The 50 Greatest Female Athletes of the Past 20 Years | Page 3 | The Boneyard

The 50 Greatest Female Athletes of the Past 20 Years

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wire chief said:
Lots of tennis talk. My 2 cents: Monica showed that Steffi was mortal; nobody shows up Serena that way.
Finally, as a purely irrational Venus fan, I am glad that the 5-time Wimbledon champ was given her due herein.
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Amen to that!
 
nd2tty said:
Hmm, talent is a very subjective thing. I would agree that Graf is the most talented to play in the last 30, although I wonder if her talent level 1995-1999 was not somewhat diminished from what it was 1985-1995.

If she hadn't been stabbed in 1993, we could very well be talking about Monica Seles as greatest ever. She was, for pure talent, the best I've ever seen. She probably could have gone on to win 20 majors, and in doing so, probably would have limited Graf to under 20. She had 8 GS titles before her 20th birthday. She was 3-1 in GS finals against Graf before the stabbing.

Graf is still the greatest, everything considered, of all-time, with Navratilova, Evert, and Serena Williams close second.

Graf, had a tremendous forehand, backhand slice was good. Seles, had accuracy and power from both sides, which she used, to hit winners almost at will. Serena, has power from either side, hits winners from forehand and backhand. I think what separates Serena from the pack is her elite power and court coverage, not to mention the most powerful serve in the history of women's tennis.
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nd2tty said:
Hmm, talent is a very subjective thing. I would agree that Graf is the most talented to play in the last 30, although I wonder if her talent level 1995-1999 was not somewhat diminished from what it was 1985-1995.

If she hadn't been stabbed in 1993, we could very well be talking about Monica Seles as greatest ever. She was, for pure talent, the best I've ever seen. She probably could have gone on to win 20 majors, and in doing so, probably would have limited Graf to under 20. She had 8 GS titles before her 20th birthday. She was 3-1 in GS finals against Graf before the stabbing.

Graf is still the greatest, everything considered, of all-time, with Navratilova, Evert, and Serena Williams close second.
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Graf, had a tremendous forehand, backhand slice was good. Seles, had accuracy and power from both sides, which she used, to hit winners almost at will. Serena, has power from either side, hits winners from forehand and backhand. I think what separates Serena from the pack is her elite power and court coverage, not to mention the most powerful serve in the history of women's tennis.
 
Phillyconn said:
Graf, had a tremendous forehand, backhand slice was good. Seles, had accuracy and power from both sides, which she used, to hit winners almost at will. Serena, has power from either side, hits winners from forehand and backhand. I think what separates Serena from the pack is her elite power and court coverage, not to mention the most powerful serve in the history of women's tennis.
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Serena has the perfect balance of excellent technique on her serve and groundstrokes, lethal power, and uber-athleticism.

Graf is often praised for her steely demeanor on the court, and she should be. You could never tell if Steffi was up 6-0, 5-0 or down match point.

But what separates Serena is her will to win. Watch her matches when she is down in a second set after losing the first, only to roar back. She plays with a sense that it is personal to her, especially against her top rivals: 17-2 against Sharapova (last loss was 2004), 14-3 against Azarenka, etc.

In fact, for her entire pro career (from 1994-2015), Serena has a record of 139-56 when playing an opponent ranked #1 in the world. Think about that. For 21 years, no matter where she is ranked, Serena will beat the #1 ranked woman in the world in 71.3 percent of matches.

And her career resurgence at her age is nothing short of amazing. On February 18, 2013, at the age of 31, Serena Williams took over the top spot in the WTA Tour rankings. She has not budged since. Since that date, she has won 19 tournaments, including four Grand Slams, while compiling a record of 138-10.

Graf was my favorite female tennis player growing up (Ivan Lendl was my favorite male player). I even modeled my forehand off of Steffi, with the big swing and running around to hit the inside-out shot. But Serena has become not just my favorite female tennis player...not just my favorite tennis player...but one of my all-time favorite athletes, regardless of sport.
 
Slight correction to my post...

For her entire pro career (from 1994-2015), Serena has a record of 139-56 when playing an opponent ranked who is ranked or has been #1 in the world. Think about that. For 21 years, no matter where she is ranked, Serena has defeated a player ranked #1 in the world (at some point in that player's career) in 71.3 percent of matches.

The statistic regarding her record against opponents ranked #1 is her overall record against players who were ranked #1 at some point in their respective careers, not a W-L record against an opponent ranked #1 at that time, every single time.
 
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Serena has the biggest weapon in the history of tennis (male or female): her serve. It is a large part of the reason I think she would win a head-to-head match against Graf. (Though these type of hypothetical match-ups are notoriously suspect: the difference in style of play, athleticism, etc between 1988 (Graf's peak) and 2002/2013 (Serena's peaks) would likely offset their individual talent/skill matchup). Serena's movement (in different ways at different points of her career), her mental toughness, and her ball striking are also notable strengths. However, while Serena has had several rivals during her remarkably long career (though not quite the longevity of Navratilova) - such as Venus, Hingis, Henin, and Sharapova - they are second-tier greats. Navratilova met Evert 22 times (Evert also met Billie Jean King 9 times in Grand Slams) and Graf 9 times in Grand Slams. Graf met Seles 10 times in Grand Slams and would have played her much more if not for the stabbing. 3 of the 4 players in conversation for GOAT played each other for at least parts of their careers. Serena is the only one who never did. That's not to take anything away from Serena, who could end up as the greatest when it is all said and done, and is absolutely my favorite tennis player.
 
Sorry but too many names that don't belong. Notoriety is not a reason to make the list. Athletic accomplishments, intelligence and being an ambassador for your sport are. Maya, you were robbed.
 
nd2tty said:
Serena has the biggest weapon in the history of tennis (male or female): her serve. It is a large part of the reason I think she would win a head-to-head match against Graf. (Though these type of hypothetical match-ups are notoriously suspect: the difference in style of play, athleticism, etc between 1988 (Graf's peak) and 2002/2013 (Serena's peaks) would likely offset their individual talent/skill matchup). Serena's movement (in different ways at different points of her career), her mental toughness, and her ball striking are also notable strengths. However, while Serena has had several rivals during her remarkably long career (though not quite the longevity of Navratilova) - such as Venus, Hingis, Henin, and Sharapova - they are second-tier greats. Navratilova met Evert 22 times (Evert also met Billie Jean King 9 times in Grand Slams) and Graf 9 times in Grand Slams. Graf met Seles 10 times in Grand Slams and would have played her much more if not for the stabbing. 3 of the 4 players in conversation for GOAT played each other for at least parts of their careers. Serena is the only one who never did. That's not to take anything away from Serena, who could end up as the greatest when it is all said and done, and is absolutely my favorite tennis player.
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I guarantee you that the players you are calling 2nd tier, when playing at their best, could beat your "greats" in a lot of matches. I watched Chris, Martina, Steffi and Monica during their careers, all Great players but I think Venus, Justin and Martina playing in that era would have won more than a few Grand Slams.
 
As a previous poster alluded to, Gulbis with one career win and Wozniacki with no majors and Diggins... Its not all about athletics.
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
Serena has the perfect balance of excellent technique on her serve and groundstrokes, lethal power, and uber-athleticism.

Graf is often praised for her steely demeanor on the court, and she should be. You could never tell if Steffi was up 6-0, 5-0 or down match point.

But what separates Serena is her will to win. Watch her matches when she is down in a second set after losing the first, only to roar back. She plays with a sense that it is personal to her, especially against her top rivals: 17-2 against Sharapova (last loss was 2004), 14-3 against Azarenka, etc.

In fact, for her entire pro career (from 1994-2015), Serena has a record of 139-56 when playing an opponent ranked #1 in the world. Think about that. For 21 years, no matter where she is ranked, Serena will beat the #1 ranked woman in the world in 71.3 percent of matches.

And her career resurgence at her age is nothing short of amazing. On February 18, 2013, at the age of 31, Serena Williams took over the top spot in the WTA Tour rankings. She has not budged since. Since that date, she has won 19 tournaments, including four Grand Slams, while compiling a record of 138-10.

Graf was my favorite female tennis player growing up (Ivan Lendl was my favorite male player). I even modeled my forehand off of Steffi, with the big swing and running around to hit the inside-out shot. But Serena has become not just my favorite female tennis player...not just my favorite tennis player...but one of my all-time favorite athletes, regardless of sport.
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Graf was your favorite? Where you rooting for a foreigner over a U.S. Player? Lol
 
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Great to see that Catchings got her due, but Maya Moore and Chamique Holdsclaw should absolutely be on that list. Holdsclaw or Moore could make compelling cases for the greatest college women's basketball player ever, both because of how much they won but the way they played, especially Holdsclaw. She brought attention to the women's game in a big way. Meanwhile Skylar Diggins? Absolutely not.
 
Phillyconn said:
Graf was your favorite? Where you rooting for a foreigner over a U.S. Player? Lol
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HA! Evert was my first favorite, followed by Graf, followed by Serena.
On the men's side, Lendl was my first favorite
 
Any list like this that doesn't include Kin Rhode is myopic. Before you say shooting isn't a sport you should try it. Besides if they include fencing then there really isn't any argument about what sports should or shouldn't be included. BTW if she medals in the next Olympics she will be the Olympian in any sport to medal on 5 continents.


Kim Rhode A California native, she is a five-time Olympic medal winner, including three gold medals, and six-time national champion in double trap. She is the most successful female shooter at the Olympics as the only triple Olympic Champion and is the only woman to have won two Olympic gold medals for Double Trap. Most recently, she won a gold medal in skeet shooting at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, equaling the world record of 99 out of 100 clays.


Rhode, at 13, won her first world championship title in women's double trap shooting. After double trap shooting was eliminated from the 2008 Olympic games, she has concentrated on skeet. Which means she switched sports and still kept winning. Won the 2010 World Championships in skeet in Munich.


1996 Olympics
Rhode won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Games, making her the youngest female gold medalist in the history of Olympic shooting.


2000 Olympics
Rhode won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.


2004 Olympics
Rhode also won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.


2008 Olympics
Rhode won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in women's skeet.


2012 Olympics
On July 29 at the 2012 London Olympics, Rhode won the gold medal in skeet shooting with an Olympic record score of 99, tying the world record in this event. With this medal, Rhode is the only American competitor to win medals for an individual event in five consecutive Olympics. She also became one of the three competitors (and the only woman) to win three Olympic individual gold medals for shooting.
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
HA! Evert was my first favorite, followed by Graf, followed by Serena.
On the men's side, Lendl was my first favorite
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I loved Evert, I even rooted for Graf, as long as she wasn't playing against an American. Serena, all time favorite. I liked Tracy Austin also. Seles was an absolute terror. On the Men's side, John McEnroe, all time favorite, followed closely by Andre and Pete. I absolutely hated Lendl, for beating up on Americans, I hated him like I hate Tennessee and Notre Dame. I guess I root for those who dare to be great. That's why I love Uconn basketball so much, I want them to win a title every year.
 
VolFan said:
Great to see that Catchings got her due, but Maya Moore and Chamique Holdsclaw should absolutely be on that list. Holdsclaw or Moore could make compelling cases for the greatest college women's basketball player ever, both because of how much they won but the way they played, especially Holdsclaw. She brought attention to the women's game in a big way. Meanwhile Skylar Diggins? Absolutely not.
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Hate Tennessee, but you have to admire the greatness of Chamique, who lead a reign of terror against the country when she played. Question, who was more dominant, Chamique or Parker? Do you think that they could have played on the same team?
 
Diggins on the list - No Maya or Holdsclaw ? What a friggin joke. Points for pouting ?

And you are right BigFan Rhode should be on that list. Trap and skeet requires tremendous eye hand coordination, and a fair amount of physical stamina and concentration to complete the events.
 
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CCinCT said:
Diggins on the list - No Maya or Holdsclaw ? What a friggin joke. Points for pouting ?

And you are right BigFan Rhode should be on that list. Trap and skeet requires tremendous eye hand coordination, and a fair amount of physical stamina and concentration to complete the events.
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Trap and skeet? That may be going a bit too far, what's next, midget tossing.
 
CCinCT said:
Golfers are on the list. Lot of stamina and effort involved in walking 18 holes right ?
Try a sport before you pass judgement.
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No walking involved in skeet shooting.....Lol. Just kidding but you have to stop somewhere. Trap and skeet shooting is just not as popular as other sports on this list. By the way, who is BigFan Rhode? What's are his accomplishments?
 
Phillyconn said:
No walking involved in skeet shooting.....Lol. Just kidding but you have to stop somewhere. Trap and skeet shooting is just not as popular as other sports on this list. By the way, who is BigFan Rhode? What's are his accomplishments?
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Read the post above by BigFan re Kim Rhode. But I'm sure that Natalie Gulbis' accomplishments are MUCH greater.
 
CCinCT said:
Read the post above by BigFan re Kim Rhode. But I'm sure that Natalie Gulbis' accomplishments are MUCH greater.
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not so sure, it is a 50 great athletes list, not a list of playboy centerfolds.
 
CCinCT said:
Read the post above by BigFan re Kim Rhode. But I'm sure that Natalie Gulbis' accomplishments are MUCH greater.
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I apologize, I was wrong. Her accomplishments are truly remarkable and certainly are worthy of consideration. Sorry BigFan... Kim Rhode should be celebrated.
 
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Dawson said:
Ok I'm sorry but I was a tennis fan long before I was a UCONN fan. I was actually a huge Monica Seles fan and that comment just made my skin crawl. Monica was the far superior player to Steffi until the incident. With that being said, Graf could not touch Serena, and will be passed by Serena in grandslam wins in the next 2 years. The part that puts her well over Steffi is Serena didn't even need someone to stab her rival to get there!
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But Serena has not played another tennis great the way Steffi did. Steffi played Everrt, Navratilopva and Seles, three of the all-time greats. Serena's closest rival has been Sharapova, who is truly no match for Serena.

Don't get me wrong, I love Serena, but I think Graf's speed, slice backhand and the best forehand of all time would have been real trouble for Serena to deal with, especially the slice backhand. Graf would have been a match-up nightmare for Serena, much like Nadal is for Federer and the way Seles was for Graf.
 
easttexastrash said:
But Serena has not played another tennis great the way Steffi did. Steffi played Everrt, Navratilopva and Seles, three of the all-time greats. Serena's closest rival has been Sharapova, who is truly no match for Serena.

Don't get me wrong, I love Serena, but I think Graf's speed, slice backhand and the best forehand of all time would have been real trouble for Serena to deal with, especially the slice backhand. Graf would have been a match-up nightmare for Serena, much like Nadal is for Federer and the way Seles was for Graf.
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Ok, if Seles was a nightmare for Graf, what did Seles have that Serena doesn't?
Serena has a tremendous serve, that few players can handle when she's serving well.
You don't hit winners using a backhand slice. Seles, Serena and great players like them could make you pay from either side, they were also able to go from defense to offense in one stroke from either side. I used to watch Graf a lot and she would always be standing closer to her backhand side of the court, looking for that big forehand, opening herself up to a player like Seles, who had powerful ground strokes. The great Chris Evert herself is calling Serena the greatest.
 
Phillyconn said:
Ok, if Seles was a nightmare for Graf, what did Seles have that Serena doesn't?
Serena has a tremendous serve, that few players can handle when she's serving well.
You don't hit winners using a backhand slice. Seles, Serena and great players like them could make you pay from either side, they were also able to go from defense to offense in one stroke from either side. I used to watch Graf a lot and she would always be standing closer to her backhand side of the court, looking for that big forehand, opening herself up to a player like Seles, who had powerful ground strokes. The great Chris Evert herself is calling Serena the greatest.
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Just my opinion. I think Steffi had the type of game that Serena hates to play agains, which is one where the ball hugs the court and Serena does not get down to the low balls that well. Serena is not a good volleyer and Graf would draw her to the net and pass her all day long. ;)
 
there should be several lists, generate some controversial discussions, just for the fun of it
1. 50 greatest based upon popularity of the sport. (not the popularity of the athletes! They still have to win.) So softball, golf etc will be excluded. You cannot deny the influence of a sport on the population while trying to glorify some athletes in other obscure events.
2. 50 greatest based upon their winning record. (all those tennis, basketball greats...
3. 5o greatest based upon the longevity of their wining sports lives.
4. 50 greatest world record holder.
5. 50 greatest who can hold against men! Kim Rhode can probably compete with men at Olympic. Serena might be able to, but can she be ranked in top ten on the men's side, probably not. Judit Polgar ranked as high as 8th amongst men, and always represents her country on men's side for chess Olympiad. Chinese Skeet shooter Zhang Shan won in 1992 Olympic but could not defend her title as the event was only open to men in 1996!
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10.50 based upon their looks. (I don't think Diggins is a top 50 looker amongst all female athletes ..)
 
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