Serena Williams: John McEnroe believes she would struggle on men's circuit
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Serena Williams disputes John McEnroe's claims that she would struggle to be in the world's top 700 if she was on the men's circuit.
But the male player ranked 701 in the world - Dmitry Tursunov - believes he could beat her.
Speaking to US radio station NPR, seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe said of former world number one Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 Grand Slams: "If she played the men's circuit she'd be, like, 700 in the world."
He qualified the comments by saying: "That doesn't mean I don't think Serena is an incredible player, and I suppose anything's possible; maybe at some point a women's tennis player can be better than anybody."
But he added: "I just haven't seen that in any other sport, and I haven't seen it in tennis. If she had to just play the men's circuit, it would be an entirely different story."
Williams later responded on Twitter: "Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.
"I've never played anyone ranked "there" nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir."
'She is pregnant, and I'm not'
Tursunov, 34, was once ranked as high as 20th in the world.
The Russian told BBC World Service Sport he did not think McEnroe was "trying to talk women's tennis down" but said "the reality" was that "men are stronger in general".
"I would hope that I would win against Serena," he added.
"It would be a similar argument to: who would run faster, the fastest woman or the fastest man? Tennis is becoming more and more a physical sport, so it's going to be hard for a woman to beat the men.
"It's not black and white, there are lots of factors to take into account. Physically I might not be in the best shape of my life but as an overall package I'm much better than my ranking would suggest. She is pregnant, and I'm not.
"I've never heard John say anything absolutely stupid - he knows his stuff. What he said about her being an incredible player is correct - explosive, powerful and she puts in a lot of work. But I would hope that I would win."
Battle of the sexes
Tennis matches between men and women have occurred before, mostly notably back in 1973 when Billie Jean King took on fellow American Bobby Riggs.
Riggs, the world number one in the 1940s, retired in 1951 and at the age of 55 believed he could beat any of the top female players.
King originally declined to play Riggs and Australian Margaret Court - at the time the top female player in the world - stepped in. Riggs won 6-2 6-1.
But later that year, the top ranked women's player King - 26 years younger than Riggs at 29 - took him on in an exhibition match at the Houston Astrodome and won 6-4 6-3 6-3.
A third 'Battle of the Sexes' match took in 1992 between American former world number one Jimmy Connors, aged 40 at the time, and Czech and American Martina Navratilova, who was 35.
The match took place under special rules to make it more competitive - Connors was allowed only one serve per point, and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7-5 6-2.
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The brutal truth is women don't have the strength or speed to compete with men in the professional game.
Perhaps you should ponder why a simple statement of obviously true fact makes you angry. Facts aren't sexist.
The female game is well below the standard of the men's & indeed they play less games with lower audiences yet demand equal prize money etc. and get it?
True equality would mean they would play the men but if course the female game would collapse.
I bet not one of them doesn't thank God for the men & their game
A male professional sports player should be better than the no 1 female - whether that's tennis, football, rugby, cricket, swimming or athletics
It's just physiology - politics shouldn't come into it
There are some sports where strength and stamina are not quite so key and the difference is narrower eg golf or disappears altogether eg show jumping
Time for equal pay for equal work. Make women play the best of 5 sets or accept prize money in the ratio of 5:8 (2.5 sets average to 4). Men are underpaid. It is not equality, else make women compete against men.
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The equal pay argument is wholly spurious. A 'fair' system would be to pay based on bums on seats. But that would cut women's prizes enormously.
However if everyone should be treated fairly, how come Serena earns dozens of times more than the 500th Rank Male player?
If 'PAY' mus be equal, should Women not be competing against the Men in same circuit? & play 5 sets? If not. is it fair a Man with better ability than Serena makes so much less in earnings?
she'd have her servebroken every game against the top 1000 probably
that's why the men play each other, you know for like equal competition
I'm a judo player and we don't compete against the women for the same reason
This has already been done to death. Michele Wie, Annika, Alison fisher etc etc. Hurtful though these comments may be to the weaker minded in todays politically correct society, the truth, as always, will out. Gender equality has no place in sport.
They play at most, 3 sets of tennis in a match with equal prize money at the slams .. men have to play 5, now where on earth is the equality in that ?!
Political incorrectness to the extreme
How'd you feel working 40 hours for the same pay as your wife who works just 30 for it ?!!Decrease men's or increase women's