He didn’t.
Good for him.
While I think saying she would ranked 700th among men is over-the-top, McEnroe’s overall sentiment is correct.
Saying she could qualify as the greatest player ever regardless of gender is ridiculous.
I’m sure there are men she could beat — probably including right now McEnroe, who is more than 20 years older than she is— but that’s quite different than being among the best of the best.
And that’s OK.
It doesn’t diminish her amazing career in any way.
Men and women don’t have to be equal at everything.
The genders have a lot of similarities and many differences. That’s a good thing. It makes life more interesting.
Unlike arguing about stupid things like this.
Here is the full interview from NPR if you haven’t heard it:
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