5 Greatest Tennis Players of All Time

Top 5 Greatest Tennis Players of All Time

Tennis training feeling uninspired? There’s no better way to get inspiration for playing tennis than from a list of the top 5 greatest tennis players of all time.

While these lists can get subjective, and the current “greatest” players often change, there is no denying that the following five tennis players are truly great. These pros took their training to the next level and rose to the top.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is perhaps the first name that will come to someone’s mind when another person asks them to name a tennis player. He has won 17 different Grand Slam titles in the Singles division, seven of which are from Wimbledon, which is the most famous tennis competition in the world. In fact, Federer won Wimbledon five times in a row. That alone is a sure marker of amazing talent!

Rod Laver

According to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Rod Laver is the only tennis player to win calendar-year Grand Slams (all four majors) in singles twice, which he did in 1962 and 1969. Even though he only won 11 Grand Slam titles, many people argue he could have won 10 or more Grand Slam titles had the majors opened to professionals sooner. After turning professional after his first Grand Slam in 1962, Laver was restricted from playing in the majors until the Open Era began in 1968.

Steffi Graf

Many argue that Steffi Graf, though she is now retired, holds the claim as the world’s greatest female tennis player. Throughout her career, she won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and is the only tennis player to achieve the Golden Grand Slam. A Golden Grand Slam is winning all four majors and the Olympic gold medal in one calendar year. Graf’s year was 1988.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams, the most recent Wimbledon champion for women, holds 21 Grand Slam titles in singles. This is the most among tennis players active as of April 2016. She has won Wimbledon six times in the singles category, and has quite a few other titles in doubles. Serena Williams is the only tennis player to achieve a Career Golden Slam—when a player wins all four majors and the Olympic gold medal during their career—in both singles and doubles.

Margaret Smith Court

The International Tennis Hall of Fame describes Margaret Smith Court simply: dominating. We agree that there is probably no better word to describe this amazing tennis player. During her career, Court won 24 Grand Slam titles in singles. This is the most in history among both men and women. She actually has 64 Grand Slam titles if you include mixed doubles and doubles. She was also the second female to win a calendar year Grand Slam and the first one to do so in the Open Era. Who can argue with these results?

Tennis bubbles create an ideal training space for tennis, but you won’t get far without inspiration. These players were (and still are) the best of the best, but they didn’t get there by chance. To reach these levels they had to train 24/7, 365 days a year—an impressive commitment to the sport of Tennis!