John McEnroe says Serena Williams would rank 700th in the world on the men's tour

JOHN MCENROE BELIEVES that 23-time Grand Slam title winner Serena Williams would struggle to break the top 700 on the men’s tour. McEnroe, speaking on National Public Radio (NPR) in the US to promote his new book, But Seriously, says that while Williams in the “best female player ever, no question,” the 35-year old would struggle to compete with the opposite sex. “If she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world,” he said before continuing.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be I think something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower.

“And on a given day, Serena could beat some players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times, so many situations at Wimbledon, The US Open, etc. “But if she had to just play the circuit — the men’s circuit — that would be an entirely different story.

Maybe at some point a women’s tennis player can be better than anybody. I just haven’t seen it in any other sport, and I haven’t seen it in tennis. I suppose anything’s possible at some stage.”

Earlier this year, Williams won her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title when she claimed the Australian Open while pregnant. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam events in his career.  None while pregnant.

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