"I would compare her to Steph Curry because Steph Curry changed basketball": When John McEnroe claimed Serena Williams had the 'greatest serve ever'

Serena Williams announced last August that she would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season. Many eminent figures in the tennis community paid tribute to the American in the aftermath of her announcement, hailing her for cementing her status as an icon of the game.

One of them was former World No. 1 John McEnroe, who compared her to basketball star Steph Curry and the influence he had on basketball. While talking about Serena Williams' impact on tennis, McEnroe said that she took women's tennis to another level because of her legacy.

He claimed that she had the "greatest serve ever," even remarking that it was better than many of her male colleagues'. McEnroe drew direct comparisons between Curry and Williams, suggesting that the former revolutionized basketball in the same way that the 23-time Grand Slam champion conquered tennis.

"Serena took it to that next level because she had the greatest serve ever, better than a lot of guys. Unbelievable. I would compare her in a way, the way she changed it, to Steph Curry in a way because Steph Curry has changed the basketball game, everyone is shooting 3-pointers, but no one does it as well as him," McEnroe told ESPN.

"People try to match the power, but that was a level beyond I think any — it took 20 years, basically, the better part of 20 years. And also Serena is not 19 or 18; she’s 40. So, it took that long for, really, people to catch up to her where they can match her. It just shows you how much of an impact she had," he added.

John McEnroe further claimed that Serena Williams' impact on tennis would be long-lasting, inspiring more kids to take up the sport for generations to come.

"And obviously, because in my book the playing field’s more level in the women’s tennis game, the women’s tennis than any other sport, the better athletes generally — and Chrissie (Evert) mentioned girls of color — it’s inspired, obviously," McEnroe said.

"Hopefully, it will continue to give more kids that opportunity to get out there and play because that’s exactly what we need in my book. So the impact is going to be long lasting, obviously," he added.

Serena Williams retired with 23 Grand Slam singles to her name

Williams after her final match at the US Open

Serena Williams played the last tournament of her career at the US Open, where she reached the third round following wins over Danka Kovinic and Anett Kontaveit. Here, she lost to eventual quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic.

Williams retired from tennis with 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, which is the most for any player in the Open Era. She also excelled on the doubles circuit, claiming 16 Majors (14 women's doubles, 2 mixed doubles).

In addition to her Grand Slam triumphs, Serena Williams also won four Olympic golds, three of them in doubles and one in the singles event -- at the 2012 edition in London.