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Sports · Greatest of the women's game · Take No. 031

Serena or Steffi?

The only Golden Slam in history against the longest reign the sport has seen. Graf did everything in one perfect year; Serena did everything for twenty. Pick the greatest.

The case for each side, then the verdict. Then the floor is yours.
The case for

Serena Williams

Compton · 23 Grand Slams · 1995–2022

  • 23Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, more than any woman or man of her time.
  • 3Decades with a slam: first in 1999, last in 2017, the last one while pregnant.
  • 4Olympic gold medals, and a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
vs
The case for

Steffi Graf

Mannheim · 22 Grand Slams · 1982–1999

  • 1988All four slams and Olympic gold in one calendar year. Nobody else has ever done it.
  • 377Weeks at world No. 1, the record for any player, man or woman.
  • 4+Times winning each of the four slams. She had no weak surface, which Serena's clay record can't claim.

Cast your take

——
The verdict

It's Serena. Graf had the perfect year; Serena had the era.

Graf's case is the purist's and it's immense: the Golden Slam is the single greatest season in tennis history, she won every slam at least four times, and she sat at No. 1 longer than anyone ever will.

But Serena won more, won later, and won against a far deeper field, with a slam at 35 and a comeback after childbirth. Twenty-three across three decades beats twenty-two across one and a half. Serena, with Graf's 1988 as the best year anyone has had.

Disagree? That's what the buttons are for.

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