The Tennis Channel's 100 Greatest of All Time

RosyLily

The Tennis Channel has put together their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time. This is their top 10:

10. Billie Jean King
9. Chris Evert
8. Margaret Court
7. Bjorn Borg
6. Rafael Nadal
5. Pete Sampras
4. Martina Navratilova
3. Steffi Graf
2. Rod Laver
1. Roger Federer

The full list can be found here. Some standings I agree with, but others I'm thinking 'Are they on crack??':pac:

Have a look for yourselves and see if you agree with how they rank the players.

walshb

I just can't look past Federer as the best. His record is astounding, and from all his records and achievements what cements it for me is that he is an excellent all round surface player who could have won 3-4 French titles had it not been for clays GOAT, Nadal. Federe has been in over 20 slam finals.

Rob2D

Some major names further down on that list alright. I'd probably bring up a couple.

And I'd nearly put Steffi at 2. That girl was crazy good. Pretty sure she could have taken most of the guys in the 90's or at least given them a run for their money.

But I wouldn't bother with lists at all really. You could debate this stuff forever.

walshb

Rob2D wrote: »

And I'd nearly put Steffi at 2. That girl was crazy good. Pretty sure she could have taken most of the guys in the 90's or at least given them a run for their money.
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Most of which guys? Not the top guys anyway. Maybe the ones that failed to even get to the slams. As for her success and achievements she is right up there ahead of pretty much everyone.

applehunter

Steffi Graff & Navratalova were good but they wouldn't stand a chance against Sampras, Borg etc.

Rob2D

I'm not saying she'd beat them consistently or anything, just that she probably could have stood up to them better than you think. You have to admit she was a freak who could seriously crush a ball if she wanted.

That said, I do think that the quality of women's tennis was better back then though. With the new technology and changes to surfaces there's a bigger gulf between the men and women's game nowadays IMO.

Just one man's opinion mind, I'm not trying to start anything. See this is what happens when people post lists!

frostie500

I think its pretty foolish to put men and women into the same list. Its hard enough to compare different eras and different equipment but different genders as well....

walshb

frostie500 wrote: »

I think its pretty foolish to put men and women into the same list. Its hard enough to compare different eras and different equipment but different genders as well....

I think it's ok as long as folks don't start trying to compare them against each other. It should come down to success, dominance and achievements in their own field.

BTW, Steffi and any women in the 80s never stand any chance of beating the men. No chance at all. But, I can still rank Steffi ahead of say, Agassi.

Like compiling a list of the best track and field stars. I see no issue with women in the top 10 or 20 or 30, even though I know the equivalent men kick their ass!

frostie500

walshb wrote: »

I think it's ok as long as folks don't start trying to compare them against each other. It should come down to success, dominance and achievements in their own field.

BTW, Steffi and any women in the 80s never stand any chance of beating the men. No chance at all. But, I can still rank Steffi ahead of say, Agassi.

Like compiling a list of the best track and field stars. I see no issue with women in the top 10 or 20 or 30, even though I know the equivalent men kick their ass!

I think that because of the differences between the mens and ladies games it is impossible to compare them in a straight up list. I think having a top 50 mens and top 50 ladies would have been a better solution rather than top 100 ever of both.