famous tennis players of all time

Famous Tennis Players of All Time

Think about tennis now and the names that come to mind are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, and the Williams sisters. There are so many other greats of this game over the decades, and that's what we will check out, in this article.

"First of all, let me say, 1:15 in the morning, for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. That's awesome. I don't know if I've ever felt so good here before." - Andre Aggasi
Female Greats
Billie Jean King (United States)
12 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 16 Grand Slam Doubles Titles, and 11 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Titles Born in California, Billie Jean King has 39 Grand Slam titles to her name during her 15 year-long professional tennis career. She has won a record of 20 Wimbledon titles consisting of Grand Slam singles, Grand Slam doubles and Grand Slam mixed doubles. She is known for her fight for gender equality on and off court. Founded in 1973 by herself, Billie Jean King became the president of Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in 1974.
Martina Navratilova (Czechoslovakia & United States)
18 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 31 Grand Slam Doubles Titles, and 10 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Titles A hoard of tennis accolades, Martina Navratilova had started conquering the grass since the age of 16. She has 177 career titles to her name which in itself is an all time record (male or female). On 9 occasions this fabulous star has won the women's single title in Wimbledon. This left-handed tennis star was unbeatable in the 1980s.
Steffi Graf (Germany)
22 Grand Slam Singles Titles This former World No. 1 German star, fondly called "Steffi", reigned during the 1990s. 22 Grand Slam Titles and a Calendar Year Golden Slam are the feathers in the very heavy cap of the legendary Steffi Graf. She is the only tennis player in both Men's and Women's category to have achieved the feat of winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and a gold medal at the Olympics in the same year (calendar year 1988).
Monica Seles (Yugoslavia and United States)
10 Grand Slam Singles Titles A contemporary of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles is one of the best and most renowned female players to have graced the tennis court. She was on top, ranking no.1 at a tender age of 17. Her career was marred when she got stabbed by a mentally unstable Graf fanatic at the age of 20. Nonetheless, she returned to court with complete determination, but was not able to continue with the track record consistently. After much deliberation, she finally announced retirement from professional tennis in 2008.
Serena Williams (United States)
14 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 13 Grand Slam Doubles Titles, and 2 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Titles She is predominantly a baseline player, and has one of the best serves in the women's circuit. When in full flow, her power-packed game is usually too hot to handle for most of her opponents.
Venus Williams (United States)
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 13 Grand Slam Doubles Titles, and 2 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Titles Like her sister Serena, she is also predominantly a baseline player, but also has a very good attacking game. Her preferred surface, thus, is obviously grass. Her long reach helps her retrieve balls that most other players would not even be able to get to.
Maria Sharapova (Russia)
4 Grand Slam Singles Titles In the late 90s and 2000s, a star emerged and made a mark. Good looks, towering height and tennis prowess is what characterizes Maria Sharapova even today. This Russian star is a 4 time Grand Slam champion and won the Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Following her French Open 2012 win, she became the 6th woman to have completed a career grand slam in the Open Era, and also got back her number one ranking that she held earlier.
Male Greats
Rod Laver (Australia)
11 Grand Slam Singles Titles Holding the record for the most singles titles, this Australian legend has remained top seeded for seven continuous years from 1964 to 1970. In the year 1968, Rod Laver became the first player to clinch the Wimbledon title in the open era. After winning 36 titles, which is a notable achievement, he retired from professional tennis in 1979.
John McEnroe (United States)
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 9 Grand Slam Doubles Titles, and 1 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Title John McEnroe was a former World No.1 tennis player. He was known for his rivalry with Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. He has won 7 Grand Slam titles (4 US Open, 3 Wimbledon) in his career along with many other accolades. He is known for his brilliant volleying and his on court rivalries with Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg.
Boris Becker (Germany)
6 Grand Slam Singles Titles At the age of 17, Boris Becker became the youngest player to win the Wimbledon title, ever. He has 6 Grand Slam singles titles to his credit along with an Olympic gold. Although, Becker never reached a French Open final, he currently ties the record of reaching maximum Wimbledon finals with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.
Pete Sampras (United States)
14 Grand Slam Singles Titles Turning professional at the age of 16, Pete Sampras showed tremendous athletic skills and a promising future. He has won 14 Grand Slam titles beating the likes of Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe. Pete Sampras holds the record of retaining his World No. 1 rank for 286 weeks, which is the most by any male player in the history of tennis.
Andre Agassi (United States)
8 Grand Slam Singles Titles Andre Kirk Agassi is a former world no. 1 eight time Grand Slam singles champion and is regarded as one of the biggest tennis players of all time. Andre Agassi is the first player (male) to clinch the title of all the Grand Slams on grass, hard and clay surfaces, that is, on three different courts. He is also one of the two players to accomplish a Career Golden Slam; Rafael Nadal being the other. Agassi is now involved in the charity work his organization, Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, undertakes.
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
17 Grand Slam Singles Titles Currently ranked world no. 1, Roger Federer is a tennis prodigy having a record of 16 Grand Slam singles titles. Along with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, Federer also holds the record of winning all the four Grand Slams on three different surfaces. He is the only male player to reach the final of each Grand Slam at least five times. Federer has also attained the record of winning most of the matches in Grand Slam tournaments.
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
11 Grand Slam Singles Titles 'The King of Clay', as he is better known, this former world no. 1 star has won a record seven French Open Championships since 1925. Nadal is the only male player to date to have won three back-to-back Grand Slams on clay, grass and hard courts, that is, on three different surfaces. Along with winning eleven Grand Slam singles titles, he has also accomplished a Career Golden Slam after winning the gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
5 Grand Slam Singles Titles Having 5 Grand Slam singles titles to his credit and becoming the first Serbian national to win a Grand Slam singles title, current world no. 1 Novak Djokovic is the youngest tennis player in the Open Era who has successfully made it to the semi-final stage in all Grand Slam tournaments. Djokovic was awarded the No. 1 seed after winning Wimbledon 2011, on 4th of July, and has been playing some unbelievable tennis ever since. Other remarkable tennis legends include Arthur Ashe, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Björn Borg. In addition to this, the list cannot be complete without the mention of Arantaxa Sanchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Amelie Mauresmo, Marie Pierce, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Lindsay Davenport. In the end, you can only say one thing about these brilliant sports persons, as what Agassi opined, "It's shocking how little there is to do with tennis when you're just thinking about nothing except winning every point." This is where I call it a game, set and match!

Похожие статьи