A New Version of an Age-Old Debate

Once again, a debate has raged that seems to always rear its head whenever a female athlete thoroughly dominates her sport. Billie Jean King dealt with it. Martina Navratilova dealt with it, and now, Serena Williams is dealing with it. Seemingly, whenever a woman dominates her sport, someone will state publicly that the dominant woman could not be a low level male competitor. This type of conversation led to Billie Jean King facing off against Bobby Riggs, and now Serena is hearing the same type of commentary.

Apparently, Serena, the most dominant female tennis player since Steffi Graf, could not compete with the 700^th ranked male tennis player. Some said that Martina could not either; and neither could Steffi. However, they shouldn’t feel so bad because it has also been said that the Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA team that has competed in five of the last six WNBA Finals, winning three titles, could not defeat an average high school boy’s team.

While it is true that men are customarily bigger, stronger and faster than are women, and in sporting events where these attributes are front and center, it could be perceived that men would perform better than would women. However, in certain other sports, overall strength and speed might not be the most important physical traits, and in those situations, it is very possible that a woman could outperform a man.

Tennis is not just about strength and speed. Footwork, shot-making decision-making and physical endurance are vital components to championship tennis. The 700^th ranked man is ranked 700^th because he is lacking in one or more of these attributes while Serena is not. The players on a high school boy’s basketball team might be better athletes, but the Lynx are more than likely a better team, and in basketball, the best team has a better chance of winning than do a group of superior athletes. Also, just because a man can drive a golf ball 325 yards, if he doesn’t hit the ball straight, he will shoot a 5 on par 4 hole while the top woman, who finds nearly every fairway, and hits nearly every green in regulation, might shoot a three on the same hole.

This is not to say that Serena Williams, Lydia Ko or the Minnesota Lynx would definitely defeat most men in their respective sports, but since some sports require things other than basic strength and speed to be successful, it is possible that a woman could defeat a man. It would depend on the sport and the combatants.