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Serena Williams is not only a 23-time Grand Slam champion—she’s a game-changing champion.
Hall of Famer Chrissie Evert asserts former world No. 1 Serena is the GOAT for three primary reasons.
In a conference call with the media today to promote ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage that starts Monday, June 30th at 6 a.m. Eastern time on ESPN, Evert and fellow Hall of Famer John McEnroe were asked about rivalries.
GOAT by Era: Defining Women's GOAT by Each Era
Evert and Martina Navratilova, who squared off an astounding 80 times—including 60 finals face-offs—cited “outlier” Serena as GOAT during her response.
Former No. 1 Evert said Serena Williams’ explosiveness from all areas, dominance and the fact she transcended all of her many rivals creating her own Serena Era makes her GOAT.
“When you look back at the eras, you had Borg and McEnroe, you had Chris and Martina, you had Billie Jean and Margaret Court, you had Seles and Graf, you had the Williams sisters,” Evert told the media. “You always seemed to have two or three players that interchangeably can win majors.
“I think the only era that was different was when Serena dominated. Because Serena’s an outlier. She was really, really special.