Sometimes a decade-old video is the perfect media to be covered in modern times. This time, an interview with tennis phenom Serena Williams from 2013 has resurfaced and shows the woman that many consider to be the goat speaking about the difference in skill between men and women in the sport of tennis.
On the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Williams explained a conversation that she had with male superstar Andy Murray about what would happen if she tried to cross over to the men’s game. Williams is one of the most dominant athletes of her generation, annihilating the competition at every stage of her career. If she played a good match, she won.
When confronted with the idea of playing Andy Murray, Williams had this to say, “I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ Because, for me … men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely almost two separate sports. So … if I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0-6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes.”
This is a rather emphatic endorsement of the idea that men are far better at tennis than those on the women’s side of the game. Williams, who many consider to be the greatest woman that the sort has ever seen, minced no words when saying that she stood no chance against Murray.
Now, some pundits would love to say that the women can hang with the men. So, they might wonder why Williams said this. Maybe they would claim that it is due to bias on the part of the referee, due to better coaching that men receive at young ages, anything to divert the conversation away from athleticism and biological differences.
Williams brushed away any doubt as to why she would lose, saying, “It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster … they serve harder … they hit harder. It’s just a different game, and I love to play women’s tennis.”
This isn’t a post that looks to take away the accomplishments of Serena Williams. Quite the opposite, actually. She pushed her body to its biological limits, reaching a talent that few ever even imagined possible in women’s tennis. She became so good that some considered it possible that she could cross over and play against the men.
But Serena did not fall to her own hubris. She understands that there are differences between her and the likes of Andy Murray, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. That distinction between man and woman is one that Williams was not afraid to point out even when she knew that certain actors in the mainstream media would not like to hear it.
Williams has of course received vitriol at certain points in her career for woke antics behind the microphone, but she should also be given credit where it is due. She understands that biology plays a role in the ability of an athlete and the highest level that an athlete can reach.
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded YouTube video.
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