When John McEnroe predictably came out with another tired comment about how female athletes aren't very good, most of the rest of the sound-minded world sighed with frustration.

Thankfully, a certain Serena Williams - who had earlier been at the receiving end of his rather unnecessary nastiness - came out fighting strong. She fought back: "Please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based," before adding like the champion she is: "I've never played anyone ranked 'there' nor do I have time."

Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017

I've never played anyone ranked "there" nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017

Here's how it all kicked off...  John McEnroe came under fire after he made comments about the world number four, saying she would fall to number 700 if she played in the men’s circuit. During an interview with NPR, the former tennis star McEnroe said some fairly controversial things about the women’s champ.

“If she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be, I think, something that perhaps it’s be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower.”

In an effort to clarify his statement, McEnroe said:

“On a given day Serena could beat some men’s players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke because she’d been in it so many times, so many situations. “But if she had to just play the circuit – the men’s circuit – that would be an entirely different story.”

 

This is such a stupid pointless debate every time it comes up. "Hmm, how can I slight & diminish the GOAT in her sport," McEnroe mused. https://t.co/vnPHeBHVm5

— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) June 26, 2017

Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time.  This sentence is one that is used often to describe the 39-time Grand Slam winner. However, that hasn’t stopped many from criticising her over the years. Whether it was her physique or her style of play, Serena has spent far too much time under attack from the general public and members of her sport for someone as successful as she is. In January of this year, Serena won her seventh Australian Open, bringing her total number of Grand Slam singles titles to 23, beating the record set by Steffi Graf. If this win wasn’t incredible enough, she did it while eight-weeks pregnant with her first child. However, this phenomenal achievement still hasn’t stopped people undermining her.

“I don’t want to upset her...I can’t even believe we’re talking about it,” McEnroe says on his comments about Serena Williams pic.twitter.com/tBic4CGnIf

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 27, 2017

While John McEnroe's comments have restarted the tired debate online, this is not the first time this argument has been made by a former professional tennis player. In 2013, Jeff Tarango also said Serena “could test a lot of men, probably seven and a half billion, but Andy Murray is not one of them. He’s way too good for her.” A point which Andy Murray himself disagreed with on Twitter when he said he'd be willing to play Serena.

@tomcarswell1 me too! Maybe we can set it up one day and see how close I get

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) June 25, 2013

And while the raging feminist inside us wants to hit back at these ridiculous comments, we can’t, because that’s all these comments are – ridiculous. These former players may have thought they were being clever and/or controversial, but all their comments were were pointless. Comparing men’s tennis to women’s tennis is completely irrelevant. It’s apples and oranges. With different physicalities comes a different structure to suit the players. The game of men’s tennis is so different to women’s, of course it would be a challenge for someone who has only trained to play the women’s game her entire life. That’s like saying Usain Bolt wouldn’t necessarily be a great long-distance runner – of course not, they might both involve running, but it's a completely different sport. And one person who has said this repeatedly is Serena Williams herself.

Serena Williams on playing against men. Would those criticizing McEnroe argue she has internalized misogyny? https://t.co/mpbBBplCaO pic.twitter.com/RRhDx6xbLT

— Yeyo (@YeyoZa) June 26, 2017

And while many people are angry about the comments, calling them sexist and disrespectful, ultimately while they are definitely exaggerated, there may be some truth to them. However, that doesn't make them any less irrelevant - because it should have nothing to do with the capabilities of a particular gender, rather the groundbreaking accomplishments of an incredible sports star regardless of it. These comments don't diminish Serena's achievements, nor do they lessen the huge respect and admiration we and so many others have for her.

V.F. cover star @SerenaWilliams—world’s best athlete (plus, mom and wife-to-be)—still has her eyes on the prize https://t.co/kvYTrrcPdW pic.twitter.com/zTq6ZGYb4k

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) June 27, 2017