09-03-2022, 01:07 PM
She won 13 of her Grand Slam titles prior to the Open Era. Serena won all hers in the Open Era when prize money ensured all slams were hotly contested.
The other knock on Court is that she won 11 out of her 24 titles in Australia and 8 of those were contested only by amateurs. The distance and cost of travel thinned out the competition. Now, we are used to all the top players coming to the Aus Open as it offers the biggest prize pool but the Aus Open was the poor relation of the other slams until it moved away from Kooyong. There was even a time when serious consideration was being given to stripping the Aus Open of its Grand Slam status and giving it to the Italian Open.
I have no doubt Serena should be seen as the GOAT.
The other knock on Court is that she won 11 out of her 24 titles in Australia and 8 of those were contested only by amateurs. The distance and cost of travel thinned out the competition. Now, we are used to all the top players coming to the Aus Open as it offers the biggest prize pool but the Aus Open was the poor relation of the other slams until it moved away from Kooyong. There was even a time when serious consideration was being given to stripping the Aus Open of its Grand Slam status and giving it to the Italian Open.
I have no doubt Serena should be seen as the GOAT.