Serena Williams - The best tennis player in the world?

The St. Petersburg Times is running a story on Serena Williams and the reasons why we cannot blame her for taking a step back from tennis over the past few years. Columnist John Romano has presented a valid claim on Serena’s greatness, but I disagree with him a bit regarding his statements about the final four at Wimbledon this year.

How would you characterize such a semifinal? Basically, as a lie.

These four - Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Maria Sharapova - are the best Wimbledon had available.

But do not pretend they are the four best women tennis players on the planet, for that list is not complete without Serena Williams. Not for the player she is, but the player she could be.

(source: St. Petersburg Times)

The best Wimbledon had available? That is a pretty sharp slap in the face of Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, and Sharapova. The last three Grand Slam champions are just ordinary competitors in a world that used to be dominated by Serena Williams?

At this point on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, no one is better than Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, and Maria Sharapova. They have ruled the hard courts, clay courts, grass courts, and even the clay courts over the past several months. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings may be “merely numbers and equations”, to quote Romano, but those numbers are based entirely on performance.

In all fairness to the author, he does go on at the end of his article to clarify his point that the final four competitors at Wimbledon are worthy of a “terrific semifinal”, but the his idea of a “dream final four” would have to include Serena.

It is time for the United States and the world to start looking ahead and quit living in the past. Sure, Serena was a fabulous competitor, a true achiever for her sport, and her nation. She reigned on the tennis courts for fifty-seven weeks as number one and hoisted seven Grand Slam singles titles. No one is trying to discredit Serena or her accomplishments. But it is time to look ahead and stop wondering about all the what ifs of her career.

Serena has made her decision and if she is happy with the state of her career, it is now time for us to be glad that she gave us her best years, and wish her the best of success in the next phase of her life. She is planning on making a comeback of sorts later this month in Cincinnati, and we will a glimpse of her form for the first time since the Australian Open. In the meanwhile, do not forget the champions and competitors that are still on the courts, working and fighting to win titles each week. And as far as I am concerned, the best tennis players in the world will be on the courts tomorrow at Wimbledon.

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