I say, she's one of the most accomplished athletes. In my mind, it's difficult to judge how good she really is - because she hasn't had a lot of strong, rivalry-type competition.
For years now, it seems every Slam is Serena's to lose. She's the dominant favorite. Has she won every Slam? Of course not. Sports are still sports. Upsets happen and sometimes she had an off day, as anybody does. Still, who has challenged her reign consistently?
In the earlier years of her career, it was her older sister, Venus. The sisters matched up in a few finals together. Venus, 36, is still playing, though her game has understandably dropped off. Venus actually made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon this year though, and she and her sister took home the doubles title.
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So who else on the women's side? Caroline Wozniacki looked like she had a chance, but she's never won a Slam after being ranked No. 1 in the world in 2010. She's choked away matches, and her distracting relationship with Rory McIlroy probably didn't help her game either. Entering the tournament unranked, she was ousted from Wimbledon in straight sets this year.
Maria Sharapova is a five-time Grand Slam winner and also a former world No. 1. The Russian-born Sharapova added screams and small fist-pumps to her the game, but her career has pretty much been killed by a drug test violation at this year's Australian Open. Before that, her career was plagued with shoulder injuries.
Victoria Azarenka is one of the top players, ranked No. 1 in 2012, and if she spent less time shrieking the entire match and more time focusing on tennis, she might have a shot at rivaling Serena. The only two Slams for Azarenka were back-to-back Aussie Opens in 2012 and 2013. She just announced this morning via Twitter that she's pregnant, so she'll be out of competition for the rest of this year but hopes to return.
Genie Bouchard looked to be on the rise, too, until a fall in the locker room at the U.S. Open last year resulted in a pesky concussion. I'd like to see her come to normal form again, but we'll see. Like I said, pesky concussions. She's made it as far as a singles final at Wimbledon.
Americans are still waiting for Sloane Stephens to break out as the next tennis phenom, perhaps taking the torch from Serena. Her best year was in 2013, when she reached career-best rounds in the Slams, including the semis in Australia. She's still just 23, so maybe give her a little more time.
Madison Keys is an up-and-coming American player as well. 2015 was her best year so far, reaching the semifinals in the Australian Open. Maybe the 21-year-old has what it takes to dominate. Most of the Slam results for Stephens and Keys have been first through fourth round exits however.
No women's rivalries to be found
All of these players have had a shot. They've had a chance. They give a glimmer of hope that they'll be a consistent threat at Slams. Then they'll make a first-round exit a couple times, and it's two steps back. Mostly, it's different players winning at different times.
Who's a consistent threat in women's tennis? Serena Williams. That's it. Gone are the days of Chrissy Evert-Martina Navratilova rivarly. If you want rivalries of top players, look to the men's side the past few years, or even past decade.. It went from Connors-McEnroe, to Sampras-Agassi, to Nadal-Federer and Djokovic-Federer, with a little Andy Murray thrown in there, too.
The women's bracket is a totally different match.
She's a great player, but...
I'm not saying Serena isn't talented. You don't win that many Slams without some raw ability and strong performances over a career. If she gets into trouble in a match, she can serve up those high-powered aces for an entire game to get the momentum rolling again. She pulls off shots that you wouldn't think anybody else could. She never seems to let a first-set loss get her down; it usually means a three-setter is on the way, and that she'll be victorious.
She's packed with plenty of amazing talent.
I just think she hasn't had the competition along the way. No one has consistently challenged her. That's not her fault, of course; I just think it's significant and why I say she's one of the most "accomplished" athletes. I'd love to see her go up against Djoker or Federer, actually.
What will be really interesting in the next few years is to see how Serena's career will end. She's 34, so already playing past her prime and the domination at this age is remarkable. Will she step away near the top? Or will she continue on and have a tough time walking away from the sport, even as her success and her play drop off?
I'll be interested to see which players are thrust into the spotlight after Serena's exit, whenever that may be. Maybe things will continue as they are and it will be a smattering of upsets and new faces making names for themselves in Grand Slams. Or maybe new rivalries will develop. It would be refreshing to see a few players rise to the top and stay there for a while.
Because Serena won't be the tennis queen forever.
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