"Justine Henin's over Maria Sharapova and it's not close"; "Venus Williams' too high"- Fans debate list of Top 10 WTA players ft. Iga Swiatek & others

A list of Top 10 WTA players of this century was created by ESPN which placed Serena Williams on top followed by Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, and Iga Swiatek. Fans indulged in a debate around their rankings, with many questioning the positions of Venus, Sharapova, and Henin among others.

23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Willams and her sister seven-time Major winner Venus Williams were the only two WTA stars in ESPN's Top 100 Athletes of the Century list. Unsurprisingly, they led the Top 10 WTA stars list.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova was placed third with seven-time Major winner Henin in fourth. Current World No. 1 and five-time Major winner Swiatek occupied the fifth spot. Kim Clijsters, Naomi Osaka, Ash Barty, Angelique Kerber, and Amelie Mauresmo completed the top 10 list.

The list was posted by an X (formerly Twitter) account and many fans debated the ranks awarded to the WTA players. The argument was heavily centered around the positions of Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Maria Sharapova.

"Venus is too high for me. Even if I love love love her, I think Justine deserves to be over," one fan wrote.

"Justine is obviously over Maria and it's not close. Even if Maria never doped. She has a case to be over Venus because of the number 1 ranking but V has more doubles slams and more slam finals...," another fan wrote.

"Prime Osaka > Iga," a third fan claimed.

Here are some more fan reactions to ESPN's Top 10 list of WTA players of this century.

"Henin is #2 without a doubt. She was neck and neck with Serena both in slams and H2H before her injuries derailed her. The only player on the WTA tour that wasn’t afraid of her and truly believed that she could win," one fan wrote.

"Basically ranking everyone on slam basis and even that is not correct. Like what is Sharapova doing above henin? How is kerber at 9 and Amlie at 10?" one fan asked.

"Henin won the gold in Athens but never won Wimbledon. She's rightfully behind Sharapova," claimed another fan.

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Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Justine Henin's Grand Slam titles

Maria Sharapova with the 2014 French Open trophy. (Image via Getty)

Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Justine Henin dominated the WTA Tour during the early 2000s. They have won a total of 19 singles Grand Slam titles.

Sharapova has won five singles Major titles including a Career Grand Slam. Henin and Williams have seven Major titles but have not achieved a Career Grand Slam.

The Belgian won four French Open, two US Open, and one Australian Open title, but never won Wimbledon. Meanwhile, the American won five Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles but never won the Australian Open or the French Open.

However, Williams has also won 14 women's doubles Grand Slam titles with 12 of them won after the turn of the century. She even won two mixed doubles Majors in 1998.