of maybe incorporating the doubles into the category a little bit more. With the men in particular, if you talk about the top 3: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, they didn’t play doubles that often. So, I think if they did, there would’ve been a lot more numbers in their category as well. But, if we are talking about numbers, yes, I mean, Serena definitely is one of the best, the highest in that category along with Margaret Court obviously, having 24-Grand Slam titles. But you not only talk about the numbers, but the substance, the celebrity. I mean, I think Serena is one of those that transcended all of that, right? Went beyond sport. Even if you didn’t watch tennis, people knew who she was. People know who she is, no matter you are a sports fan or not and that’s a big deal. So, for me, that’s what makes her one of the best in the world,” Craybas said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.

Earlier this year, Williams admitted to feeling tempted to return to tennis after retiring at the 2022 US Open. In the end, Williams resisted and didn’t come back.