On Rihanna & Serena’s Unchallenged Excellence

Bad Gal Riri and World Champ Serena are actually greater than we know they are. Here’s why.

Statistically speaking, Rihanna is actually not the greatest female pop artist of all time, and Serena Williams is not the greatest women’s tennis player, either. But, as of this writing, they’re each unequivocally the best in each of their respective fields. In 2001, Madonna — who is statistically the “best female pop artist of all time” — noted that she was “not ashamed of anything” regarding her artistic voice or creative motivations. In taking that standard and mixing in their explicitly black femininity, they’ve disrupted the idea of what it means to be female and iconic, forging a wild and brilliant new standard of excellence.

Madonna is the greatest female pop star of all time because between 1987–1997, she impressively charted 90.9% of her releases in the top 10 in at least one country worldwide. In that same era, Steffi Graf was the greatest women’s tennis player ever, showcasing a “Maddona-esque” dominance over the sport. She won 89% of her Grand Slam matches, was #1 overall for nearly four straight years, and…