Archie Griffin #3. This article lists the tennis players who have won the most tour-level professional tournament titles since the Open Era began in 1968. Trying to figure out the 25 greatest tennis players of all time can seem like a daunting task for a lot of people out there. 5 player Peter Rennert would reach No. To be clear, we dont perceive one tour as better or worse than the other. She holds an astounding 177 career titles, including 31 Grand Slam victories. Plus John Isners Georgia Bulldogs, Kevin Andersons Illini and recent Virginia Cavalier teams all earned A+s. 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. 15 Best College Players Of All Time | 2022 Ranking - Kiiky In 2011, he was selected as a member of the USTA Summer Collegiate Team along with his teammate Rhyne Williams. 1, and she held that position for 178 weeks throughout her career. J.J. Wolf was a force to be reckoned with for the Buckeyes. Although her career has slowed, Venus Williams competes in a limited number of tournaments on the WTA tour and has not yet made it clear when she intends to retire. Greatest U.S. Men's Tennis Players of All Time | Stadium Talk He made a huge statement winning a pair of titles at the French Open and Australian Open for his career. The Best Tennis Players Of All Time - The Tennis Trend 120 of the Best Tennis Books | Hand-picked Favorites During his career, John McEnroe was also highly successful at the Davis Cup, where he helped revive the United States. Roger Federer. 7 in the world, and the injured Pat Dupre, who reached the 79 Wimbledon semis, were out. Kwiatkowski capped off a legendary collegiate career by winning the NCAA Singles Championships his senior year the fourth singles title in program history. Thats certainly not something to diminish, but everyone is going to evaluate that lopsided performance differently. It was the most selfless team Ive hadIt was probably the best team in recent history. The top four players would alternate playing No. Nadals career started early. In July of 2011, Djokovic became world No. However, he wouldnt play his first ATP tour event until 2004, and hed claim his first ATP title in 2006. By the time he was 21 years old, he already had a U.S. Open and Wimbledon title to his name. Hed just won the French Open mixed doubles with Mary Carillo, reached the Wimbledon semis, and dazzled during the summer of 77. Graf earned 22 Grand Slam titles throughout her career, including four at the Australian Open, six at the French Open, seven at Wimbledon, and five at the US Open. <br><br>After completing my Master's degree at Minnesota, I . Top Tennis Players Ever. Stanford, 1998 John McEnroe Tennis Academy at SPORTIME Randall's Island. McDonald was named an ITA All-American in singles for three straight years. In his prime, Andy Murray was every bit as good as any of the Big Three tennis players. 1 ranking in 1974, his strongest year on tour, and held the top spot for a total of 268 weeks. Graf became the worlds No. Bjrn also won 66 titles. 1 for 270 total weeks through his career. Serena Williams career continues, but injuries have hampered her success and the frequency that she competes. In his final season, he was named the Big 12 Player of the Year another first for the program. 6. 10 - Jimmy Connors. At the end of his collegiate career, Koepfer held the singles season winning percentage record and was second in career singles wins and career overall wins. 24) Ralph Sampson (Virginia) College Averages: 16.9 points, 1.2 assists, 11.4 rebounds. Hed add a record-tying 20 Grand Slam titles to his name with tremendous success at all of the tournaments, including nine at the Australian Open, two at the French Open, six at Wimbledon, and three at the US Open. When Boris Becker was on grass or indoor carpet courts, it was nearly impossible to beat him. Its perfectly fine to say that Roger Federer is the best tennis player of all time. The Best Male Tennis Players of All Time - Sporting Ferret Popular Quizzes Today. Cressys senior season was outstanding. Wolf started his career with OSU as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and ended it as the Big Ten Player of the Year. Track & Field (O) - Men . Although its easy to get wrapped up in the accomplishments of current players, most will likely be impressed by what they learn and gain a deeper appreciation for the sport as a whole and the players that helped shape it. As a result, what one player could accomplish playing tennis in the 1950s is fundamentally different from the 2000s. If we dont dig deeper to understand the quality of titles, we may undervalue a players achievements because a win at a 1000 level is significantly more impressive than a 250. During that year, she also managed to help Belgium win the Fed Cup. 3. 7. Top 10 Greatest Tennis Players (Male) of All Time Learn more about available mens tennis scholarships and mens tennis camps in your area. When it comes to the Olympics, Serena is also highly accomplished. In four years at Pitt, the smooth runner, named in a 2016 ESPN coaches' poll as the 10th-best college player of all time, dodged and weaved his way to a then-record 6,082 career rushing yards. 5 ranking. For starters here are our top ten men's teams. Georgia tennis and John Isner go hand in hand. 2. Throughout her career, she won 43 titles and had a career record of 525-115 for a winning rate of 82%. Although identifying the challenges doesnt remove subjectivity, it allows us to keep those factors in mind and ensures we weigh them accordingly when establishing a ranking. Erase the USA (No Outlines) 3. For starters, many players compete in doubles for the extra prize money. Top 100 College Football Players Of All Time Quiz - By forrestsancomb. Before this year, professional tennis players who played tennis for money werent allowed to compete in many of the biggest tennis tournaments, including the Grand Slam events. 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. 30 College Tennis Coaches Reveal Top Character Traits of Successful Stanford, 1978 John McEnroe, Matt Mitchell, Bill Maze, Peter Rennert, Lloyd Bourne. Compilation of the top singles points from matches featured on this channel during the 2020 college tennis season. Nakashima turned pro ranked No. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist (2016, 2020, 2020), three-time . 3 in the world and was the only player to win NCAA singles and doubles titles back to back. He held a 15-4 singles record and a perfect 26-0 doubles record. In his final season with the Bruins, McDonald won not only the NCAA Singles Championships, but also the NCAA Doubles Championships with Martin Redlicki. He also has the most variety of Grand Slam titles, winning at least two at every major championship. His first biggest win of his career came in 2012 as he defeated Jurgen Melzer in five sets. 20 in the world, and Pakistani Haroon Rahim. Giron reached a career high ranking of No. He became the first mens player to sweep the NCAA individual titles in 15 years. Ten years ago . Here we have listed our picks for the top 12 best tennis players of all time: Top 12 Best Tennis Players of All Time 12. Additionally, he holds the record for more wins at 1,274 than any other player in the Open Era. Each is worth considering when ranking players. Born: April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada; Net worth: $145 Million Regardless of your stance, the weight of specific stats or accomplishments will undoubtedly influence the ranking of players. He was the schools first champion since 2000. 30+ Best 2000s Men's Tennis Players | Top 00s Male Tennis Players - Ranker He led his nation to its only Davis Cup final. Finally, how convincing of a defeat over a player throughout their head-to-head meetups might be worth considering. During those years, he claimed eight titles at three of the biggest professional tournaments, the US Pro, French Pro, and Wembley Pro. Their No. In 1971, Goolagong managed to reach the world No. Help us better understand the makeup of our tennis community. However, she remained competitive through her later years, even becoming the oldest player on the WTA tour to win a title at 39. However, should we value player Bs three additional Grand Slam titles over player As 125 extra titles in total? 8 - Andre Agassi. She is the only player in history to win nine titles at Wimbledon. Trinitys No. The list of accomplishments during his college career isnt short for Tennys Sandgren. They were just nails, from top to bottom. For starters here are our top ten mens teams. However, out of all the finals he reached, he only won eight Grand Slams. Active Career: 1983 - 1996. Novak Djokovic has held the No. 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. To that end, here are a few additional women that didnt make the top ten, but we felt worth mentioning. The longevity of Jimmy Connors career has boosted him a bit, but its hard to put him any higher than this. Titles can be any combination of singles and doubles, so the combined total is the default sorting of the lists.The current top-level events are on the ATP Tour for men and the WTA Tour for women. List of male doubles tennis players. For example, Bjrn Borg played professional tennis for roughly ten years, while Jimmy Connors played for more than double that at 24 years. 3. Women's Tennis. Roger Federer. Before there was the King of Clay in Rafael Nadal, Thomas Muster held the distinction in the 1990s. For example, if youre ranking two somewhat equally successful players, then their head-to-head records is an easy way to establish whos the better player. No American has won a Grand Slam singles title in men's tennis since 2003, when Andre Agassi won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam and Andy Roddick won his lone . Theres only a handful of players who have done that, and Mats Wilander is one of them. A great doubles player on top of singles, hes one of the most well-rounded players of his era. Mental toughness, confidence, and a positive attitude were also mentioned several times in the responses. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for visiting my site. As a senior he got it right he beat Fred Stolle to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. $15 million. Venus Williams (Born: June 17, 1980) Venus Williams is an American professional tennis player. College Tennis News - The Best Female Tennis Players of All Time Open by Andre Agassi. She also won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Syndey, Australia. A lot of guys are more than happy to jump in to this question especially in the aftermath of US Open 2018 final fiasco (and Serena's claims on sexism) on. May she call herself the best player on the team. On the surface, ranking the best male and female tennis players of all time might appear like an easy task. Serena was ready to play at the professional level when she was 14 in 1995. 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. In 1998, she won her first WTA tournament, which she followed up with a few additional titles that year. USC was led by Steve Johnson, who won 72 straight matches, was ranked No. Tennis' Top 20 of All Time - ESPN.com 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. Newsflash: The Bryans became the best doubles team in history. *Please note that not all the stats included above are relevant for consideration as the best player ever. 2023 by Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). 1. Without a doubt, shes one of the greatest female tennis players ever. The Outsider by Jimmy Connors. After Giron made his debut at the 2014 US Open, he did not play another tour-level match until qualifying for 2018 Los Cabos. In team competition, Serena helped the United States to a win in 1999 at the Fed Cup. #5 Waves Clash with Top-Ranked North Carolina in NCAA Semifinals. He made his ATP Tour debut reaching the quarterfinals at 2020 Delray Beach. 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. As a senior, Isner led the Bulldogs to a perfect 32-0 record and the programs fifth NCAA Team Championship. Where does your favorite college tennis teams and players rank across the country and the world? Although many people would agree on the data, qualities, or attributes that make one player better than others, theres ultimately personal opinion injected. Federer is joint top as the player with most Grand Slam titles in the world (20) and is second behind Djokovic in most weeks spent at the World No.1 spot. With that said, his achievements are thoroughly impressive, especially considering the short timeline of his career. Andre Agassi is one of the best tennis players of all time, capturing the hearts of fans with his flamboyance, fierce competitiveness, and pure. 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. In 2019, Koepfer made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon. 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. The 2020 US Open will be Kwiatkowskis first tour-level event since the resumption of the ATP Tour. Goulds takeaway: You never say never, but there is no way a team will ever do what this team did. Born on December 2, 1973, in Florida, Monica Seles represented Yugoslavia early in her career and the United States she became a US citizen in 1994. 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. Johnson anchored the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA Team Championships and collected two NCAA Singles Championships for himself. Stefen Edberg. He reached #1 in the world and dominated during the U.S. Open run, but he was a mainstay in the top 10 for quite a while as well. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Over the years there have been many fantastic teams. Playing from the baseline at a time when many were not, the left-hander found a way to play against the best in the world and win consistently. Meinerz is a more recent addition to the NFL, having signed for the Denver Broncos in 2021.The guard is 6 foot 3 inches tall and 320 lbs. 8, and the considerable Brian Gottfried, ,who rose to No. Over the course of four seasons, Johnson was named an ITA All-American seven times. In 65, even without Pasarell, the Bruins broke USCs three-year stranglehold on the championships. Then again, insanity has never stopped us before. NCSA analyzed over 880 four-year colleges with mens college tennis programs across four division levels (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) to develop a list of the Best Mens Tennis Colleges for Student-Athletes. Contact Us - Privacy Policy - Affiliate Disclaimer. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. In the Olympics, Roger Federer has a silver and gold medal. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT, University of California - Los Angeles - UCLA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo, 2002-2023 NCSA College Recruiting All Rights Reserved. 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. Trinity, 1972 Dick Stockton, Brian Gottfried, Bob McKinley. Much like Lendl, he sometimes gets overlooked for just how many finals he made without winning the title. He won a total of 16 Davis Cup titles in his 22 year spell as coach of the Australian Davis Cup Team between 1939 to 1967. 10. He claimed three Grand Slams and five ATP Masters titles with significant wins against his two biggest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. With that in mind, its common that fans heavily debate the topic of the best male and female tennis players of all time, and our list of the best players will likely differ from others, which is part of the fun. George Toleys 62-64 USC teams werent exactly that. 1. Hopefully, the combination helps explain why we ranked players as we did while providing a jumping-off point for future debate. Advantage: Federer. As challenging as it is to make a list of the best female tennis players of all time, there has to be a cutoff, despite many other players significant achievements. The Australian reached #1 at a very young age, and his overall career success started younger than most players in general. She turned pro in 1959 and first competed in the US Open at the age of 15, and although her opponent eliminated her in the first round, she showed great promise. Quinn Meinerz. He will be seeking his first tour-level win at the Open. 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. Getting to Grand Slams finals was never an issue for Ivan Lendl. 1. talent. During the four years Dominik Koepfer spent at Tulane, he set records and recorded firsts for the Green Wave. From 2004 to 2007, Federer asserted significant dominance winning 11 of the 15 Grand Slam events during this period. Ramanathan Krishnan. Born in Belleville, IL, in 1952, Jimmy Connors is an American tennis player who turned pro in 1972 at the age of 20. better than all others in quality or value. Furthermore, not all titles are equal. Henin saw success immediately on the WTA tour, winning her first tour event as a wildcard at the Belgian Open in Antwerp. Federer owns 15 more titles, over 100 extra weeks as world No. USC, 2009-2013 Steve Johnson, Yannick Hanfman, Robert Quiroz, Robert Farah. Hes been as consistent as any player in tennis history, and even as he approaches 40 years old, he still is a Grand Slam threat. Husband to Steffi Graf, a shoo-in for one of the top spots in the best female tennis players of all time, Agassi comes in at number 8 on the tennisbros.com's list. Although John McEnroe is perhaps best known for his outbursts on the court, his many accomplishments far outweigh his frequent sub-par behavior and speak for themselves. Best Men's Tennis Players of All Time - Ranker Moreover, 9 of Novak Djokovics and 6 of Roger Federers Grand Slam titles came on this surface. 1 and 2 in singles and doubles, and won back-to-back singles titles in 11 and 12. Potential student-athletes must meet minimum standards or benchmarks for acceptance into their particular school, with GPA, SAT scores, ACT scores taken into account. 1 ranking, and she earned this spot for a total of 260 weeks throughout her career. He is one of the few players to achieve the career Golden Slam, meaning that he won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold. He was a strong all-around player who could dominate in doubles as well. Bob won the singles championship yet he was only their No. He has six Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, with an additional six before. -The ITA lists the top teams and players in the country at all levels of college tennis. Writer Frank Deford suggested Toleys fellow coaches might well consider scheduling a separate tournament of their own at that asylum in Hartford., 2. As a result, looking back at players like Bjrn Borg, who has a thoroughly impressive resume, only played the tournament once in 1974 as a 17-year-old, which gave him limited opportunities to further add to his Grand Slam count of 11. When considering the best tennis players of all time, its tempting to rank male and female tennis players right alongside each other. He has a 16-24 record against Nadal and an 18-20 record against Djokovic. He took home a total of three French Open titles, and became an icon in Brazil for his consistent play. Another area where its challenging to compare players is how heavily to weigh individual stats. Born on June 17, 1980, in California, Venus Williams is an American tennis player whos achieved considerable success in her long career on the WTA tour. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Tennis. Like Rod Laver, Ken Rosewell came along when the Open Era was just beginning. In 1993, Sampras reached the world No. The greatest Australian mens tennis player ever now has an arena named after him in Melbourne. 5. He . Team Player - 5. Stanford, 1978 Its challenging enough to reach reasonable conclusions on the best players without mixing the ATP and WTA tour. Goldstein reached No. However, while tennis is now an active sport in the Summer Olympics, it wasnt always that way. He closed out his career with USC on a 72 match win streak. For example, if one player has a winning record against a player with straight-set victories is more compelling than a player who has a winning record where every match was highly competitive and could have gone either way. Perhaps most notably, tennis was heavily divided up until the Open Era, which began in 1968. In addition to his Grand Slam success, Federer has claimed 103 ATP titles, the most ever behind Jimmy Connors in the Open Era. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Best College Football Players of All Time, Ranked - 247Sports In 1986, she won her first tournament defeating Chris Evert, one of the most dominant players at the time. Check out the Men's tennis worldwide rankings for 2023, here at ESPN.com. She held that position for a record 377 weeks during her career, with 186 consecutive weeks, a record she shares with Serena Williams. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski | University of Virginia. 15 Best Colleges for Tennis Scholarships in 2021 - Online Schools Center Heres another hypothetical example to consider: Again, which player is more impressive. If most of a players head-to-head matches against Rafa fall on clay, he will likely have a losing record overall against him. After all, if someone is coming up with their list of the best tennis players of all time, they might want to consider the whole player beyond their talents on the court. Coming off his NCAA titles, McDonald was awarded a wildcard into the 2016 US Open. Fourteen Former Men's Collegiate Players in US Open Singles Draw Shed only lose one more match the entire year to Navratilova, going an astounding 75-2 for the year. Honorable mention also to UGAs 1985 team whose #1 and #2 played the singles final. Toward the end of 1982, Graf turned pro, and she played her first full season the following year at the surprisingly young age of 13. Osuna was recruited to USC out of obscurity and remains the best Mexican player ever. The Most Influential Colleges in Tennis Today | Academic Influence Court holds the record for the most singles titles at 192. 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. Top 20 Best Tennis Players Of All Time (Men) - SportsKhabri Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time: 25 Best Ever She also made it to 11 other Grand Slam finals, where her opponent defeated her. Furthermore, and appeared in the finals of nearly every one of these events except the Wembly Pro in 1963 and won all three events in 1967 a professional Grand Slam. Depending on a players ranking, that extra cash can be crucial. 1; 2; First Prev 2 of 2 Go to page. In the three years that followed, Seles was dominant, winning six of the eight Grand Slam events in 1991 and 1992. 1 in the world in 1983, and he held that post for a total of 270 weeks throughout his career. Dad Racket was created exclusively as a one-stop resource to answer all your tennis questions. Combine that with his dominance as world No. The Australian finished his career with five Grand Slams, but is often overlooked by some of the greater players from his country. Lutz won the NCAA singles in 67, but lost the 68 final to Smith. 1 and helped the US win the 63 Davis Cup. Wed love to hear from you in the comments below. Join the conversation with other members of the community. For such a small school to have two of your all-time top ten teams shows what an incredible job Clarence Mabry and later Bob McKinley did with limited resources. **Stats for active players are current as of November 2021. Would have to argue that the 2007 UGA team, led by John Isner, that went 32-0, only lost 1 point in NCAAs, had the #1 singles player and #1 doubles team in the country, the US Open Jr Doubles Champs at #3 deserves to be in the Top 10. Forty of his 44 career tournament wins all came on dirt. As reigning NCAA Singles champion, he made a tour-level debut at the 2010 US Open as a wildcard. 2 at USC. Thats why some people will put him third. 163 which is a career record. Andre Agassi is the only other player to accomplish this feat. 3 player. In July of 2002, Serena first hit the world No. Top ten ranked male tennis players (1912-1972) He didnt have as long of a prime and some of the others on this list, but he could beat anyone in a single match. Its a crucial factor because the sport is constantly changing and evolving. 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. 2. Seles claimed her final Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 1996 and was a successful player until 2003, although her official retirement didnt come until 2008.