It seemed not so long ago that Richard Williams, proud father, was on TV, extolling the talents of his daughters, 11-year-old Serena and 12-year-old Venus. Both of his girls were future champions, he claimed. And he specifically described Serena as a "pitbull." The majority of attention was on older sister Venus, who would make her professional WTA debut first. But he also said something very telling about Serena and her future:
"She's so strong. And she hits the ball so well with her ground strokes, and her hands are just unreal. Serena will probably be a better player than Venus. That's not to compare my girls, but she will be."
Now here we are, 25 years later, and both women are multiple Grand Slam champions. But Serena's play is next-level. She is the greatest women's tennis player of her generation, and widely considered the greatest women's tennis player of all time. Were it not for Steffi Graf, there wouldn't be a debate.
Pundits wax endlessly about Serena's physical dominance. But that does her a disservice; if physical power was her only upside, someone would have cracked her code by now. What makes Serena exceptional is her mental toughness; she's saved matches, including three Grand Slam wins, that she was one point away from losing.
Creating a top 10 list of her greatest shots is difficult, because Serena is not the type of player who lends herself to lists. She doesn’t pull off miracle plays between the legs or around the net. Her game is based on aggressive, fundamental baseline play, in which she dictates the point before hitting a winner. There are hundreds of plays that are in the running to be her "best." That said, here are 10 standout Serena Williams tennis shots that show why she's queen, in honor of her 37th birthday.