Top 10 Tennis Players of All Time

The top tennis players dominated their eras and hoovered up Grand Slam titles

Ranking the top 10 tennis players of all time isn’t easy. Some of the sport’s most iconic players didn’t actually win that many trophies. The likes of Marcelo Rios, Robin Soderling and Agnieszka Radwanska were amazing players to watch – but they never won a Grand Slam.

Tim Henman and Laura Robson were British favourites but they, too, couldn’t secure a major trophy.

The Slams is where the very best players stand out from the rest. And so, we’ve used the Grand Slam history books to determine the absolute best tennis players in the history of the sport.

Top 10 Tennis Players

Top tennis players dedicate their lives to the sport in the hope of winning even one Grand Slam during their careers. Imagine winning more than 10! Below is our list of the top 10 best tennis players of all time – and they were all multiple major champions.

Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg dominated the men's Grand Slam scene in the 1970s and early 1980s. He won 11 majors, including six French Open titles and five straight Wimbledons. He was a clay and grass-court devil, capable of managing varying degrees of bounce and patiently working his opponents around the court.

The Swede never won a hard-court slam title but that didn't matter. He was the man to be feared during the European swing each summer, and lost just one of his 12 Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals combined.

Borg was Europe's saviour in men's tennis at a time when Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Brian Teacher, Johan Kriek and Arthur Ashe were hoovering up trophies for the Americas.

Bjorn Borg Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 11
• Weeks at No.1: 46
• Career Earnings: $3.6m
• Biggest Rival: John McEnroe
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating McEnroe in the 1980 Wimbledon final 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7, 8–6

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras 14 Grand Slam singles titles in 12 years. He, like Borg the generation before him, became a serial winner at Wimbledon and enjoyed a remarkable stint at the US Open in the mid-1990s too.

'Pistol Pete' was an aggressive player who could serve-volley as well as he could backhand with one hand. He won his first Slam as a 19-year-old at Flushing Meadows in 1990, rumbling rival Andre Agassi 6–4, 6–3, 6–2. Twelve of his career Slam titles came in New York or at Wimbledon.

Sampras twice won the Australian Open as top seed but never made it past the semis on the Parisian clay. He retired a year after winning the 2002 US Open with a 77% win percentage in Grand Slam singles finals.

Pete Sampras Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 14
• Weeks at No.1: 286
• Career Earnings: $43m
• Biggest Rival: Andre Agassi
• Most Memorable Moment: Defeating Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4 in the 2002 US Open final

Chris Evert

Chris Evert also enjoyed a 12-year spell of Grand Slam success but, unlike her compatriot Sampras, she walked away with 18 titles from an eye-watering 34 finals. Evert's first victory came in 1974 when she beat Soviet Union's Olga Morozova 6-1 6-2 in the French Open final.

It was a relatively easy victory but Evert had already lost three Slam finals before that – all within the previous 12 months. Getting over the line here triggered a surge in success, with the American also winning Wimbledon that summer. Her calm style helped her saunter past opponents but not always Martina Navratilova.

Remarkably, Evert didn't go a year without winning a Grand Slam until her last French Open victory in 1986. In 1984 she played in all four singles finals, winning just the Australian Open against Helena Suková. Her victor in the other three finals was Navratilova. They played each other 80 times in their career, of which 60 matches were finals.

Chris Evert Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 18
• Weeks at No.1: 260
• Career Earnings: $8.8m
• Biggest Rivals: Martina Navratilova
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Navratilova in the 1982 Australian Open final to complete a career grand slam

Martina Navratilova

Navratilova and Evert burst on the scene at the first time but it was the Czech-born superstar who outlasted her rival. Navratilova competed for Grand Slam singles titles over a 20-year period. Her crowning moment was from 1982 to 1987 where she won 14 of 22 slams available to her. She also lost six further finals, meaning she competed in all but two over that period.

Navratilova never gave up. Her serve-and-volley style frustrated opponents and she could defend deep when required. She was most particularly effective at Wimbledon where she went 13 years straight making the semi-finals or better. She won the title nine times.

Navratilova's rivalry with Evert eventually fizzled out but then Steffi Graf came along. The pair faced off in six Slam finals between 1987 and 1989. Graf won four of them. Navratilova reached one last Wimbledon final in 1994 at the age of 37. She lost in three sets to Spain's Conchita Martinez.

Martina Navratilova Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 18
• Weeks at No.1: 332
• Career Earnings: $21m
• Biggest Rivals: Chris Evert, Stefi Graf
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Evert 6–3, 6–7, 7–5 in the 1985 French Open final

Roger Federer

Some argue he should beat all of the top male tennis players on this list, but Roger Federer only ranks 6th in our list. Federer won a remarkable 20 Grand Slam titles in his career and captured the hearts of millions of tennis fans in the process.

His classy style contrasted with the fiery youth that initially burst on the scene in the late 1990s. Federer won his first Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. A year later he won three further slams, becoming the king of both grass and hard-courts in the process.

Federer won eight Wimbledon crowns, five straight US Opens, and six Australian Opens – the last, in 2018, was his last ever slam title. He won just one of five French Open finals due to Rafael Nadal's dominance on clay. The pair faced off in one of the greatest tennis matches in history in 2008. Nadal came out the victor 9-7 in the final set.

Roger Federer Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 20
• Weeks at No.1: 302
• Career Earnings: $130m
• Biggest Rivals: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Nadal 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 in the 2017 Australian Open final aged 35

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf flew the flag for a reunified Germany in the 1990s and dominated the women's Grand Slam scene even mores than Navratilova. Graf beat Navratilova to win her first slam title in 1987 at Roland Garros and set about hoovering up the trophies.

She remains the only tennis player to land a Golden Slam of four major titles and an Olympic gold medal in the same year (1988). She won eight of nine Grand Slam finals between the 1988 and 1990 Australian Opens. Graf also won seven Wimbledon crowns and six French Open titles.

Graf was a relentless, powerful player who could hit a postage stamp on the court shot after shot. Her rivalry with Navratilova ended with the spoils shared 9-9 from 18 meetings. She then had to contend with Yugoslavia's Monica Seles during the 1990s, where they perpetually vied for the No. 1 spot on the WTA. She crushed Seles 6-2 6-1 in the 1992 Wimbledon final.

Steffi Graf Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 22
• Weeks at No.1: 377
• Career Earnings: $21.8m
• Biggest Rivals: Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Seles 6-2 6-1 in the 1992 Wimbledon final

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal was the antidote to Federer-mania when the young Spaniard truly hit the scene in 2005. He was a physically imposing teenager with a pincer left forehand and unremitting defence. Nadal was made for clay tennis and he claimed his first Roland Garros title on his debut appearance. He would go on to win 14 of the next 18 French Opens.

Nadal's career almost became defined by comparisons with Federer. The pair won 21 of 23 available Slam titles between the 2005 French Open and 2010 US Open. Even when Novak Djokovic burst on the scene, Nadal kept winning the French.

What's perhaps most impressive about his career, though, is its longevity. Nadal's physical game puts a huge strain on his body. He's suffered numerous knee injuries but always come back strong. His 2019 US Victory was testament to that, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4 in a gruelling encounter in New York. At 37, he isn't finished yet.

Rafael Nadal Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 22*
• Weeks at No.1: 209*
• Career Earnings: $134m*
• Biggest Rivals: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Roger Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7 in the 2008 Wimbledon final

Serena Williams

There was a point when Serena Williams looked destined to shatter the Grand Slam record and push way beyond anyone's reach. The American won her first Slam at the 1999 US Open defeating Martina Hingis in the final. She retied in 2022, five years on from her last Grand Slam triumph.

Williams was an ever-present on the WTA Tour but had more than one period of dominance. Unlike Navratilova or Sampras, she kept going far beyond expectations. Williams was rarely with her scheduling and always peaked at Slams. She held all four majors in early 2003 and then again midway through 2015.

Her seven Wimbledon victories ran among four further final defeats. In total she reached 33 Grand Slam finals, winning 23. She could also bomb and bounce back. Early exits in Australia and France in 2012 resulted in Wimbledon and US Open victories. Her consistency, accuracy and power ultimately bamboozled opponents.

Serena Williams Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 23
• Weeks at No.1: 319
• Career Earnings: $94.8m
• Biggest Rivals: Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Victoria Azarenka
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating sister Venus Williams in the 6-4 6-2 in the 2002 US Open final

Margaret Court

The only player on our list to feature major titles from before the Open Era in her record book, you can't have a list like this without Margaret Court. The Australian set the benchmark for consistency over a title-winning career that spanned 13 glittering years.

Court won her first of seven straight Australian Championship (now Australian Open) crowns in 1960 aged just 17. After missing the '67 event and losing in the '68 final, she responded with four more Aussie wins over the preceding five years.

Court of was one of the first to export her success around the world. She won five French Opens, five US Opens, and three Wimbledons. She almost always made the quarters. She still has the record for 192 women's career singles titles, and 21 titles won in one year (1970).

Margaret Court Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 24
• Weeks at No.1: 325
• Career Earnings: Unknown
• Biggest Rivals: Billie Jean King
• Most Memorable Moment: Winning the career Grand Slam in 1970 by beating Rosie Casals 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 in the US Open final

Novak Djokovic

No-one thought there would ever be anyone better than Federer, Nadal and Williams. Then Novak Djokovic came along. The Serb turned pro in 2003 and won the Australian Open five years later. However, it was only in 2011 when he truly came to the fore.

Djokovic won three slams that year to begin a streak of reaching 18 of a possible 24 finals until 2017. By that stage he had 12 slam titles, seen off Andy Murray as a threat, and was competing with Federer and Nadal for regular gongs.

Djokovic is the complete tennis player. Strong enough to rival the big server's on the men's tour, durable enough to match whatever Nadal throws at him, agile enough to wriggle out of Federer's tactical approach. He is yet to win all four slams in one season but matched Court's 24 slam titles in 2023 at the age of 36. 2024 may well be the year he breaks clear of the pack.

Novak Djokovic Stats:

• Grand Slams Won: 24*
• Weeks at No.1: 442*
• Career Earnings: $181m*
• Biggest Rivals: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray
• Most Memorable Moment: Beating Roger Federer 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 5–7, 6–4 in the 2014 Wimbledon final

*As of April 2024

So, there you have it. Our top 10 players of all time, Novak Djokovic