Who Is the Best Tennis Player Ever?
The debate on "who is the best tennis player ever" is never-ending. In this story, we've compiled a list of top 10 tennis players, all considered great in their own right.
Image Credits: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The debate over who is the greatest tennis player of all time is a never-ending conversation. Some argue it's Roger Federer, while others believe it's Rod Laver. The current generation often picks Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal as the GOATs. To add to this discussion, we've put together a list of the top 10 tennis players of all time, presented in no particular order.
Novak Djokovic
Image Credits:Luke Hales/Getty Images
When talking about tennis greats, Novak Djokovic is probably the first name that comes to mind, along with Federer and Nadal.
He has been ranked No. 1 in the world for an incredible 428 weeks, more than any other player in history. Not only has the Serbian held the top spot for such a long time, but he's also finished as the year-end No. 1 a record eight times.
But what's even more impressive than that is that he has won 24 Grand Slam men's singles titles, the most by any player. This includes a whopping 10 Australian Open titles, the most by anyone.
In total, he has won 99 singles titles to date, which include his 24 major wins, 40 Masters titles, seven year-end championships, and two Olympic medals. He won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics (singles) and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (doubles).
Djokovic’s rivalry with Rafael Nadal is often considered the best in tennis history.
Rafael Nadal
Image Credits: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo, on his newly launched YouTube channel, tasked himself with choosing one between Rafael Nadal and Djokovic. But even against the rules of the "this or that" game Ronaldo was playing, he ended up choosing both Nadal and Djokovic. It's always been difficult to decide who between the two greats is better.
Nadal was ranked as the world's best player for 209 weeks and finished the year as the top player five times. Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam Singles titles - the second-most by anyone, including 14 French Open titles, the most by anyone.
In total, he has won 92 top-level singles titles, including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal. He is one of only three men ever to win all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold, known as the Career Golden Slam. He has also helped Spain win the Davis Cup title five times (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019).
Additionally, the Spaniard holds the record for the longest winning streak on a single surface, with 81 consecutive victories on clay.
Roger Federer
Image Credits: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images
One of the greatest tennis players ever, Swiss legend Roger Federer's list of records is long, but we'll list down a few top ones for you.
Federer has won the third-most Grand Slam singles (20). This includes eight Wimbledon titles, the most by any male player, and five US Open titles - the joint-most with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic.
Federer, who was ranked world no.1 for 302 weeks, won a whopping 65 consecutive matches on grass between 2003 and 2008.
Overall, he has 103 singles titles, the second-most in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors' 109. At the Olympics, Federer won a gold in men's doubles in 2008, and a silver in men's singles in 2012.
He retired from professional tennis in 2022 after the end of the Laver Cup.
Andre Agassi
Image Credits: Robert Riger/Getty Images
Andre Agassi, once the world’s top-ranked player, excelled across all surfaces - hard, clay, and grass - during his 21-year career. The American tennis great won eight major titles, making him one of the five men to complete a Career Grand Slam, having won all four of the sport's biggest tournaments in a year.
Agassi was particularly impressive at the Australian Open, where he clinched four titles in 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2003. His other Grand Slam victories include the French Open in 1999, Wimbledon in 1992, and the US Open, which he won twice in 1994 and 1999. Furthermore, he won an Olympic gold medal in 1996.
In 1999, Agassi achieved something no man had before him - completing both the Career Golden Slam and the Career Super Slam. Among his other noted achievements are 17 Masters titles and three Davis Cup victories with the United States in 1990, 1992, and 1995. Agassi’s fierce rivalry with Pete Sampras is considered one of the greatest in the sport’s history. The now 54-year-old retired after the 2006 US Open due to persistent injuries.
Pete Sampras
Image Credits: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Pete Sampras, another American legend in tennis, was renowned for his dominant serve-and-volley style. Over his illustrious career, Sampras won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, excelling particularly at Wimbledon, where he won seven times.
Sampras also won two Australian Open titles and five US Open titles. His win at the 2002 US Open, which marked his final tournament, was especially significant as he defeated his longtime rival Andre Agassi in the final.
He won 64 ATP Tour-level singles titles and his record 286 weeks as the world No. 1 is an achievement surpassed only by Djokovic and Federer. Additionally, he finished six consecutive years as the year-end No. 1 from 1993 to 1998, a record that remains unbeaten to this day.
Rod Laver
Image Credits: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
World no. 1 for five years from 1965 to 1969, former Australian tennis pro Rod Laver won a total of 198 singles titles, which is the most by anyone in the sport's history.
Winner of 11 Grand Slam Singles titles, including four wins at Wimbledon and three at the Australian Open, Laver was also a part of the Australian team that won five Davis Cup trophies. In 1967, he won all three pro majors in one year, while also winning all four singles Grand Slams twice - in 1962 and 1969. Laver retired in 1976 at the age of 38. The Laver Cup, and the Lord Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, after named after the Australian great.
Jimmy Connors
Image Credits: Bettmann//Getty Images
Jimmy Connors, former American tennis player, enjoyed a largely successful career for 24 years. While he couldn't achieve a career Grand Slam, Connors has several tennis records under his belt.
One of his top records is winning 109 singles titles, including eight major singles title - five US Opens, two Wimbledon, and one Australian Open. World no. 1 for 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a total of 268 weeks through his long career, Connors was known for his aggressive style of play. He was also a part of the American Davis Cup winning team in 1976, 1981, and 1984.
Connors retired in 1996 at the age of 43, after playing 1,532 matches, of which he won 1,254. Post-retirement, he has coached players like Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova while also turning into an author with his autobiography titled "The Outsider".
Bjorn Borg
Image Credits: Allsport UK/ALLSPORT
Swedish tennis pro Bjorn Borg is the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles, a feat he achieved between 1974 and 1981. This includes six French Open titles, four of which he won on a trot, and five consecutive Wimbledon titles.
His five Wimbledon titles are the third-most in history, only behind Roger Federer (eight titles) and Pete Sampras (seven titles). Borg won three of his 11 major singles without losing a set. Among several of his other major records include winning 41 consecutive matches from 1976 to 1981.
The two tournaments that he never won were the US Open, where he finished as the runners-up four times, and the Australian Open, which he only played once in 1974. ATP Player of the Year from 1976 to 1980, Borg took the tennis world by surprise when he announced retirement at the age of 25 in 1981. However, he made a brief comeback in 1991.
Roy Emerson
Image Credits: Bettmann//Getty Images
Roy Emerson, one of the best tennis players from Australia, was the first male player to win 12 Grand Slam singles titles, a record he held for three decades. This massive achievement was eventually surpassed by Pete Sampras in 2000.
He is the only male player to have completed a career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles, winning titles at all four Grand Slam events in both disciplines. He dominated the Australian Open like few others, winning six men's singles titles, a record that stood until Djokovic claimed his seventh in 2019.
In total, Emerson won 28 major titles - 12 in singles and 16 in doubles - most by any male player. He was also a member of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup eight times.
John McEnroe
Image Credits: Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images
America's John McEnroe, who turned pro in 1978 and retired in 1992, won a total of 155 titles - the most across disciplines in the Open Era. The tally of 155 titles includes 77 singles titles, 77 doubles titles, and a mixed-doubles title. This makes him the only male player to win more than 70 titles in both singles and doubles.
McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles - three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open. In 1984, he played 85 singles matches and won 82 of them, only losing 3. This gave him a winning percentage of about 96%, making it the best single-season record in tennis in the Open Era. He also won five Davis Cup titles with the U.S. team.
Umaima Saeed is a professional sports writer whose articles have been featured in several leading websites. She writes long-form content on sports, particularly cricket. She has a penchant for telling human-interest stories. Umaima has contributed articles on cricket to more than a dozen publications, both in print and online.