Martina Navratilova has slammed Maria Sharapova after she was included in a Best Player of all time poll alongside the former.

Many tennis fans consider Navratilova to be the greatest tennis player of all time. The Czech-American has a total of 59 Grand Slam titles, the most in the Open Era - 18 in singles, 31 in women's doubles, and 10 in mixed doubles. The 66-year-old also spent 332 weeks as World No. 1.

Moreover, fans also have a lot of respect for Sharapova, and she is also often considered one of the sport's greatest players. The Russian burst onto the scene at a young age and gained the World No. 1 ranking at just 18 years old. She also won five major titles and is one of just 10 women to have completed the Career Slam. The 36-year-old retired in early 2020.

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Navratilova calls list 'a joke'

However, Navratilova made it clear that she doesn't think of Sharapova as on the same level as herself and some of her fellow players.

This came after World of Statistics posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking fans who they considered to be the best WTA tennis player of all time. This was followed by a short list, including Navratilova and Sharapova alongside 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, who was World No. 1 for a record 377 weeks.

Navratilova responded to the post by calling Sharapova's inclusion 'a joke.'

"What a joke- I mean Maria? Really? Don’t even bother voting," she wrote.

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Fans bemoan absence of Evert and King

Moreover, several fans took issue with the fact that the list leaves out tennis legends Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, and Monica Seles, all of whom won several more Grand Slam titles than Sharapova. Evert has 18 to her name, while King has 12 and Seles has 9.

Other fans also brought up Gabriela Sabatini, Sania Mirza, and Martina Hingis as players for consideration in the comments.

Martina Navratilova

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What a joke- I mean Maria? Really? Don’t even bother voting…

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