WATCH: Bill Simmons' staggering salute to Serena Williams on HBO

Serena Williams status in the sports world and the larger global culture continues to expand, as only it can. In a new piece that debuted on his HBO show, Any Given Wednesday, sports authority Bill Simmons compares her to some of the greatest all-time boxers, including Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, and to other athletic luminaries such as Larry Bird, Roger Federer and John McEnroe. He notes her dominance within her sport itself, including a 16-11 head-to-head record against sister Venus and, by a 19-2 count, a 12-years-strong ownership of Maria Sharapova match-ups.

The four-minute clip ends with Simmons' expectations of Serena late this summer:

"This summer, we need Serena's voice more than ever," Simmons says, in reference to her recent statements about race relations and gun violence toward African Americans. "She has the Rio Olympics and then the U.S. Open, two gigantic forums. The good news is that we already know what she's going to do."

In London I have to wake up to this. He was black. Shot 4 times? When will something be done- no REALLY be done?!?! pic.twitter.com/OaLn60G6nm

"At 34, she's become the Tiger Woods that we never totally got to see: A black prodigy who ruled a country-club sport without ever flaming out," Simmons says earlier in the clip. "Oh yeah, and she's also way more interesting than Tiger ever was."

In comparing her to Bird, and invoking the words of NBA titan Bill Walton to do so, Simmons also notes how Serena plays with "passion, persistence and purpose." While some of her recent major-title runs in recent times haven't exuded precision—her 2015 French Open campaign, when she battled the flu, comes to mind—her tenacity in the face of a challenge is to be treasured. And her 2016 Wimbledon onslaught proved a lesson in precision. A 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory? That's the kind of relentless assault that Steffi Graf and Monica Seles used to bestow on their foes.

"How she transforms stuffy Wimbledon has been especially amazing," Simmons notes. "I mean, the All England Club makes Augusta look like a 2 Chainz concert." Simmons goes on from there, perhaps as only he can: "She doesn't just win, she performs."

WTA TRIO CRACK SPORTSPRO LIST

The WTA was well represented on the 2016 edition of SportsPro magazine's list of the world's 50 most marketable athletes.

Last month, SportsPro unveiled it annual list of the world's 50 most marketable athletes. Once again, the WTA was well represented with three players making the cut.

French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza led the way, entering the list at No.14 on the back of her recent exploits. Joining her is fellow new entrant Sania Mirza and last year's No.1 Eugenie Bouchard.

Muguruza first burst onto the scene two years ago when she inflicted a humbling second-round defeat on defending champion Serena Williams at Roland Garros. Since then her star has grown, a Wimbledon final appearance laying the foundations for a brilliant second half of 2015. The 22-year-old hit her first bump in the road at the start of the current season, before a spectacular return culminating in her Paris triumph.

Viewed by many as the sports next big crossover star, Muguruza has seen sponsors come flocking - BBVA Bank, Maui Jim, adidas and Babolat are among her current portfolio - capitalizing on the decade-long quest to find a female icon to join Rafael Nadal atop the pedestal of Spanish tennis.

Life has not been quite so rosy for the new generation's other great young hope, Eugenie Bouchard. However, following a turbulent 2015 campaign, the green shoots of recovery have begun to sprout.

Success on the court and charisma off it fuelled the Canadian's initial rise to prominence, and now unburdened by the weight of expectation that hung around her neck for much of 2015, she has begun to climb back up the rankings. The qualities that first attracted Nike, Babolat, Coca-Cola and others remain, and her reunion with childhood mentor Nick Saviano is sure to hasten her return to tennis' top table.

Mirza, on the other hand, has had no shortage of success over the past 12 months, her all-conquering partnership with Martina Hingis - the duo have won three of the past four Grand Slams - thrusting her back into the spotlight.

A superstar in her homeland for the best part of a decade, the Indian, whose contracts include adidas, Sahara India and Tata Tea, is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations and was flagbearer at the 2012 Olympics.

Since SportsPro released its inaugural list in 2010, WTA players have been near ever-presents at the top of the pile, Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens all featuring down the years.

Serena Williams plays Superwoman to get her cell phone back

Say you’re out for Chinese food in San Francisco when a stranger walks over, grabs your cell phone and makes a run for it. What do you do?

If you’re tennis star Serena Williams, you don’t wait for the man you’re dining with to play knight in shining armor. You leap up, chase the thief through the restaurant and down the sidewalk, confront him — politely — and get your phone back.

“Omg that dude took my phone!!” Williams, 34, posted on Facebook about her Tuesday night encounter with a thief at Mission Chinese. Alongside a photo of herself dressed as Superwoman, Williams recounted the tale in prose as breakneck as a volley at Wimbledon.

“Not thinking I reacted (hence the superwoman photo) I jumped up, weaved my way in and out of the cozy restaurant (leaping over a chair or two) and chased him down. He began to run but I was too fast. (Those sprints came in handy) I was upon him in a flash!”

The restaurant’s surveillance video showed a bald man in a white shirt carrying a jacket and walking by the four-person table where Williams and a bearded companion were seated across from one another. Williams’ phone and other items were on a chair to her left. The man passed the table, turned, retraced his steps and fiddled with his jacket.

The video shows Williams looking down at the chair beside her and appearing to notice something wrong and standing up. The video cuts to the man leaving the restaurant. Williams is seen seconds behind him. Outdoor video showed her striding up the Mission Street sidewalk and approaching the man, who put on his jacket as he turned to face her.

Williams continued the narrative on Facebook:

“In the most menacing yet calm no nonsense voice I could muster I kindly asked him if he ‘accidentally’ took the wrong phone. He stumbled on his words probably not expecting this to happen. While he was thinking of the right thing to say and eventually he said ‘Gosh you know what I did! It was so confusing in there. I must have grabbed the wrong phone.’”