Reilly Opelka believes Serena Williams and Venus Williams are the two greatest tennis players, but he thinks Serena is the best by far.
Venus is the older of the two sisters and made her professional debut as a 14-year-old nearly 28 years ago. Serena followed soon after, and the pair revolutionized women's tennis with their styles.
Although several WTA legends had preceded them, Serena and Venus brought a combination of power and athleticism never seen before in the women's game, and countless players have based their games on them since.
Although she is the younger sister, Serena is retiring first. The legendary 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's final tournament will be at the upcoming US Open, where she has won titles.
Venus has not reached Serena's incredible heights but is still a seven-time Grand Slam champion. Opelka rates Venus as the second-best tennis player ever but thinks Serena should be ranked alongside the greatest athletes ever.
"Venus [Williams] will go down as the second-greatest tennis player of all time. Serena [Williams] is first by a mile. You have to put her up there with [Michael] Jordan and LeBron [James] or [Cristiano] Ronaldo. I practice with both of them; they live just up the street from me. They hit the ball as good as anyone."
Opelka says Serena and Venus's playing and succeeding in what he considers to be the toughest era in women's tennis is another reason they are the two greatest.
"Serena and Venus played in the toughest era of women’s tennis and changed the game. But they still love tennis and winning tennis matches. There’s no other reason for Serena to play. I know Venus still loves it, too. Serena has so many records; she’s already known as one of the greatest athletes ever. I think that buzz of winning has to be the only reason she’s still playing.”
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