We need to talk about Serena Williams.

Before I do, full disclosure: I’m a big fan.

That probably puts me in a minority because Williams polarises tennis watchers. Many people I talk to seem not to like her. Asked why, they tend to mumble a lame response. It’s that uncomfortable stuff. You know, “big, muscular girl, not my vibe”.

What they really mean is that she doesn’t fit the blonde belter stereotype that adorns so many tournaments. It’s why Maria Sharapova is the top earner in women’s sport, despite not being on the same planet as Williams tennis-wise.

Sharapova can play a bit, but the head-to-head stats don’t lie. Williams is 18-2 up and comfortably the best player on the circuit. Talk in the week after her Wimbledon triumph suggests she may even be the best of all time.

Williams is different from the rest. She is neither slim nor demure. But she is a lady and she’s fun. I first saw her in the flesh in the week of the Laureus Sports Awards in Monte Carlo in 2000. She was bubbly and effervescent; charm personified. There wasn’t much not to like.

Andy Roddick said the same this week, about how terrific she is, if only people bothered to find out.

She certainly stakes a great claim to the title of best ever, although what the stats don’t reflect is how she got into tennis, starting out in hard scrabble Compton California and then working her way through an almost entirely white environment.

Racism was everywhere and her father worked hard to shield her and sister Venus from the uglier side of the game. It still crops up, like last year when the dim-witted president of the Russian Tennis Federation referred to her and sister Venus as the “Williams brothers”.

Now that she’s got to the top and won 21 majors Williams has to put up with drivel related to body-shaming. The New York Times got into the act this week by digging into the issue, which has long percolated in the sport. The gist of it was that other players on the tour prefer not to mirror her physique.

The article provoked a firestorm.

Perhaps the sharpest comment on the controversy was provided by author JK Rowling in response to an Internet troll who opined that “the main reason for her success is that she is built like a man.”

Rowling responded: “Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You’re an idiot.”

She added a pic of Williams at the post-Wimbledon party looking stunning in a red dress.

Happily, Williams is comfortable in her own skin and she was soon posting pics of herself in a bikini on Instagram. Body shame? Not from her.

This talks to her mental strength, which she so frequently demonstrates on court. There are competitors who can match her stroke for stroke, but when she needs to shift a gear or put the squeeze on, she does so. Her mental game is bang on.

Of course she’s strong too. Tennis rewards power and she’s worked relentlessly on her power game. Muscles are a by-product of hard work. No need to apologise for that.

The US Open is just five weeks away and presents the formidable American with the opportunity to complete an official Grand Slam of the four majors in a single calendar year. The last woman to do so was Steffi Graf, 27 years ago.

(Williams currently holds all four Grand Slam titles, but the US Open was won last year).

Graf is a compelling measure of where Williams stands in tennis’ pantheon. The German won 22 majors, a mark almost certain to be claimed by Williams, who will then be in sight of Margaret Court’s haul of 24 Grand Slam titles.

There’s little doubt Williams will nail the all-time record, but whether she will earn the broad acclaim she deserves is in doubt.

Bewilderingly, not everyone approves of a world class athlete with personality and grace and sass and style. Not everyone approves of a player who is utterly dominant and has set staggering new standards for her sport.

Too bad. Long may she reign. – © Sunday Tribune