Comparing positions of tennis stars in ESPN's 100 top athletes: Murray ahead of Venus

Britain’s legendary tennis star Andy Murray has been placed higher in ESPN’s list of the top 100 athletes in the 21st century than America’s Venus Williams. The media giants recently released a list of the top 100 athletes of this century, which featured some of the best players across different sports.

The list also featured some of the big names from the world of tennis, but two names’ positions on the list might cause a bit of controversy. Britain’s legendary tennis star Murray was placed ahead of the former women’s world number one Venus on the list.

Many would argue that while both are one of greats in tennis, Venus’ achievements are much more than Murray's. The 37-year-old, often regarded as the greatest British player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, won three Grand Slam titles. To go with that, he also won two Olympic gold medals for his country. His first major title was in 2012 when he won the US Open after beating Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic with a score of 7–6(12–10), 7–5, 2–6, 3–6, 6–2. His last Grand Slam triumph was in 2016 when he lifted the Wimbledon title after beating Canda’s Milos Raonic with a score of 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–2).

On the other hand, Venus won as many as seven Grand Slam titles in the singles category in her illustrious career. That’s not it as she also won four Olympic gold medals for her country. To go with that, the 44-year-old also won 16 Grand Slams in the doubles category. Venus’ first major title was in 2000 when she defeated the former world number one Lindsay Davenport with a score of 6–3, 7–6(7–3). Her last major triumph was in 2008 when she lifted the Wimbledon title again after beating her sister Serena Williams with a score of 7-5, 6-4.