STARNBERG, April 1, 2020

Tennis is one of the most followed sports globally with over a billion fans. It has transcended from a sport of the rich to one that is loved the world over to the extent of attracting punters on French Open tennis betting and other top tennis fans sites. It is also among the sports generating huge sums in revenue.

The dynamics of tennis alone are not the cause of the rise in attention. Over the years, there has been an emergence of key players that have dominated the game and entertained the fans with their extraordinary antics. In this article, we discuss ten of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Ken Rosewall

Ken will be remembered as a fast, agile, and exceptional tennis player. His antics on the tennis court kept him relevant in the pre-open era extending into the post open era. In his hay days, he won 15 Pro Slam titles to solidify his relevance.

He continued his prowess by winning eight Grand Slam titles that included four Australian Opens, two French Opens, and two US Opens. He has also managed to reach the Wimbledon finals four times. During his career, he won the Davis cup and a total of 133 titles.

John McEnroe

Despite having a habit of confronting match officials and umpires, he remains among the greatest tennis players of all time. His honors include seven Grand Slam titles, three Wimbledons, and four US Opens. He was also a finalist in the French Open once and a semi-finalist in the Australian Open. He also won the Davis Cup and WCT finals and the ATP finals. His tally is 77 titles.

Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors was top of the ATP standings for 162 weeks successively and 268 weeks in total between 1974 and 1977. His trophy cabinet has eight Grand Slam Singles, one Australian Open, two Wimbledons, and five US Open.

He also managed two Grand Slam titles, one Wimbledon, and one US Open. In his career, he also won the Davis Cup, the Tour Finals, and WCT Finals. He managed to win 109 singles titles, which was the most in the open era.

Ivan Lendl

Lendl had an illustrious career in which he won eight Grand Slam singles, two Australian Opens, three French Opens, and three US Opens. He also won Tour Finals five times, Two WCT Finals, and a Davis Cup. In his career, he won a total of 94 singles and six doubles titles. At some point, he spent 270 weeks on top of the ATP rankings.

Bjorn Borg

Bjorn conquered the tennis arena from 1977 to 1980. He became the first tennis player to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era. He also won six French Opens and five Wimbledon titles. He never won the US Open despite reaching the finals four times. The Davis Cup, Tour Finals, and the WCT Finals are the others he managed to win. In his career, he won 64 singles.

Pete Sampras

He was nicknamed Pistol Pete. He ended his illustrous career on a high note by winning the US Open in 2002. Apart from that, he also won 14 Grand Slam titles, two Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, and five US Opens. He won the Tour Finals, Grand Slam Cup and the Davis Cup twice. His career tally stands at 64 singles titles.

Rod Laver

Rod held the number one spot in the world from 1964 to 1970. In that period, he won 11 Grand Slam singles, three Australian Opens, two French Opens, and four Wimbledons. Before the Open era, he won three US Pro, four Wembley Pro, and one French Pro. Laver also won five Davis Cups, Grand Slam Mixed Doubles in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. His career is decorated with 200 singles titles that are the most in the history of tennis.

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic has staked his claim in the modern-day tennis. In his career, he has managed 16 Grand Slam singles, six Australian Opens, one French Open, five Wimbledons, and three US Opens. Among his wins are the five Tour Finals and the Davis Cup. He has won 77 singles titles, which is the fifth-highest in the Open period. Currently, he is ranked second in the most recent ATP World rankings.

Rafael Nadal

Since Nadal entered the scene in 2001 when he turned Pro, his career has been on an upward trajectory. He has been nicknamed the ‘king of clay’ for his prowess on clay. His accolades include 19 Grand Slam Singles, one Australian Open, 12 French Opens, 2 Wimbledons, and four US Opens. He has also won the Davis Cup, and Gold in 2008 Beijing Olympics singles and Rio de Janeiro Olympics doubles in 2016. The 84 singles he has won so far in his career is the highest in the Open era. He has won 115 million USD in prize money and is currently ranked number one in the world ATP rankings.

Roger Federer

This is a man that can be described as ‘simply the best.’ Despite facing stiff competition from Nadal and Djokovic, he remains on top. He has been able to spend 310 weeks on top of the ATL rankings. Out of the 310 weeks, 237 were consecutive. He has finished in the number one spot at the end of the year five times.

His other honors include: 20 Grand Slam singles, six Australian Opens, one French Open, eight Wimbledons, and four US Opens. He also won the Tour Finals six times. Federer won Gold at the doubles event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and Silver at Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

His career is colored by 103 singles events titles, which is the second-highest in the open era. He has won 128 million USD in prize money in his career. ATP rankings have him in the third position according to its latest release.