From Serena Williams' serve and power to Steffi Graf's slice: Ana Ivanovic builds her perfect tennis player

Ana Ivanovic has picked Serena Williams and Steffi Graf among others as she created her perfect tennis player.

Ivanovic burst onto the scene in 2004 when she caught the eye at the Zurich Open in a match against Venus Williams. Despite losing to Williams and exiting the tournament in the second round, the Serb gave the American a tough fight.

After finishing as a finalist at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title at the 2008 French Open. This propelled her to World No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings. Despite suffering drastic dips in form after her 2008 French Open triumph, the Serb enjoyed multiple periods of resurgence until she decided to call time on her career in 2016.

Recently, Ivanovic appeared in a video where she created her perfect tennis player. She was asked to choose players based on serve, strength/power, endurance, slice, drop shot, forehand, and backhand.

Ivanovic chose Serena Williams' serve and strength/power, Caroline Wozniacki's endurance, Steffi Graf's slice, and Ons Jabeur's drop shot. When it came to the forehand, Iga Swiatek was her first choice. However, she said that she fancied her own forehand as well. During Ivanovic's prime, her forehand was one of the most feared in women's tennis.

The Serb switched things up as she picked Novak Djokovic for his exemplary backhand.

"Well, probably the best backhand in the world is Novak (Djokovic), so I'm going to go from women to men on that one." Ivanovic said in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

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Ana Ivanovic recently hit the snowy slopes with husband Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger (L) and Ana Ivanovic (R) on "Wetten, Dass ...?" TV Show From Offenburg

Ana Ivanovic married German football icon Bastian Schweinsteiger in 2016. The happily married couple became parents in 2018 when they welcomed son Luca into the world. Since then, they have had two more sons.

The couple hit the slopes recently, and Ivanovic posted pictures of their outing on social media. The former WTA World No. 1's post also featured a caption.

"Evening stroll and picking up my husband from the slopes @BSchweinsteiger #tb," Ivanovic wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Ivanovic also reflected on her early retirement in another recent social media post. According to the 36-year-old, it was the right decision. Replying to a fan asking if she has any urge to return to tennis, the Serb tweeted:

"No, it was the right decision at that time and now I have my beautiful family and still play some tennis from time to time of course,"