You Pick BestYouPickBest

Who made the greatest comeback in sports history?

by YPB Team

A crash, an illness, a ban, an operation nobody comes back from. Each of these athletes was written off, and each returned to win something afterwards. The medical charts are not comparable and neither are the sports, which is exactly what makes it an argument.

  1. Serena Williams — ranked #11
    Serena Williams
    Survived a pulmonary embolism after childbirth in 2017 and reached a Grand Slam final nine months later.
  2. Tiger Woods — ranked #22
    Tiger Woods
    Won the 2019 Masters after four back operations and eleven years without a major.
  3. Niki Lauda — ranked #33
    Niki Lauda
    Raced again six weeks after the 1976 Nurburgring crash that gave him the last rites.
  4. Muhammad Ali — ranked #44
    Muhammad Ali
    Regained the heavyweight title in Zaire after three and a half years banned from boxing.
  5. Monica Seles — ranked #55
    Monica Seles
    Returned to win a Grand Slam title after being stabbed on court in 1993.
  6. Ben Hogan — ranked #66
    Ben Hogan
    Won six more majors after a head-on collision with a bus nearly killed him in 1949.
  7. Mario Lemieux — ranked #77
    Mario Lemieux
    Came back from Hodgkin's lymphoma and radiation to win the NHL scoring title the same season.
  8. George Foreman — ranked #88
    George Foreman
    Regained the heavyweight title at 45, twenty years after losing it.
  9. Kim Clijsters — ranked #99
    Kim Clijsters
    Won the US Open as an unranked wildcard and a mother, two years after retiring.
  10. Bethany Hamilton — ranked #1010
    Bethany Hamilton
    Returned to competitive surfing and won a national title after losing an arm to a shark.
  11. Alex Smith — ranked #1111
    Alex Smith
    Played in the NFL again after 17 operations and a leg infection that nearly cost his life.
  12. Peyton Manning — ranked #1212
    Peyton Manning
    Won a Super Bowl after neck surgery left him unable to throw a spiral.
  13. Magic Johnson — ranked #1313
    Magic Johnson
    Returned to the NBA All-Star Game and the Olympics after announcing his HIV diagnosis.
  14. Michael Jordan — ranked #1414
    Michael Jordan
    Left basketball for baseball, came back, and won three more NBA titles.
  15. Robert Kubica — ranked #1515
    Robert Kubica
    Returned to Formula 1 after a rally crash that nearly severed his right arm.
  16. Petra Kvitova — ranked #1616
    Petra Kvitova
    Won a Grand Slam final place again after a knife attack damaged the tendons in her playing hand.
  17. Andy Murray — ranked #1717
    Andy Murray
    Played on for five more years after a metal hip resurfacing in 2019.
  18. Christian Eriksen — ranked #1818
    Christian Eriksen
    Returned to international football with an implanted defibrillator after a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

#Sports648#Athletes42#Legends375#Comebacks4#Inspiration1

Comments

Emergency caesarean on 1 September 2017, multiple clots in her lungs, six weeks unable to leave a bed, then the Wimbledon final in July: https://youpick.best/articles/serena-williams-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
Make your own rankingAny question with 2–50 answers. AI fills in options and pictures in a minute.Create →Add rankings to your siteEmbed any ranking. Your readers vote right on your page.How it works →