John McEnroe, Rafa Nadal Pay Tribute To Serena Williams, Say She’s On Par With Michael Jordan, Tom Brady

Serena Williams’ tennis career is winding down and the tributes are rolling in.

Both John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal have paid tribute to the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion as she gets set to play her final two tournaments before retirement.

Serena is set to face defending U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in her first match Tuesday in Cincinnati and will then wind down her career at the U.S. Open in New York beginning Aug. 29.

McEnroe, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and one of the major voices in tennis today, said Serena’s historic career puts her on a par with legends like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady.

“Serena’s the greatest female athlete, to me, in the history of sports,” he told Fox News Digital. “I don’t care who you could come up with. She’s one of the greatest athletes period – male or female. She’s put herself along the likes of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, whoever you wanna say … She’s 40 years old. She’s done everything in tennis. She’s got nothing to prove.”

He added: “It sounds like she wants to have more kids, awesome. She’s got a lot of other interests. People want to be a part of what she’s doing. She’ll be doing just fine. We were sort of expecting this to happen. She wanted to win a couple more [majors], one or two more, break the all-time record, win a couple after having her daughter. That doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen but that, to me, doesn’t take away that she’s the greatest of all time.”

Williams, 40, remains one shy of Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 major singles titles and unless she wins the Open next month, she will finish her career shy of that mark. Still, she is widely regarded as the GOAT of women’s tennis — and one of the greatest athletes — male or female — of all time.

“To me, her legacy is already sealed,” ESPN analyst Chris Evert said during the 2021 telecast of Williams’ match at Wimbledon. “If she never wins another Grand Slam, if she never matches Margaret Court, [it] doesn’t matter. She’s still the greatest.”

Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s, retired for the final time when he was 40. Brady, who has won seven Super Bowls, is still playing at 45.

Venus Williams, who does not have a family and is still active on the WTA Tour, is 42.

Serena pointed out in the Vogue article announcing her retirement that if she were a man, she wouldn’t have to choose between her career and her family.

“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote. “I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”

“Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia,” she said, adding that she was “one of those annoying women who adored being pregnant.”

Nadal, who has won 22 major singles titles and is seeking to tie Serena at 23 at the U.S. Open, is also in Cincinnati this week and will play his first match Wednesday after dealing with an abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw ahead of his Wimbledon semifinal with Nick Kyrgios.

Speaking of Serena with a smile, he said, “Plenty of memories. She is one of the greatest sports [people] of all time. I feel lucky to share a tour for a long period of time with her.

“Of course, from a selfish point of view it’s sad that she’s leaving the tour but, on the other hand, we can’t thank her enough for all the things that she did for our sport.”

The Spaniard added: “I think she’s an amazing inspiration for a lot of people around the world and I think she deserves to choose whatever works for her better at this stage off her life. So I wish her all the best.”