10 WTA Stars Who Could Compete on the ATP Tour

There are champions on the ATP Tour as well as WTA Tour. The question is: Can any of these women compete on the men's tour?

The mind immediately goes back to the highly publicized "Battle of the Sexes" match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King in the 1970s.

There have been very few high-profile matches that pitted players from opposite sexes on the court, with some interesting results.

This article's purpose is to identify the women who can not just play on the men's tour, but also compete.

Obviously, men have the physical advantages of height and strength over their female compatriots, but some women over the years have shown tricks that will make the male players struggle. 

Qualities like agility across the court, strong service games and hard-hitting strokes are important traits which could help some of the top women compete against the men.

There are few players from the WTA Tour who can compete on the ATP Tour. Let us look at who they are.

Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo was well known for her strong presence on court that intimidated her fellow competitors.

Her powerful one-handed backhand and strong net play would have troubled most of the men.

Mauresmo's game was perfect for a slug-fest with Spanish master, Rafael Nadal.

Mary Pierce

Mary Pierce had a reputation for being one of the all-time hardest hitters on the WTA circuit.

Pierce could give few headaches to many players with her hard-hitting arsenal, something not many players of her time could boast.

Mary Pierce would have proven to be a really good competitor against any male player of her time.

Lindsay Davenport

Lindsay Davenport had solid ground strokes punctuated with on-spot placement.

After losing 30 pounds, Davenport had the physical strength to defeat higher-ranked players. 

In her new and last avatar, Davenport would have given a big fright to most top-ranked male players of her time.

Jennifer Capriati

Jennifer Capriati was one of the power players of her time in the women's circuit.

Powerful ground strokes and a very good return of service was her characteristic trait that would have been a handful for any player, male or female.

Her quickness around the court meant that she could reach any ball that was hit on her side of the court.

Monica Seles

The case of Monica Seles has been a tragic one in the history of tennis.

Because of the actions of a maniac, the world could not see what Seles could achieve in full flight.

Seles has been credited for bringing in the "power era" to women's tennis, though she fell to a similar dose from the Williams sisters.

Her two-fisted strokes that were hit early were often enough to beat most of her fellow players (including Steffi Graf—no surprise this would have scared the men as well.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams has a powerful attacking baseline game and a Wimbledon record that matches up to Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.

Her reach, service game and agility helped increase her court coverage—a quality that would have helped her against any male rival.

In 1998, 203rd-ranked male player Karsten Braasch played Venus at an age of 17 and defeated her 6-2 in a match similar to the Battle of the Sexes.

One wonders what would have happened when Venus was a bit older and better.

Serena Williams

Serena has a slightly better game compared to her sister with a lot more consistency thrown in. 

Serena's service and volley game is good to test the best, men or women.

If Venus scared her rivals, Serena had the game to psyche them out.

Serena Williams also lost to Karsten Braasch at an early age of 16.

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf is regarded as the greatest women player by Martina Navratilova as well as Billie Jean King. 

In this list, Graf is definitely the player with the most weapons that could challenge the men, whether it was the powerful inside-out forehand drive, her foot speed, a backhand slice or a powerful serve-and-volley game.

The best female player in the world in her time had the game to compete against the best—a surprise that no one thought of conducting any "Sexes" match with her. 

A classic match between Steffi Graf and husband Andre Agassi would be a match to cherish.

Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova played the next Battle of the Sexes match (dubbed as "Battle of Champions") in 1992 against Jimmy Connors (when she was 35 and Connors was 40).

There were restrictions imposed for the match—Connors was allowed only one serve per point, and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court.

Though Connors won 7–5, 6–2, Navratilova gave a good fight to Connors throughout the match.

Surely, the match earlier in their careers would have been much closer.

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King not only won 12 Grand Slam singles titles but also the hyped Battle of the Sexes with Bobby Riggs in 1973.

Always advocating against sexism in sports, King took the opportunity to defeat Bobby Riggs in the match to make herself heard. 

This match ensured that those who did not know about tennis at that time were also attracted toward the game.

A real master!