‘She’s Got Curves of a Woman’ – When Martina Navratilova Used Quirky Humor to Shut Down Serena Williams’ Haters in Style

Published 07/10/2022, 8:30 AM EDT

Serena Williams, the 23 times Grand Slam champion, is one of the most powerful players in tennis. She has both mental and physical strength. However, while her mental durability received praises. Her physical strength was regarded as an unfair quirk.

When Williams started dominating the sport, no player was close to her level in WTA. People started accusing of her having a heavier build than a normal female tennis player. At the time, the veteran Martina Navratilova stood up for her and took the responsibility of putting such talks to sleep.

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Navratilova in defense of Serena Williams

The 18 times Grand Slam champion herself dominated matches with powerful shots in her career days. Therefore, she understands the way Williams’ gameplay works and finds no issue in it. As she said in a 2015 interview, “Serena Williams is the most powerful tennis player, perhaps ever. I know she is stronger. Well, I am not sure she is that much stronger than I was in my heyday. We’d have to bench press to see who was stronger.”

“Serena certainly hits the ball harder than anybody out there but it takes a lot of ability to hit the tennis ball as well she does. We should not look at it as a putdown. Build like a man? I don’t think so. She’s got curves of a woman.” Navratilova added.

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That year Williams almost achieved a Calendar Grand Slam. She first reigned in the hard courts of the Australian Open and following that she claimed victory in the Grand of clay and grass. Leaving the fourth and last Grand Slam based in her homeland.

How is Williams special?

Williams is the first female player after Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to touch the milestone of 100 victories in a Grand Slam. She achieved the record in the year 2019 on the hard courts of the US Open. In addition, the American legend is just two match wins away from adding Wimbledon to that list.

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Further, Williams has achieved the ranking of World no.1 five times and has held the ranking for a record 319 weeks, which is the third-longest in the history of WTA. Also, the 40-year-old has Grand Slam victories in every category and brought America four gold medals up till now.

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Written by:

Mahima Verma is a Tennis writer for EssentiallySports. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Hotel Management from IHM Mumbai. A sports enthusiast, particularly Tennis since her childhood, Mahima believes that she is fortunate enough to witness the legends like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams play.

Edited by:

Deepakshi Chaudhary

‘She’s Got Curves of a Woman’ – When Martina Navratilova Used Quirky Humor to Shut Down Serena Williams’ Haters in Style

Navratilova in defense of Serena Williams

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How is Williams special?