A List Of The Most Successful Tennis Players Of All Time
The last 15 years have been one of the golden ages of tennis. We have been blessed enough to watch nearly 10 world-class players compete against each other. All of these players would have completely dominated their own decade if they had been born at any other time.
We may never see the likes of this again.
Today, we are going to look at the players, both male and female, who have won the most Grand Slam titles in their careers.
15 years ago, this list looked very different. But now, these numbers make it clear that some of the players playing and retiring this year are the greatest of all time. If Tennis wasn't such a sophisticated sport, we might even call them the G.O.A.Ts.
Note - this list only includes singles titles.
#5 - Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic - 20 Titles Each
- Federer - Australian (6), French (1), Wimbledon (8), U.S (5) + Olympic gold Doubles
- Djokovic - Australian (9), French (2), Wimbledon (6), U.S (3)
It really does feel like a crime against tennis to make these two share a spot on this list. But we couldn't skip over one of them or leave them off the list.
Federer and Djokovic might be two of the most iconic names in tennis but their styles are so different.
Djokovic is a hard-working, powerful tennis player who dominates games. Many players fall apart just thinking about playing against him. He also has a reputation for being the bad boy of tennis. Which has only been made worse after his vaccine scandal and deportation from Australia.
Federer on the other hand is the epitome of class. People often say that experts make their jobs look simple. Federer makes tennis look so effortless and enjoyable that you believe you could do it yourself.
For the last 15 years, he has been a perfect ambassador for the sport.
#4 - Rafael Nadal - 21 Titles
- Australian (2), French (12), Wimbledon (2), U.S (4) + Olympic gold Doubles and Singles
Rafael Nadal is the undisputed champion on the clay court. Nadal has won the majority of the French Open tournaments in the last 15 years, and he took a few years off with a knee injury. Rafa is the favorite to win the tournament again this year.
He has also been dominant in many of the clay tournaments leading up to the French Open - including Madrid, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona.
Until the start of this year, Rafa, Federer, and Djokovic all had 20 titles, but Nadal won the Australian Open this year and overtook them. Federer didn't play and Djokovic was deported for lying about getting his covid vaccine.
Rafa could have made his way further up this list by the end of this year.
#3 - Steffi Graf - 22 Titles
- Australian (7), French (3), Wimbledon (7), U.S (6) + Olympic gold in Singles
You're probably thinking, wait we've only just got to number 3 on this list and we have already covered The Big Three?
Well, thanks to the way the media covers tennis, many people don't realize that when it comes to Grand Slam titles, the ladies well and truly have the men beat.
First up is Steffi Graf, who played between 1987 and 1999. She won 89% of the games she played during this time. In 1988 she won all 4 Grand Slam titles in one year.
#2 - Serena Williams - 23 Titles
- Australian (4), French (6), Wimbledon (7), U.S (5) + Olympic gold in Doubles (3 TIMES) and Singles
On top of winning 23 Single Grand Slam titles, Serena also won 15 Doubles Grand Slam titles. This makes her the most successful tennis player of all time without a doubt. She has also won more Olympic gold medals than any other tennis player.
Williams might be one of the most impressive athletes of all time. She went professional in 1995 and has been competing at the highest level since then. She has spent nearly 400 weeks as world number one. She took time off to have a baby and came back to win more Grand Slam titles.
Serena won all 4 Grand Slam titles from 2002 to 2003.
Williams did all of this while battling racial abuse and constant sexism in the world of tennis.
#1 - Margaret Court - 24 Titles
- Australian (11), French (5), Wimbledon (3), U.S (5)
Court also has 40 Doubles Grand Slam titles to her name. In her era she was dominant and no one could compete with her. Court won all 4 Grand Slam titles in 1970.
Court played most of her career outside of the Open Era (when they allowed professional tennis players to enter the Grand Slam tournaments). She spent the majority of her career as an amateur.
Court competed from 1959 through to 1977 and she only retired from tennis because she needed to give birth to her fourth child.
