SmashDebate: Who’s better, Maria or Venus?

There’s no question Serena Williams is best tennis player of the modern era. Who is the second best?

For the purposes of this discussion, we’ve limited the options to active players, which undoubtedly leaves just two names: Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova. So who has had the better (Singles) career? Let’s debate…

Related: Can Maria Sharapova win another Grand Slam?

Bede Briscomb: Masha!

There’s simply no way I can win this argument because Venus is seven years older than Maria. With 15 months off from tennis, I expect Maria to go for another five years, at which point there will be a serious case to be made for the Russian.

So for now, I’m running with this: Sharapova has almost six million more Twitter followers than Venus, a very successful candy business, is the first woman to wear a dress embellished with Swarovski crystals on-court and has made like 500+ more appearances on @WTAreactions. That all counts for something, right?

RIGHT?!?

Vivienne Christie: Venus…obviously.

Hey Bede. Fun topic.

You know I love Venus – and there’s endless respect for Maria’s many achievements too. But in all honesty, I didn’t expect to get to the “fun” stuff so quickly. I thought we were talking who has the best WTA singles tennis career outside Serena? Venus, with seven Slams among 49 titles (second only to Serena among active players) is the clear leader.

Briscomb:

Okay, well here’s a few counters:

Maria has beaten Venus five of the eight times the two have played and every one of those times has been in straight straights. While Venus has two more Grand Slams, Maria has a better overall winning percentage than the American. Moreover, Maria has a better winning percentage than Venus in Grand Slams finals. And if it wasn’t for Maria’s suspension, deserved or not, she would have kept her streak going for most titles won consecutively among active players (2003-2015). Oh, and one more: Sharapova has won more matches in the WTA Finals than Venus.

I think I’m starting to convince myself!!!

Christie:

Ah, the suspension! Thanks for bringing that up before I needed to. Let’s not dance around the fact that it dramatically tarnishes Maria’s legacy. Deserved or not (your words) the fact that Sharapova hadn’t kept up with changing rules on banned substances was a shocking lapse in professionalism. You’re conveniently overlooking that Maria hadn’t won a title in the six months prior to her suspension too.

As for the “Maria versus Venus” angle – who cares? This is not a measure of how well they play against each other, but their singles records overall. And talking Grand Slam finals shows Venus as the winner there too: she’s played six more than Maria (who has lost as many major finals as many as she’s won by the way).

Briscomb:

I think it only tarnishes her legacy in that there was a good 15 month window where she could have picked up another Grand Slam (are you telling me she couldn’t have beaten a 23-year-old Garbine Muguruza last year?! Couldn’t have taken the US Open from Angie?) but due to, let’s say negligence, botched it.

Keep in mind that Maria is a competitive animal, a lone wolf who sets herself a goal then stops at nothing to achieve it. Svetlana Kuznetsova aside, Masha is the only active woman to have won a Grand Slam four years apart.

She’s perhaps the most resilient tennis player of all time and she treats every point like it’s for the championship.

By the time Sharapova is 37 I think she’ll match Venus for Grand Slams.

But for now, well, frankly, I don’t have a leg to stand on — unless you liked my Twitter followers argument 😉

Christie:

Well, as far-fetched as it seems now, I admit I relish the thought of a fiercely-competive Maria Sharapova with a couple more Grand Slams on her record at age 37. If nothing else, this debate is a reminder of the gritty competitors who can add ‘longevity’ to the many qualities they’ve showcased in tennis.

I’m not nice enough to surrender completely but I agree there’s a measure in Maria’s many social media followers. Venus’ off-court energy has been directed differently – her interior design business, fashion range and most importantly, in championing for equal prize money for women – but as with Sharapova’s profile, it’s shown that today’s multi-dimensional players are also highly influential.

Let’s end on this note shall we? I’m off to watch world No.5 Venus in the WTA Championships – the fifth she’s played in 18 seasons (did you see her three-hour plus epic with Ostapenko?)

And it must be time for you to catch up on Maria’s Twitter.