Chris Bower gave his take on the GOAT debate between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Billie Jean King. He was recently a guest on the ATP Tennis radio podcast.
Bowers is a writer, sports commentator, and tennis expert. He is best known for writing biographies of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
He said that his formula for determining the player’s standing includes numerical achievements (Grand Slams), economic pulling, aestheticism, transcendence, and social impact. According to his algorithm, Roger Federer came first. Serena Williams was second, Martina Navratilova was third, Novak Djokovic was fourth and Rafael Nadal was fifth.
“Federer came top, Serena Williams second and Navratilova over third, Djokovic fourth and Nadal fifth. But they were all within, I think, six percentage points of each other,” said Bowers (at 28:58).
Bowers then added that if he reduced transcendence, social impact, and economic pulling in the algorithm, Roger Federer would slip down.
“I think if you reduce the transcendence, social impact and economic pulling power, Federer slips down. If you if you really boost the transcendence, then the three women rise to the top,” said Bowers (at 29:07).
He believes that either one of Federer, Djokovic, Williams, or King would come out on top if the weight of transcendence is increased in the algorithm.
“I think what I would say is that however you tweak the criteria, if you don’t have your greatest of all time being one of Federer, Djokovic or Serena Williams, or just possibly King, if you’re willing to give a really high mark for transcendence, then there’s something wrong with your system,” said Bowers (at 29:33).
Considering only numerical achievements, Novak Djokovic would be first with 24 Majors, Serena Williams would be second with 23 Grand Slams, Rafael Nadal third with 22 Slams, Roger Federer coming fourth with 20 Majors and Martina Navratilova would be fifth with 18 Grand Slams.
Taking into account only economic pull, Roger Federer would be first with a $550 million net worth, Serena Williams with a $300 million net worth would be second, and third would be Novak Djokovic with a $240 million net worth. Fourth would be Rafael Nadal with $220 million in net worth and Martina Navratilova would come fifth with $25 million in net worth.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic begin 2024 season
Rafael Nadal is back on court after 349 days to play his first singles match. The Spaniard has been given a wildcard for the 2024 Brisbane International. Nadal played against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem and defeated him in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic is busy representing Serbia at the 2024 United Cup. In his first match, he defeated Zhang Zhizhen in straight sets. He then paired up with Olga Danilovic to defeat Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen and gave Serbia a 2-1 win over China.
In his second match, the Serb defeated Jiri Lehecka to level the tie against the Czech Republic. Team Serbia won against the Czech Republic and reached the quarterfinals. They will now face Australia for a spot in the semifinals.
