10 Sportspeople Considered The Greatest Ever

The new millennium really was a golden period for men's tennis. The depth of quality in the sport was remarkable, gilded by the mesmeric quartet of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray contesting some of the finest racket action of the open-era. With little separating the four, it's almost impossible to choose one as the greatest of all time - though it's doubtless the title belongs to one of them (well, except Murray).

The women's game is a different story entirely. With an utterly dominant career spanning two decades and a haul of 36 Grand Slams across all tennis formats, Serena Williams is without equal.

Though she lags behind Margaret Court and Steffi Graf for singles Grand Slam titles, Serena is far from finished. The younger Williams sister became the oldest number one ranked player in 2013, and has held onto the post since. It's telling of both women's tennis' relative dearth of quality and the supreme talent of Serena that at the age of 34, she continues to completely eclipse all her rivals.

Oh, she also has four Olympic gold medals to go with all those Grand Slams, not to mention career earnings surpassing $75 million. Serena is not just the greatest tennis player of all time, but also one of the greatest sportspeople of all time.

An Alternative Choice: Roger Federer

Yes, OK, I have contradicted myself. I know I said one couldn't possibly choose the greatest from men's tennis elite, but at a push, Federer just edges it. Like any great sportsperson, during his peak, his success bred resentment, and ultimately utter boredom as he strolled to title after title. It's a sign of a true great whenever an athlete is so supremely gifted that them winning becomes tedious.