She was one of the best female tennis players when she won 18 Grand Slam titles and 157 other titles during her playing career. However, we removed a lot of nuances when we broke the two out and therefore decided to rank men separately from women. 24) Ralph Sampson (Virginia) College Averages: 16.9 points, 1.2 assists, 11.4 rebounds. Ten years ago . During those years, he claimed eight titles at three of the biggest professional tournaments, the US Pro, French Pro, and Wembley Pro. Not surprisingly, the 78 team had some feisty moments. We have compiled this list of 10 best tennis players of all time. He currently sits at No. However, she remained competitive through her later years, even becoming the oldest player on the WTA tour to win a title at 39. 15. Serena didnt return to compete again on the professional tour until 1997 when she was 16, and although it was slow going to start the year, she defeated two top 10 players in November. Andy Lloyd was a Forest Hills quarterfinalist and Butch Newman lost only one dual match in his collegiate career. Join the conversation with other members of the community. He won 8 Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, spent 101 weeks as the world number one, and received over $31 million in . Of course, we had to make the cutoff somewhere, so here are a few additional men worth noting. These character traits, when combined, will produce exceptional, top-tier results, as evidenced by the accomplishments of the coaches and their tennis programs. For as much as people talk about the Big Three or Big Four of this current era, Stan Wawrinka deserves mentioning as well. He has 98 career titles and 20 Grand Slam Singles Title including 8 Wimbledon, 6 Australian Open, 5 US Open, and . Here are the ten best tennis players of all time. He will be seeking his first tour-level win at the Open. 1 ranking in 1974, his strongest year on tour, and held the top spot for a total of 268 weeks. Hes shown that he can play on other services as well, picking up a Grand Slam at the other three a total of eight times. Serena Williams. List of the best men's tennis players from 2000s, listed by popularity with photos of the players when available. With that in mind, let's take a sneak peak at the top 25 South American players of all time! Against Federer, Nadal has an impressive 24-16 record. As a senior he got it right he beat Fred Stolle to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. Outside of singles, Navratilova has one of the most impressive doubles careers in history. Seles started her tennis career early at the age of 14 in 1988, but she officially turned pro the following year, where she won her first title and reached the semi-finals of the French Open, her first Grand Slam tournament. 7. He played college tennis for the University of Southern California (USC) and won the NCAA singles . Stefanos Tsitsipas Tennis Racket What Does He Use? One of the greatest servers of all time, theres no telling what he could be able to do with modern technology to improve his game even more. Home Bracket Singles Bracket Doubles Bracket. Andre Agassi. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for visiting my site. Andre Agassi is one of the best tennis players of all time, capturing the hearts of fans with his flamboyance, fierce competitiveness, and pure. In 73, Stanford was on the cusp of greatness. Serena Williams is one of the greatest Tennis players of all time, male or female. I am a former college tennis player that competed on a highly successful, top-10 Division I team at the University of Minnesota. Billie Jean King. In 1993, Sampras reached the world No. You might find a players ability to compete at a high level for an extended period more impressive than a shorter career, even if one player in each camp ended up with nearly the same number of titles. Graf became the worlds No. If youre looking through the mens singles draw for the 2020 US Open, you might come across some former collegiate mens players 14 to be exact. On the ATP Tour, Tennys has achieved a career-high of No. With the average age of tennis players at the top of the professional game increasing each year - the world's top three are aged 33, 32 and 38 respectively - there is no longer a sense of . However, at this stage in his career, Djokovic is particularly unique in that he continues to dominate and remain healthy, which means hes only going to extend his results and further cement his position as the greatest player ever to live. A. andfor Legend. Top 100 College Football Players Of All Time Quiz - By forrestsancomb. -Search for former college tennis stars on the men's professional tour. Fourteen Former Mens Collegiate Players in US Open Singles Draw. In the Olympics, Roger Federer has a silver and gold medal. As fans, many of us have our favorite players we appreciate for their style of play, how they present themselves, their off-court demeanor, and a variety of additional criteria. . In 1999, Andre Agassi became the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam titles in a single year and the second in the Open Era. When she was 9, she moved with her family (including fellow tennis great and sister Venus) to Florida. Similarly, all of his Wimbledon titles were consecutive from 1976 -1980. Andre Agassi. He finished his collegiate career ranked No. However, her first Grand Slam victory came a few years later at the French Open in 1971, which she quickly followed up with a win at Wimbledon as well. If youve never considered whos deserving as the greatest player of all time, we hope our list at least serves as a helpful starting point, including some of the things worth keeping in mind when making your list. Hopefully, the combination helps explain why we ranked players as we did while providing a jumping-off point for future debate. He made his ATP Tour debut reaching the quarterfinals at 2020 Delray Beach. In 1980, he became world No. NCSA analyzed over 880 four-year colleges with men's college tennis programs across four division levels (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) to develop a list of the Best Men's Tennis Colleges for Student-Athletes.. NCSA Power Rankings are based on proprietary analysis of NCSA Favorites data obtained from the college search activity of the over 3 million student-athletes on . There was USCs 58 squad, led by Perus Modesto Junior College transfer Alex Olmedo, who won the NCAA singles and doubles and led the US to the Davis Cup title. He still walked away from the sport with three Grand Slam titles, and recently made a comeback to continue playing the game he loves. Theres only a handful of players who have done that, and Mats Wilander is one of them. I created a custom vibration dampener thats compatible with all racquets and string patterns. 1 Margaret Court in a small clay court tournament held in Charlotte, NC. Trinity, 1972 In this article, well share our selection of the greatest players of all time, but well also discuss the challenges when ranking and why theyre important to keep in mind. His first biggest win of his career came in 2012 as he defeated Jurgen Melzer in five sets. Although singles tennis is the more popular discipline, playing doubles still carries significant weight and requires a unique skill set that many fans believe distinguishes one player from the next. He has a 16-24 record against Nadal and an 18-20 record against Djokovic. Trinity, 1972 Dick Stockton, Brian Gottfried, Bob McKinley. But it is far from the only thing on coaches' minds as . Toward the end of 2003, Henin managed to find her way to the world No. Highest Ranking. He also won ten Grand Slams evenly spread out among each tournament and holds a joint record with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most runner-up appearances at Grand Slam events totaling 11. UCLA,1971 Its challenging enough to reach reasonable conclusions on the best players without mixing the ATP and WTA tour. A year later, in 1987, Stefi Graf won her first Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, defeating Martina Navratilova, another top player and world No. We dont believe there is a right or wrong answer, but we think its worthy of consideration and, in some cases, can add significant weight to a players ranking as the best of all time. USC was led by Steve Johnson, who won 72 straight matches, was ranked No. Check out the Men's tennis worldwide rankings for 2023, here at ESPN.com. Arguably the best tennis player of all time, Roger Federer has done it all. John McEnroe Tennis Academy at SPORTIME Randall's Island. Despite the challenge, here is my list of the 10 greatest male tennis players of the Open Era1968 to present. Some players have significantly longer careers than others. 1 and a winning 30-28 record over Nadal and a 27-23 record over Federer, and I consider him to be the greatest male tennis player of all time. Ranked 128 in singles, Bradley has achieved so much success while on tour. He made a huge statement winning a pair of titles at the French Open and Australian Open for his career. After advancing to the 2018 Wimbledon finals, Anderson reached a career-high No. Before finishing his career as a Buckeye, Wolf won the school's first ITA Men's All-American Singles Championship and was named an ITA All-American in singles. Led by Dick Stockton, who became world No. In addition to her results in singles, Chris Evert also achieved success in doubles with three Grand Slam titles. Federer owns 15 more titles, over 100 extra weeks as world No. As a result, its common for competitive singles players to pull back on doubles as they achieve more success because the money isnt as crucial, and there is a desire to conserve energy, protect their health, and improve their longevity. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. For example, if player A competes later in their career against player B, whos younger, and most of their matches happen toward the end of player As career, player B arguably has a significant advantage. 5 Point Friday He claimed three Grand Slams and five ATP Masters titles with significant wins against his two biggest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. 7. Its hard to imagine that Rosewall would dominate in todays game standing only 57 tall and under 150 pounds, but he made it work during his prime. She appeared in the semi-finals at the French Open and competed against Venus Williams in the finals of Wimbledon. In the heart of the Depression, a hard-working Paris, Texas boy earned a bicycle from the Saturday Evening Post. Since turning pro, Anderson has won six titles and reached the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open. He might not be the most complete player of his era, but he was a matchup nightmare for all the greats when he squared off against them. Born in Serbia on May 22, 1987, Novak Djokovic is currently my pick for the best mens tennis player of all time. Shed claim four additional titles at the Australian Open and another her final at Wimbledon again in 1980. In 72, four of the eight quarterfinalists Stockton, Gottfried, McKinley and Paul Gerken were Trinitonians. Right off the bat, he was seeing success and making deep runs into some of the worlds biggest tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon. Beyond his success in singles, its also worth noting his accomplishments in doubles, where he had 78 titles, an 87.7% win record, and ranked No. First, the age and timing of head-to-head matchups can significantly influence the eventual record between two players. Nakashima only spent one season with the Cavaliers before turning pro, but he made the most of his time. The number 1 in our best table tennis players list is a Chinese player, Ma Long. You have entered an incorrect email address! She holds 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles and two in mixed doubles. Although there a virtually an endless list of data points one can use to compare these players, weve highlighted a handful of criteria that we believe help showcase why these titans of our sport made our list. Weeks at number 1: 72. Agassi also managed to earn himself a career Super Slam, which he is the only player to hold, and a Golden Slam, the latter of which has only been matched by Rafael Nadal. But they faced off in a dicey semi against each other in the NCAA championships and then had to play doubles together. UCLA, 1965-1966 3 behind Jeff Borowiak, who would become No. Moving on to the list comes the 15 best tennis players of all time with three bonus ones. His two Grand Slam titles in singles only tell part of the story, as he was able to pick up five more in some form of doubles. Born on August 8, 1981, in Switzerland, Roger Federer is one of the most dominant players in the history of our sport with a massive number of impressive stats that will cement him as one of the greatest players of all time. However, with such great emphasis placed on Grand Slams when considering the greatest players of all time, its worthy of reference and consideration. He became the first player from South America to ever win a Grand Slam event on the mens side. Net Worth. Ramanathan Krishnan (born 11 April 1937) is a retired tennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. Its just humanly impossible., 9. USC, 1962-1964 - Dennis Ralston, Rafael Osuna, Bill Bond, Tom Edlefsen, Ramsey Earnhart, Chuck Rombeau. To be clear, we dont perceive one tour as better or worse than the other. Shop official NCAA team and championship gear . In 1988, Sampras turned pro at 16 years old, and not long after, in 1990, he claimed his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, defeating Andre Agassi in straight sets. 15 Best Tennis Players of All Time. He took home a total of three French Open titles, and became an icon in Brazil for his consistent play. If not for Federer, he likely would have won a few more trophies along the way. Jimmy Connors. Roger Federer. The NCAA tennis championships began in 1883 on the courts of a Hartford insane asylum. Roger Federer. Nakashima turned pro ranked No. In honor of the US Open kicking off today, we are highlighting their legendary collegiate careers that prepared them for this moment. Leaving his mark on the college tennis landscape in 2010, Bradley Klahn etched his name in Stanford mens tennis history when he captured the 2010 NCAA Singles Championship. Before the Bryans, the Woodies, and Mac and Fleming, there was Stan Smith and Stanford transfer Bob Lutz. 5/28/2021. Unique to Agassi, he missed out on some golden opportunities to increase his slam count, choosing to skip the Australian Open for six years from 1986 to 1994 and Wimbledon for 62 years from 1988 to 1990. In 2011, he was selected as a member of the USTA Summer Collegiate Team along with his teammate Rhyne Williams. Its worth noting she also competed during a period where many players didnt compete as often in the Australian Open. When it came to team competition, King helped lead the United States to 11 victories, four of which she was the captain. Its perfectly fine to say that Roger Federer is the best tennis player of all time. They were just nails, from top to bottom. In 1960, at the age of 18, Court began playing professional tennis and quickly enjoyed success, including her first major title at the Australian Open, then named the Australian Championships. Skip to primary navigation; . After qualifying at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, Wolf reached a career high ranking of 143. Furthermore, the surface can play a huge role in a players success against another. He finished his career with eight Grand Slams and 109 titles, and he helped shape the modern game with his style of play. He was most recently in the Australian Open quarterfinals. He is currently ranked No. Overall, Nadal has 88 titles to his name, with an astounding 62 of those coming on clay. Born November 22, 1943, in America, Billie Jean King has had a tremendous impact on the sport during and after her retirement. Rankings. Also explosive were the results: They were NCAA champions. Plus John Isners Georgia Bulldogs, Kevin Andersons Illini and recent Virginia Cavalier teams all earned A+s. The Outsider by Jimmy Connors. Despite his record against Nadal, I give Federer the edge in my list of the all-time best tennis players for a few reasons. Thats why some people will put him third. Heading into the 2020 US Open, he ranks No. Below youll find our selection, along with some data points that highlight why these female tennis players deserve to make our list. A great doubles player on top of singles, hes one of the most well-rounded players of his era. In total, she would win 12 Grand Slam titles, including one at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, six at Wimbledon, and four at the US Open. When it comes to the best female tennis player of all time, many consider the case to be closed due to the sheer dominance of Serena Williams in recent years. Not too long after, in 1962, Laver became the second man after Don Budge to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam, winning all four major tournaments in a single year. Your Safe Play Approval Expires in $(daysToExpire) days! 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) Chris Evert was born in 1954; she is an American professional tennis player. 1 ranking and, to date, has held that position for 319 weeks. Before there was the King of Clay in Rafael Nadal, Thomas Muster held the distinction in the 1990s. Although people attempt to remove personality from consideration when narrowing their list of the best tennis players, its often a factor, especially when considering narrowly matched players like the Big 3. Koepfer broke into the Top 100 after his US Open run he was one of six former collegiate players who finished inside the Top 100 in 2019. He was twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961, reaching as high as World No. Wed love to hear from you in the comments below. However, out of all the finals he reached, he only won eight Grand Slams. Her most notable record related to Grand Slam titles was her 1970 performance, where she won all four Grand Slam events in the calendar year. Longevity is another factor to consider. Johnson anchored the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA Team Championships and collected two NCAA Singles Championships for himself. Stefi Graf is third all-time on the title leaderboard with 107 and has a singles career record of 900-115 for a win rate of 88.7%. Three collegians with St. Louis connections made their mark on college tennis Chuck McKinley, Arthur Ashe and a feisty fellow named Jimmy Connors. The year after, John McEnroe earned his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1979, which he defended for the following two years in 1980 and 1981. Evert is the only female tennis player to have won seven titles at the French Open. Jan 9, 2013 . Whether you agree with it or not as a criterion, its frequently woven into arguments of whos the best. Like Rod Laver, Ken Rosewell came along when the Open Era was just beginning. Nadal is perhaps one of the most interesting players to analyze regarding his performance on clay 13 of his 20 grand slam titles are on this surface, and 62 of his total 88 titles on clay. 2. The following year was one of her most impressive, winning all four Grand Slam events and a gold medal in singles at the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. ITA Mens All-American Singles Championship, US Open Singles Draw Features Six Former Women Collegiate Athletes, Coach Masterclass The ITA & Coach Governance, College Tennis In the Community: Teams Give Back In The Month of February, The Power of Community Davidson Kozlowski [Coaches Podcast], Division I Mens Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point February 28. Nadals career started early. At the time, the Cardinal (who would go on to win the NCAAs that year) were ranked #1, Trinity #2. 1 for the first time, which became one of the most dominant seasons of any player in history. For 18 of 19 years Trinity University, with just 1,800 students, was ranked in the top four. However, as those achievements narrow, its natural for individuals to introduce their opinion on various factors that should carry more weight making it more challenging for consensus. Her breakout year was in 1997, when she made it deep into a few tournaments, including the finals of the US Open, where she lost to Martina Hingis. 3. The winner of three Wimbledon championships, he finished his career with six Grand Slams overall. UCLA, 1970-1971 Jimmy Connors, Jeff Borowiak, Haroon Rahim. In a 23 year career spanning four decades, the Swiss has spent a combined 310 weeks at world no.1 and holds the longest streak at world no 1. in Open Era history, having topped the ATP rankings for a four and a half year period (237 weeks) from 2004 to . First, he only played the Australian open twice throughout his entire career. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing mens and womens varsity tennis at all levels NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College. Do we believe player A holding the number one ranking for 20 more weeks is more valuable than player Bs five additional titles? Throughout his career, Nadals most significant rivalries have come against the only two players I rank above him for the greatest male tennis players of all time. Steffi Graf is the only player in history, male or female, to achieve this feat in a calendar year. 10. Passion - 6. 1 in the singles and doubles Oracle ITA Rankings. Jeremy on May 15, 2020: Yet if you lose a top player, all can be lost. Similarly, is it more impressive that a player wins a Grand Slam at the age of 16 or 35? 1 ranking for the first time, a position she held briefly throughout her career for a total of eleven weeks. However, he wouldnt play his first ATP tour event until 2004, and hed claim his first ATP title in 2006. Rodrigues Finishes as NCAA Singles Runner-Up. His determination keeps him in any match. Serena Williams career continues, but injuries have hampered her success and the frequency that she competes. However, he also amassed the single best winning record for a single season going 62-7 for an absurd win percent of 89.9%. In March 1991, Seles replaced Stefi Graf as world No. Monica Seles returned to the French Open a year later after a solid start to the season and captured her first Grand Slam victory defeating world No. Definitely. Dick Butkus. As a result, what one player could accomplish playing tennis in the 1950s is fundamentally different from the 2000s. They promptly lost, but the team went 24-0 and won the national championship, and Mac won the singles. Despite the wound healing relatively quickly, the attack took its toll on Seles, who didnt return to the tour until 1995, resulting in her missing ten Grand Slam events during that time. In the 1970s, Lavers dominance in Grand Slam events diminished due to his commitments with the National Tennis League and World Champion Tennis tours, where he remained dominant. Three Grand Slam titles and 33 career titles only tell part of the story of Arthur Ashe. Stefen Edberg. Of course, the point isnt to diminish the value of any players success at the tournament. Perhaps this is a bit low for some, but its very hard to compare eras that are so far apart. Some, such as prize money and whether they were left or right-handed, are there for fun. Throughout his entire career, Djokovic has had 85 career titles. Roger Federer. Lastly, if a player is consistently engaging in competitive matches and sometimes beating players in the top 300 (in tournament play, not practice) in the ATP or WTA rankings, then they may be ready physically, mentally and technically to play professional tennis on a full time basis. Steve Johnsons collegiate career is the stuff of legends. She held that position for a record 377 weeks during her career, with 186 consecutive weeks, a record she shares with Serena Williams. Potential student-athletes must meet minimum standards or benchmarks for acceptance into their particular school, with GPA, SAT scores, ACT scores taken into account. No other female tennis player has won eight. She holds seven titles at the Australian Open, three at the French Open, seven at Wimbledon, and six at the US Open. Its just a matter of what is weighed most importantly in tennis. 6. Contact Us - Privacy Policy - Affiliate Disclaimer. However, in 1924, the Olympics dropped tennis due to disagreements between the International Olympic Committee and International Lawn Tennis Federation. 3 in singles and collected three Slam doubles championships, they went 36-0 and won the NCAAs for the only time in school history. Giron reached a career high ranking of No. Everyone else, I believe, would benefit greatly from . Required fields are marked *. However, winning a Grand Slam in 2014, 2015, and 2016 put him in the top 25. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the essential meaning of best as: By definition, the word best is subjective. 1 womens tennis player in August of 1987, not long after her first Grand Slam title and final appearances in Wimbledon and the US Open. ***Title totals include pre and post Open Era where relevant. 5 ranking. One of the most challenging elements to establishing a list of the best players of all time is that all of the most accomplished players didnt play tennis or compete at the same time. On the surface, ranking the best male and female tennis players of all time might appear like an easy task. In his final season with the Bruins, Maxime Cressy alongside Keegan Smith brought home the 14th NCAA Doubles title in UCLA history. Ramanathan Krishnan. Billie Jean King is an icon in the tennis world, dominating her field for almost a decade as she won an astonishing 129 titles which included 12 Grand Slams. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. He led his nation to its only Davis Cup final. Goulds takeaway: You never say never, but there is no way a team will ever do what this team did. Without a doubt, Kings most successful years were from 1966 to 1975. He used his size and athleticism to get to the net, and that helped him win six Grand Slams. Nadal: 8. He goes into the event ranked No. Djokovic: 10. 8. A lot has changed in the sport, but its hard to argue that he doesnt deserve at least a little bit of consideration near the top. And he won the singles at the 63 US Nationals at Forest Hills. George Toleys 62-64 USC teams werent exactly that. Track & Field (O) - Men . Stanford's chest-bumping identical twins and all-time men's doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan rank just behind McEnroe. During her career, Seles won 53 titles and ended with a winning record of 595-122. (Skip to the end of the article to view our top 10 list if you have want to save time). John Whitlinger, Jim Delaney and Chico Hagey (who a few weeks earlier had been Stanfords No. 8 - Andre Agassi. Our writers made the case for Djokovic, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer. 11 - Boris Becker. However, despite significant success over the next few years, King didnt win her first Grand Slam title until 1966 at Wimbledon. Many will argue that of the top players, head-to-head performance should carry significant weight. In that case, Federer may have won significantly more titles because he gave up so many to both of these players. Pasarell was a superb player, a powerful political force, and, as the desert prince who created the Indian Wells tournament, a game changer. 1 for the first time, and she was able to maintain that position for a total of 221 weeks throughout her career. Agassi was well known for his rivalry against all-time great Pete Sampras. Despite his success, he had a unique relationship with the slams. In 1896, the inaugural Olympics took place, and tennis was an official sport. 9. Born on June 3, 1986, in Mallorca, Spain, Rafael Nadal has consistently delivered some of the most impressive results the sport has ever seen and is one of the most successful teenage players in history. Venus turned pro at the early age of 14 in 1994 when she played her first WTA tournament. In his final season with the Bruins, McDonald won not only the NCAA Singles Championships, but also the NCAA Doubles Championships with Martin Redlicki.
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