Multiple grand slam champion Serena Williams is the greatest black female athlete of all time, according to an American-based survey of over 10,000 people.
Sports and pop culture website The Undefeated, which is owned by ESPN, ran the comprehensive study in partnership with Surveymonkey. Earlier this year, participants were asked to rank 200 athletes on 20 different surveys. They were asked to rate each athlete on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of greatness. The top 60 was then shortlisted and ranked on four factors: overall ranking, dominance, inspiration and impact on society. The average score from those categories resulted in the athlete’s overall ranking.
35-year-old Williams came sixth in the list, becoming the highest ranked female athlete. A breakdown of the results showed found that the former world No.1 scored the third highest rating in the dominance category. Only Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan scored higher.
So far in her career, Williams has won 73 WTA titles. Some of her achievements include 23 grand slam titles, four Olympic gold medals (one in singles and three in doubles) and 319 weeks as world No.1.
Away from the court, she has also been known for speaking out about social issues. The most recent was her call for for equal pay for black women.
“The gender pay gap hits women of colour the hardest,” she wrote for Fortune magazine.
“Growing up, I was told I couldn’t accomplish my dreams because I was a woman and, more so, because of the colour of my skin.”
The Undefeated reported that Williams scored the eleventh highest rating in terms of her impact on society and the 13th highest for inspiration.
In total, three tennis players made the top-50 list. Williams’ sister Venus came 15th and three-time grand slam champion Arthur Ashe was 38th.
Williams, who won the Australian Open whilst pregnant in January, has vowed to return to the sport next year after the birth of her first child.
Overall basketball legend Jordan was voted the greatest black athlete of all time. During his career, he was named the NBA’s leading scorer ten times (1987–1993, 1996–1998). A record that no other player has been able to match.
The ten greatest black athletes (according to The Undefeated)
10) Jerry Rice (NFL)
9) Gabby Douglas (gymnastics)
8) Simone Biles (gymnastics)
7) Hank Aaron (baseball)
6) Serena Williams (tennis)
5) Jesse Owens (athletics)
4) Willie Mays (baseball)
3) Muhammad Ali (boxing)
2) Jackie Robinson (baseball)
1) Michael Jordan (basketball)
