John McEnroe: Serena Williams Would Rank ‘Like 700 in the World’ if She Played the Men

In an interview with NPR‘s Lourdes “Lulu” Garcia-Navarro, retired tennis star John McEnroe said if Serena Williams played on the men’s circuit, she would be ranked “like 700 in the world.”

While McEnroe said he thinks Williams is an “incredible player” who could compete, the 58-year-old does not think she could consistently outplay her male counterparts.

Partial transcript as follows, beginning at the 6:15 mark:

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Let’s talk about Serena Williams. You say she is the best female player in the world in the book.

MCENROE: Best female player ever — no question.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Some wouldn’t qualify it. Some would say she’s the best player in the world. Why qualify it?

MCENROE: Oh! Uh, she’s not, you mean, the best player in the world, period?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, the best tennis player in the world. You know, why say female player?

MCENROE: Well, because if she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You think so?

MCENROE: Yeah. That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be I think something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower. And on a given day, Serena could beat some players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times, so many situations at Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, etc. But if she had to just play the circuit — the men’s circuit — that would be an entirely different story.

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