[alfajeffster]

Who do you think were the best returners of serve in the history of women's tennis- and be objective!

 

[ßcoene]

Who do you think were the best returners of serve in the history of women's tennis- and be objective!

Anna K. , OK she's not the best in the history of women's tennis, but she has a very good return of serve.

I have no idea who is the best all time.

 

[alfajeffster]

My short list:

1. Monica Seles
2. Evonne Goolagong
3. Steffi Graf
4. Serena Williams
5. Billie Jean King
6. Lindsay Davenport
7. Chris Evert
8. Maria Bueno
9. Martina Hingis
10. Gabriela Sabatini

 

[BigB08822]

I put Monica Seles at the top!

 

[ßcoene]

My short list:

1. Monica Seles
2. Evonne Goolagong
3. Steffi Graf
4. Serena Williams
5. Billie Jean King
6. Lindsay Davenport
7. Chris Evert
8. Maria Bueno
9. Martina Hingis
10. Gabriela Sabatini

5 of these players I have never seen play, so I certainly couldn't judge.

 

[alfajeffster]

5 of these players I have never seen play, so I certainly couldn't judge.

Don't let that stop you from finding tapes of them- they're out there!

 

[cool bird]

Davenport, Serena, Venus

 

[alexusjonesfan]

what about cappy? after all, it wasn't her serve that brought her to the top

 

[LindsayRulez]

I agree with cool bird, and I'd have to add Seles to the list.

 

[ßcoene]

what about cappy? after all, it wasn't her serve that brought her to the top

She's certainly worth mentionning.

 

[bandabou]

Serena sure is one of a kind! She´s top 5 in BOTH best servers AND best returners!! Damn, if both the return and the serve are working......that means double baggel baby!!

 

[CondiLicious]

Monica Seles

 

[bionic71]

Evert, Graf and Seles without a doubt.

Other notables - King, Navratilova, Capriati, Davenport, Austin

 

[liuxuan]

On the forehand side Graf without a doubt. Serena and Capriati also have legendary forehand returns.

On the backhand side, Serena and Venus. Seles also had an amazing backhand return.

 

[tommyk75]

Gotta be Seles. She was lethal off from both sides. Chris Evert, Serena, Steffi, and Martina H (for accuracy) would round out the rest of my Top 5 in no partcular order.

 

[mboyle]

Davenport, Serena, Venus

Agree w/ Linds and Serena, but Venus? No way .

1. Monica
2. Lindsay
3. Jennifer
4. Martina
5. Serena (can be her biggest weapon or her biggest weakness. She can miss alot)

 

[Philbo]

Monica Seles pre-stabbing for sure..

Around 1990 -1993 Monica took ther eturn of serve to a new level imo...when she would be down returning it was common place for her to hit 3 or 4 return winners in a row and in pressure situations... 1992 RG semsi vs Sabatini coming from 2-4 down, and against capriati in the 91 US Semis are 2 standout examples that spring to mind...

Serena is up there also, as is Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova - her returns may not have been winners but her chip and charge etc was lethal and put opponents under huge pressure on the 2nd serve...

Graf's forehand was okay, but her backhand return was a weakness that Nav was able to exploit...

 

[Ballbuster]

Serena!

All you have to do is look at the first two balls hit during that semifinal.

Serena hit a winner off Kim's first serve. One of my favorite all time moments.

 

[Vegetable]

Seles was a return demon in her prime. She saw it so well that her return was always extremely dangerous, even later in her career.

 

[oggie]

Monica for sure. Her style is perfect for big returns. Short backswing (due to to both hands on the racquet) allows her to hit winners off big returns and her angles are amazing. Another thing that I love about her return is her consistency. It is like every time she goes for all or nothing, but rarely ever misses.