“Venus at #86 is blasphemous” – Fans furious over Venus Williams’ ranking in the ESPN Top 100 athletes list
Fans were unhappy to see Williams being ranked well below Andy Murray by ESPN.
Follow Us
Andy Murray(L), Venus Williams(R) (Via Imago)
ESPN stirred the pot with the rankings in their list of top 100 athletes of the 21st century. It began many discussions and debates among fans, who all different opinions on the order. With a wide range athletes from various sports worldwide on the list, it was very tough to to find concensus.
While fans were happy with some choices, they were mostly unhappy with the order. Tennis legends Andy Murray and Venus Williams were a part of the bottom half. While the Brit was ranked at No. 80, the American found herself at No. 86.
Williams’ position caused major discussion online, with most unhappy with her placement.
Venus at #86 is blasphemous
One user on X said
Venus at #86 is blasphemous
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) July 15, 2024
Many fans pointed out the difference in their achievements and how Williams had done more for the sport than Murray. They also pointed to the the number of titles won by the two players. Williams has seven singles and 14 doubles titles at Grand Slams while Murray has won only has three singles Majors in his career.
Fans infuriated over the ranking disparity in the top 100 list
The ESPN Top 100 athletes list of the 21st century saw intense many intense debates among fan online. Due to the wide range of athletes on the list, many fans were inevitably left unhappy. A major discussion in the tennis world was Venus Williams’.
Others like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic featured in the top half of the list. This was yet another area where the fans had a lot to debate about.
The way even Andy would probably be like wtf is this.
— Jordan Colon (@_theother_JC) July 17, 2024
and Venus has more gold medals, more singles titles, more doubles titles, more career singles wins… not to mention her and Serena literally revolutionizing the sport… https://t.co/fznuTw5ake
— aidan (@aidanpmahoney) July 17, 2024
Like Venus and Serena are the reason women tennis play the way they do now like how could you
— shawn davis (@Cameron72605840) July 18, 2024
Recency bias, it seems. The last of her five Wimbledon and seven majors came 16 years ago. ?
— Michael Dickens (@michaelcdickens) July 15, 2024
Congrats. This might be the worst thing I’ve ever seen
— ?? (@OGpackersFan) July 15, 2024
ain't no way https://t.co/Z5KagfZoAC pic.twitter.com/ZddeF8zMxS
— opta gayce (@tennisywilliams) July 16, 2024
Venus Williams at only 86 on this list is just offensive. As soon as I saw that I knew this was not a serious list of athletic talent/skill/achievement .
— Daniel Khan (@Daniel_Khan_Art) July 16, 2024
How you got Venus and not Serena?
— Briggs (@theerumphjr) July 15, 2024
Aaron Rodgers??!!
I’ve seen enough….???
Federer was ranked No. 6, while Djokovic and Nadal found themselves at No. 11 and No. 12 respectively. With Federer having won fewer Slams than Nadal and Djokovic, it led to more debates on the importance of titles, logevitity of their careers and their influence on the sport.
In Case You Missed It:
- Carlos Alcaraz, the man with the Midas touch signals a changing of the guard
- Roger Federer ranked above Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in ESPN’s list of Top 100 Athletes despite winning lesser Grand Slams
Stay Updated!
Laxman Naren
(1457 Articles Published)