BTW: Whitlinger beat Hagey to claim the singles crown, and would coach Stanford for a decade. He liked to play from the baseline and go for big shots, even when most of tennis was still serving and volleying. He finished his career with four Grand Slams, but he might most be remembered for his 16 ATP tour championships in one season in 1977. You have entered an incorrect email address! Graf became the worlds No. 57 after reaching the third round in Barcelona in 2019. Moving on to the list comes the 15 best tennis players of all time with three bonus ones. After qualifying at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, Wolf reached a career high ranking of 143. Book. Born on June 14, 2969, Steffi Graf is a German tennis player. A Wimbledon finalist while at USC, he was ranked as high as No. Ranked 128 in singles, Bradley has achieved so much success while on tour. Similarly, is it more impressive that a player wins a Grand Slam at the age of 16 or 35? The number 1 in our best table tennis players list is a Chinese player, Ma Long. I have actually included 11 players here with two greats tied for the 10th position. His Grand Slam titles include seven at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, eight at Wimbledon, and give at the US Open. Girons national championship made him the 11th Bruin to win the NCAA Singles title. And college tennis has changed so drastically that it's insane to try to come up with an all-time collegiate top 10. Shed only lose one more match the entire year to Navratilova, going an astounding 75-2 for the year. Until the 1980s, very few top players attended the tournament due to Australias remote location, low prize money and prestige, and schedule, which fell around the holidays. Quinn Meinerz. Steve Johnsons collegiate career is the stuff of legends. With that said, there is still time for Nadal, and I do believe if his body can hold up, he can overtake Federer. Throughout the years, there have been many great tennis players who have made a name for themselves. However, she was denied the opportunity by the WTA due to age restrictions. 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. In total, Goolagong won 86 titles, with 68 of them coming in the Open Era. 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. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. Trinity turned tenniss California dream into a nightmare. In that case, Federer may have won significantly more titles because he gave up so many to both of these players. Lutz won the NCAA singles in 67, but lost the 68 final to Smith. Ramanathan Krishnan. He was a strong all-around player who could dominate in doubles as well. A great doubles player on top of singles, hes one of the most well-rounded players of his era. 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. WTA Tour-WTA Homepage-See which former college tennis student-athletes are in the women's professional . However, with such great emphasis placed on Grand Slams when considering the greatest players of all time, its worthy of reference and consideration. These days, the Australian Open is a staple and a guaranteed stop for every player who qualifies. Cressy will make his tour-level singles debut at the 2020 US Open. In 1984, he had a stellar year with his only finals appearance at the French Open and titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. 1. King returned the following year and made it to the third round. The US Open will be Jungs first tour-level event since the resumption of the ATP Tour. 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. However, throughout his career, Sampras got the best of him. In March 1991, Seles replaced Stefi Graf as world No. When Boris Becker was on grass or indoor carpet courts, it was nearly impossible to beat him. However, he also amassed the single best winning record for a single season going 62-7 for an absurd win percent of 89.9%. Regarding her match singles win percentage, Court stands alone, holding the best record at 91.69% through her career and 91.17% during the Open Era. 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. 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. He won it in 1974 and reached the finals in 1975, so he certainly missed out on some golden opportunities. Learn more about available mens tennis scholarships and mens tennis camps in your area. 6 in Lance Tingay's amateur rankings. John McEnroe Tennis Academy at SPORTIME Randall's Island. In doing so, Djokovic is only one of three players to have achieved a double career Grand Slam along with Roy Emerson and Rod Laver. 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. In total, she holds the most overall Grand Slam titles of any player at 64. Another area that highlights Chris Everts thoroughly impressive career is her record of 1309-146, for a 90% win rate the second-highest of all-time behind Margaret Court, but the highest during the Open Era. Indeed, the Buckeyes are just as attractive to aspiring college . The Australian finished his career with five Grand Slams, but is often overlooked by some of the greater players from his country. Women's Tennis. Trinitys No. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Roger Federers most significant rivalries in his career are Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Tennis Strategy by Grant Grinnell. 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. 3 player. Not a lot of people talk about him currently, but he was as tough a player as any in his prime. Theyre both remarkable and critical to the health and ecosystem of the sport as a whole. I created a custom vibration dampener thats compatible with all racquets and string patterns. He was an American tennis player who won a total of 77 career titles in his playing years. Everyone else, I believe, would benefit greatly from . Jeremy on May 15, 2020: In 1986, she won her first tournament defeating Chris Evert, one of the most dominant players at the time. After going 21-1 at the No. However, should we value player Bs three additional Grand Slam titles over player As 125 extra titles in total? Furthermore, she helped the United States win eight Fed Cup titles, including six consecutive from 1977-1982. 1 ranking for the first time in 1968. The Outsider by Jimmy Connors. 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. May she call herself the best player on the team. Can you imagine Federer and Nadal on the same college team? He is certainly the best player ever on clay court, as his 14 French Open titles are likely never to be touched. UCLA, 1970-1971 Jimmy Connors, Jeff Borowiak, Haroon Rahim. A few years later, in 1995, he achieved the world No. Finally, how convincing of a defeat over a player throughout their head-to-head meetups might be worth considering. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She holds the fifth-most career titles of any woman in the Open Era at 73 and has a record 855-152 in matches for a win rate of 84.9%. 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. Track & Field (O) - Men . Billie Jean King. Roger Federer. She holds three Gold medals in doubles with her sister Venus and earned a singles gold at the 2012 London Olympics. 1 ranking in February 2004 and has held that ranking for a total of 310 weeks 237 of which were consecutive weeks where he was virtually unbeatable. But they faced off in a dicey semi against each other in the NCAA championships and then had to play doubles together. 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. He finished his career with eight Grand Slams and 109 titles, and he helped shape the modern game with his style of play. However, it wasnt until 1992 that he earned his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, playing Goran Ivanievi in a tough five-set match. Stanford, 1978 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. This incredible player started his professional career young and won six of his first major singles at 17. Combine that with his dominance as world No. 10. 1 singles slot his junior season, Norrie also claimed TCUs season singles winning percentage record. Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the essential meaning of best as: By definition, the word best is subjective. Some might think this pick is a bit controversial, but its hard to argue with the statistics. USC was led by Steve Johnson, who won 72 straight matches, was ranked No. He is currently ranked No. He was the greatest clay-court player of all time until Rafael Nadal hit the scene, but it was his all-around game that caught attention from the very beginning. As a perfect example, hes made five finals at the Australian Open, but never hoisted the final trophy. He became the first African-American to win a Grand Slam title on the mens side, and his activism off of the court makes him a legend. USC, 1962-1964 Dennis Ralston, Rafael Osuna, Bill Bond, Tom Edlefsen, Ramsey Earnhart, Chuck Rombeau. To come to our conclusions and rank the best female tennis players of all time, we performed an in-depth analysis of the games most accomplished female athletes. 4. 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. Born on March 7, 1960, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, Ivan Lendl had an impressive career that began in 1978 when he turned pro. 1952 Modesto Junior College Team, they beat Stanford , CAl, USF, they had Jerry DeWitts, Whitney Reed, Ralph Freund , Fritz Earle, Coach Fred Earle, DeWitts 22nd in the U.S, Whitney Reed 15th in U.S., also Stan Canter on team , 6th in junior singles in Eastern U.S., some rankings actually went up.Big Seven Champs. But in 73 they didnt just lose one top player, they lost their top two. 3. By the time he was 21 years old, he already had a U.S. Open and Wimbledon title to his name. 6. Not only did Mackenzie McDonald etch his name in the UCLA record books he left his mark on the NCAAs as well. He was named the ITA Player of the Year in his final two seasons. She held that position for a record 377 weeks during her career, with 186 consecutive weeks, a record she shares with Serena Williams. Australian Rod Laver was born on August 3, 1938, and players and fans widely regard him as one of the greatest players of all time. World number 1 ranked male tennis players. Potential student-athletes must meet minimum standards or benchmarks for acceptance into their particular school, with GPA, SAT scores, ACT scores taken into account. UCLAs Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell were the most impactful roomies in tennis history. Serena Williams is one of the greatest Tennis players of all time, male or female. Ashe won the singles, and then the doubles with Ian Crookenden. He won 8 Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, spent 101 weeks as the world number one, and received over $31 million in . 5 ranking. There are really no holes in Federers game, other than having just one French Open title. Born on July 16, 1942, in Australia, Margaret Court is a right-handed tennis player who played with a one-handed backhand and holds some of the most significant records in womens tennis. Goolagong was also proficient in doubles with six Grand Slam victories and helped her country win three Fed Cup titles in 1971, 1973, and 1974. 1, which she held for 325 weeks, only surpassed by Martina Navratilova and Stefi Graf. 1 Stefi Graf. As a senior, Isner led the Bulldogs to a perfect 32-0 record and the programs fifth NCAA Team Championship. Its just humanly impossible., 9. Unfortunately, he had a relatively short prime, as injuries cut his career short compared to the others. He retired at the early age of 26 in 1984 and likely could have achieved significantly more if willing to continue competing. He had some mild success on other surfaces, but clay courts are where he made his name. This fact was significant because these were arguably his peak years, winning five of his eight Grand Slam titles during this time and denying him the opportunity to complete a Grand Slam that year when he won all other majors. Opening Round Complete at the 2023 ITA Division III Womens Indoor 2023 Division III Womens National Team Indoor Championship: Dates, Locations, Streaming, College Tennis In the Community: Teams Give Back In The Month Anthony Montero Named ITA Director of Officiating and General Counsel, Berry College Head Mens and Womens Tennis Coach, John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) at SPORTIME Immediate Tennis Professional/Coach Openings. So let's get started! The list of his accomplishments in tennis goes on and on. Connors won the singles in 71. Total prize money: $ 20,630,941. Furthermore, the surface can play a huge role in a players success against another. Fourteen Former Mens Collegiate Players in US Open Singles Draw. 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 . As of now, he shares his record Grand Slam titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Hes another casualty of the Roger Federer era, constantly going up against him and other greats during any deep runs in tournaments. 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. Connors also holds eight Grand Slam titles, with one at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon, and record-tying five at the US Open. Johnson has finished the past six seasons ranked in the Top 100. 1, and has a more diverse record for Grand Slam events, while Nadals success heavily skews toward clay. Another factor that often arises when selecting the best players of all time is the depth of field or how many elite players were competing during any highly successful players time on tour. Beyond her success in singles, Venus achieved stellar results in doubles with fourteen Grand Slam titles and three gold medals. In 1998, she won her first WTA tournament, which she followed up with a few additional titles that year. Ivan Lendl. Steffi Graf is the only player in history, male or female, to achieve this feat in a calendar year. The King of Clay is thought of by some as the greatest tennis player of all time. During the tennis boom, nobody was bigger, and he had rivalries with Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl at some point. Hes another guy who had an outstanding doubles career, but his singles alone made him a Hall of Famer. 1 ranking for the first time, a position he held for a total of 101 weeks during his career. Most can only . You could even take it a step further and evaluate the perceived level of competition present at the tournaments where a player won or how convincingly they defeated their opponents during matches. She followed up those results with an excellent 2007, where she won the French Open for the third consecutive year and the US Open. Interestingly, McEnroes only collegiate loss came in a match at Trinity against his former U.S. Open doubles partner, Larry Gottfried. 75.9%. Even though he never won Wimbledon, he did win the Australian Open when it was on the grass. Perez-Somarriba Named ITA National Player of the Year. Although its tough to imagine a player who will eclipse the big three on the mens side or the top players on the womens, one thing is for sure it will happen. Federer turned pro in 1998, and it didnt take long before his career began to pick up steam. He played college tennis for the University of Southern California (USC) and won the NCAA singles . Steve Johnson | University of Southern California. Like many players in his time, Bjrn only played the Australian Open once during his career, which potentially limited his Grand Slam count. Roger Federer. . New posts New profile . Federer is the player that has the most Grand Slam titles in the world (20) and is second behind Djokovic in most weeks spent at the world No.1 spot. Mental toughness, confidence, and a positive attitude were also mentioned several times in the responses. 1 in the singles and doubles Oracle ITA Rankings. Toward the end of 2003, Henin managed to find her way to the world No. 10. He is also one of only two players to achieve a career Golden Slam winning all four majors and a Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. One might argue these experiences give extra weight to their already impressive accomplishments. 9. UCLA, 1965-1966 He held a 15-4 singles record and a perfect 26-0 doubles record. Federer first claimed the world No. However, he never managed to win the French Open, where his best result was a semi-final appearance in 1996. Led by Dick Stockton, who became world No. He has proven his talent for over 20 years and is still competing at the very highest level. The Tour de Frances loss was tennis gain. The list of accomplishments during his college career isnt short for Tennys Sandgren. Before finishing his career as a Buckeye, Wolf won the schools first ITA Mens All-American Singles Championship and was named an ITA All-American in singles. He was named the ITA National Mens Senior Player of the Year a first for the program. In 2008, Nadal became the worlds No. . However, there are players who make winning Grand Slams a habit and win numerous titles at prestigious events. 41 after winning the Auckland title. In 72, four of the eight quarterfinalists Stockton, Gottfried, McKinley and Paul Gerken were Trinitonians. 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. Shes also the second oldest woman behind Serena Williams to have held this position. Their loaded roster also included 77 collegiate champ Matt Mitchell. As a senior he got it right he beat Fred Stolle to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. Learn with comprehensive resources to help you improve your game. Serenas first title came in early 1999, and later that year, she also claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. Ma Long. 3 in the world and was the only player to win NCAA singles and doubles titles back to back. Over the course of four seasons, Johnson was named an ITA All-American seven times. 1. His determination keeps him in any match. Peter Smiths Trojans won four straight NCAA team titles. Hottest Female Soccer Players. 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. Stanford's chest-bumping identical twins and all-time men's doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan rank just behind McEnroe. 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. In the process, you learn a lot about our sport, especially if youre younger and didnt have the opportunity to witness players who are now retired or, in some cases, no longer living. During the 13 years that she won at least one Grand Slam event, she was absent from the event seven times. Rafa by Rafael Nadal, John Carlin. In 2012 he won the silver in London, and in 2008 he won the Gold in Beijing. That same year she also claimed the US Open title. He claimed three Grand Slams and five ATP Masters titles with significant wins against his two biggest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. No other female tennis player has won eight. His success started in the 1980s with numerous titles and his first Grand Slam victory over John McEnroe at the French Open, a year McEnroe was virtually untouchable. UCLAs 76 team featured Brian Teacher, Peter Fleming, Ferdi Taygan and John Austin. He has proven his talent for over 20 years and is still competing at the very highest level. The winner of three Wimbledon championships, he finished his career with six Grand Slams overall. He was also a great doubles player, holding the #1 ranking in the world in singles and doubles at one point in his career. Norrie holds the mens singles title at the inaugural Oracle ITA Masters. It wasnt that the professionals werent as talented, far from it. Not surprisingly, Stanfords Dick Gould, who was said to reload rather than recruit, managed to get him to drop by the Farm for one historic season. Hoping to get recruited for mens tennis? 20 in the world, and Pakistani Haroon Rahim. Pistol Pete never had clay-court success, which is what will ultimately keep him out of the top spot. Rankings. 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. Much like Lendl, he sometimes gets overlooked for just how many finals he made without winning the title. 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. With that said, his achievements are thoroughly impressive, especially considering the short timeline of his career. The team had no dominant singles player. Like Evert, Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including three at the Australian Open, two at the French Open, nine at Wimbledon, and four at the US Open. 1 ranking for the first time and held it for a total of 286 weeks throughout his career. better than all others in quality or value. They were so good that when, in an Arizona windstorm, they lost their one doubles point of the year, the usually benign Gould let er rip. Djokovic has also eclipsed the rapidly fading Nadal as the active player with the best chance to eclipse Federer for best ever, even if he has far to go in the major title tally (12 to Federer's 17). 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. Impressively, Evert was also the runner-up at 16 Grand Slams. The greatest Australian mens tennis player ever now has an arena named after him in Melbourne. The greatest tennis player of all time is Roger Federer. Sin, Sorrow and the Fall of Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Life is Beautiful The Buzz From Down Under, Amanda Anisimova and the Random Cruelty of Sport, Novak Djokovic The Return of the Prodigal Son, Forget the Yips Sabalenka Rips On Laver Aryna, Knowing Novak: Behind the Curtain of the Complex, Controversial Mountain GOAT, The Not-So-Happy Slam: Pro-Putin Ferocity in Melbourne, How Ben Shelton Is Taking Tennis by Storm, Down Under Downers Iga and Coco Crash Out, Bring It On Young Americans Soar in Melbourne, Murray Hailed, Novak Heckled At The Not Always Happy Slam, Mackie McDonald Knocks Out Hobbled Rafa Nadal.