2 thoughts on “The 100 Greatest Tennis Players of All-Time”

1. 

   Hi Jake,

   I think this might be the list of yours that I agree with most! It has a modern tilt, which I’m fine with given how much standards have improved, but gives a nice nod to champions of the past. Just a couple of questions. I’m wondering, having recognized Wills-Moody at number 7, whether Lenglen at number 20 is a bit low. It’s not evident from my reading that there is consensus that Moody really moved the game on from Lenglen, who of course won their only meeting. No doubt, Moody won more Slams and I agree with her being higher, I just think perhaps Lenglen should be a few spots closer to her. The other question is on Molla Mallory. You have her as a lineal goat (I love that feature of your lists btw!) but you have her below Lottie Dodd (who she supplanted) on your overall list?

   1. 

      Lenglen had an elite peak, so I understand the sentiment. The reason for the gap between Wills-Moody and Lenglen is twofold: 1). Even a small difference between two players from the most competitively weak eras *should* see a sizeable gap on a list that includes 100+ years worth of athletes and 2). Wills-Moody’s activity and longevity gives us so many more data points than what we have on Lenglen. FYI–when you see two players from the same era right next to each other in the rankings, it’s an indication that separating the two proved to be quite difficult. My biggest focus on all of these lists is to get the ordering right within eras first. I’m less concerned with inter-era comparisons simply because of the sheer number of factors that need to be considered. When I say “less concerned,” I don’t mean that I don’t care. Rather, I’m more open to different perspectives. Moving Lenglen up a few spots is a reasonable take since it doesn’t affect the intra-era rankings. FWIW, I have her behind Clijsters because I think 4 majors and 8 finals in the 2000s is more impressive than what Lenglen did given how comparatively weak her competition was.

      Great catch on Dod/Mallory. I’ll need to fix that discrepancy at some point.