Darrell Davis: Who's the best ever?

Serena Williams has proclaimed herself the best ever.

Williams has never had a problem with self-confidence.

Nor is there much debate that she’s the best female tennis player of all time. Maybe even the most impressive tennis player ever – male or female.

But saying that if she were male, she would already be considered the best athlete ever…well, that’s too much.

She might not even be the best female athlete ever: Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Althea Gibson would be tough for Williams to knock off the podium.

The best athlete should be the strongest, or the fastest, or somehow physically and mentally superior to everyone. This isn’t a sexist statement, but a physiological one: Males are bigger, stronger and faster, so a male has to be the best athlete of all time. Who would that be? Bo Jackson? Michael Phelps? Jim Thorpe? Lionel Conacher? Michael Jordan or Jim Brown?

It’s an ongoing debate. Williams is part of the discussion, but she’s not the best ever.