Top 10 Greatest Men’s Tennis players of all time

Tennis, as a sport has a very rich history. Played for more than a century, the sport has seen some of the best talents over different time spans, be it the professional era or the open era. The sport has been home to many legends and with globalization, it has gained a lot of popularity and a fanbase. From Rod Laver back in the 60s to the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, let’s take a look at the Top 10 Men’s tennis players to have played the sport.

#10 John McEnroe

Now a tennis commentator and analyst, John McEnroe was one of the best players of his generation. He finished his career in 1994 with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles and holds the record for most combined titles in tennis history. He has also attained the No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles. He has 7 grand slam titles to his name- 4 at US Open and 3 at Wimbledon.

#9 Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors ruled the tennis world in the 70s and is a former World No.1. 160 He was the No.1 player for 160 consecutive weeks, which was a record back then from 1974 to 1977, and was the World No.1 for 268 weeks. He won 8 grand slam titles in his career which included a title triumph at the Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon titles, and a record 5 US Open titles. He also became only the second man in 1974 to win three major titles in a year.

#8 Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl, a former World No.1, was a Czech tennis star who later obtained American citizenship. He was at the top of the ranking for a mammoth 270 weeks and has 8 grand slam titles to his name. He won the Australian Open twice, the French Open thrice, and the US Open thrice. He has won a total of 94 career titles and has 19 grand slam finals to his name. He also has a record 9 consecutive appearances in the year-end ATP Finals, out of which he won the title 5 times.

#7 Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg was a teenage prodigy who took the tennis world by storm in the 70s. The former World No.1 holds the record for the 8th most titles in the open era and became the first man in tennis history to win 11 grand slam titles which included 6 French Open triumphs and 5 titles at Wimbledon. Despite not winning a major on hard courts, he is considered a magician on the court, and along with Roger Federer, he is the only player to appear in French Open and Wimbledon finals for four consecutive years.

#6 Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi was a force to reckon with in the 90s. The American brought charisma to tennis and had a huge fan following. He attained the No.1 ranking in 1995 and has 60 career titles to his name. He has completed a career grand slam and has 8 grand slam titles to his name- 4 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, and 2 US Open. He also has an Olympic gold to his name which he won on home soil in Atlanta in 1996.

#5 Rod Laver

Rod Laver is widely considered the first ‘poster boy’ of tennis. He has won 11 grand slam titles out of which 5 have come in the open era. He is the only man in tennis history to complete the calendar grand slam twice and is only the third player along with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to have won each grand slam at least twice. He has won 28 career titles which included 3 Australian Open titles, 2 French Open triumphs, 4 Wimbledon wins, and 2 US Open titles.

#4 Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras is considered to be the greatest player to have not completed the calendar slam. He has a total of 14 grand slam titles to his name which was a record when he retired. Out of those 14, he won Wimbledon 7 times which was again a record when he retired, 5 US Open triumphs, and 2 titles at the Australian Open. He was the World No.1 for 286 weeks which puts him third in the all-time list behind Federer and Djokovic.

#3 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, the youngest member of the Big-3, finds himself at the third spot. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest given his dominance over the last few years. He has won 20 grand slam titles and became only the second player in the open era in 2021 to have won each grand slam at least twice. He also holds the record for most weeks as the World No.1 at 367 weeks. He is also the only man in history to complete the career Golden Masters, which he has done twice. He is the leader in the all-time prize money earned on tour and has a whopping 86 career titles to his name including a record 37 Masters titles.

#2 Roger Federer

Roger Federer, who man debate is the GOAT, finds himself at the No.2 spot on this list. Federer is credited to have popularized and globalized the sport like no one else with his consistency and charisma on the court. He led the most majors list for over 15 years and has 20 grand slams to his name. He has won a record 8 Wimbledon titles, a joint-record 5 US Open titles, 6 Australian Open, and 1 French Open triumph. He records 103 titles to his name and has been at the No.1 spot for 310 weeks, including a record of 237 consecutive weeks.

#1 Rafael Nadal

With a record 21 grand slam titles to his name, Rafael Nadal is probably the greatest player ever to have played the sport. He has a record 13 French Open crowns, 4 US Open titles, and 2 titles each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He is known as the ‘King of clay’ due to his dominance on the red dirt. He has won 91 ATP titles with 62 of these on clay.

His 81-match winning streak on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era. Beating Nadal on clay, especially at the French Open, is widely considered the toughest task to achieve in all sports. He is also one of only two men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. Nadal has battled through injuries all his life and despite that, he has managed to stay at the top. He hasn’t left the Top 10 ever since he entered back in 2005.

Also read: ‘What about other countries?’ Ons Jabeur condemns the mixing of ‘politics and sports’ by Wimbledon

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