The 6 Biggest Rivals Of Serena Williams

If Agnieszka Radwanska can produce the best tennis in her life in the next two-three years, she could be Serena's biggest rival...

- Niji NG

Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Samantha Stosur, and Angelique Kerber. What is common among these five players?

Well, they are the five players who have defeated Serena Williams in a grand slam final. Only five players have scaled Mount Serena in a grand slam final over nearly 16 years. Venus did that twice: in 2001 and 2008. Sharapova managed it in 2004. Stosur defeated her in the 2011 US Open final. And Kerber defeated her in the recently concluded Australian Open final.

Serena has reached 26 grand slam finals and won 21 of them. It is a stunning achievement for any player in any era. The big question now is this: can she maintain this record? The fate is not just in the hands of Serena, who has not really shown any age-related slowness or weariness. A great deal depends on her rivals too. Who can tame Serena Williams? This article offers a list of potential candidates.

A REALITY CHECK

Among the players who have beaten Serena, her sister Venus has faded so badly that she is only a pale shadow of her past self. Nobody will bet on her against Serena. Sharapova has been caught for doping. Jankovic is 31 now and is not in any shape to challenge Serena. The same is the case with Stosur too. That leaves only Kerber with any active chance of beating Serena in a grand slam final from within the club of those who have been there and done that. But the 28-year-old German player, who has been toiling in the professional circuit without much success for over a decade, is likely to struggle to replicate her unexpected success in the Australian Open.

Lack of high quality opponents gives Serena an automatic advantage in retaining her supremacy in women’s tennis. But she is up against a relentless foe who has tamed even better player. Time stops for nobody, not even for Serena Williams. And therein lie the hopes of the following players: the Serena chasers.