Evert and Navratilova discuss state of WTA

There are few things better than going in-depth on the state of the game with two players who once ruled it.

And that’s what happened when Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert – who each won 18 major singles titles and combined to produce one of the great sporting rivalries – sat down during the WTA Finals to assess the current crop of WTA stars.

Here’s what they agreed on:

Best serve – Karolina Pliskova (in Serena’s absence)
Best forehand – Venus Williams
Best backhand – Garbine Muguruza
Most improved – Caroline Wozniacki

LANSDORP: “you’re not as dumb as you look.”

Evert believes Venus will retire in 2018, while Navratilova sees Serena returning to win a major. Both see Muguruza featuring in the next great rivalry – which the WTA has arguably lacked in recent years.

While Navratilova was impressed by Daria Kasatkina’s ability, Evert sees Naomi Osaka as being the next young gun to break through.

“It could be a banner year. We could have too many great players,” said Navratilova, who also identified Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Garcia as players who could make even bigger strides next season.

“Again, we could have four different winners of Grand Slams.”