This article is part of our Tennis Observations series.
Jeff Erickson and I invited Scott Pianowski on the SXM show to draft an all-time tennis team. The parameters were five men, five women and four bench spots of any type.
Here are the results:
| Rd | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pianowski | Serena Williams |
| 1 | Erickson | Roger Federer |
| 1 | Liss | Rafael Nadal |
| 2 | Liss | Novak Djokovic |
| 2 | Erickson | Steffi Graf |
| 2 | Pianowski | Pete Sampras |
| 3 | Pianowski | Martina Navratilova |
| 3 | Erickson | Margaret Court |
| 3 | Liss | Bjorn Borg |
| 4 | Liss | Rod Laver |
| 4 | Erickson | Roy Emerson |
| 4 | Pianowski | John McEnroe |
| 5 | Pianowski | Chris Evert |
| 5 | Erickson | Monica Seles |
| 5 | Liss | Andre Agassi |
| 6 | Liss | Jimmy Connors |
| 6 | Erickson | Mats Wilander |
| 6 | Pianowski | Ivan Lendl |
| 7 | Pianowski | Boris Becker |
| 7 | Erickson | Venus Williams |
| 7 | Liss | Martina Hingis |
| 8 | Liss | Billie-Jean King |
| 8 | Erickson | Stefan Edberg |
| 8 | Pianowski | Arthur Ashe |
| 9 | Pianowski | Lindsay Davenport |
| 9 | Erickson | Justine Henin |
| 9 | Liss | Maria Sharapova |
| 10 | Liss | Andy Murray |
| 10 | Erickson | Ken Rosewall |
| 10 | Pianowski | Bill Tilden |
| 11 | Pianowski | Yvonne Goolagong |
| 11 | Erickson | Jim Courier |
| 11 | Liss | Jennifer Capriati |
| 12 | Liss | Maria Bueno |
| 12 | Erickson | Helen Willis |
| 12 | Pianowski | Pancho Gonzalez |
| 13 | Pianowski | Ilie Nastase |
| 13 | Erickson | Guillermo Vilas |
| 13 | Liss | Yannick Noah |
| 14 | Liss | Jane Albert* |
| 14 | Erickson | Althea Gibson |
| 14 | Pianowski | Michael Chang |
* she's my mother-in-law, but really did play professional tennis
Team Rosters
| Pianowski | Erickson | Liss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| M | Pete Sampras | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal |
| M | John McEnroe | Roy Emerson | Novak Djokovic |
| M | Ivan Lendl | Mats Wilander | Bjorn Borg |
| M | Boris Becker | Stefan Edberg | Rod Laver |
| M | Arthur Ashe | Ken Rosewall | Andre Agassi |
| W | Serena Williams | Steffi Graf | Martina Hingis |
| W | Martina Navratilova | Margaret Court | Billie-Jean King |
| W | Chris Evert | Monica Seles | Maria Sharapova |
| W | Lindsay Davenport | Venus Williams | Jennifer Capriati |
| W | Yvonne Goolagong | Justine Henin | Maria Bueno |
| B | Bill Tilden | Helen Willis | Jimmy Connors |
| B | Pancho Gonzalez | Jim Courier | Andy Murray |
| B | Ilie Nastase | Guillermo Vilas | Yannick Noah |
| B | Michael Chang | Althea Gibson | Jane Albert |
