STARNBERG, April 25, 2022 (by Cory Saunders)

The US has produced many of the greatest tennis players in the world, both in the women’s and the men’s games. However, for several years, it has been the US women who have flown the flag, led of course by the remarkable Venus and Serena Williams.

Checking out the futures markets for most of the Grand Slam events, you will usually see several US players in contention. Tennis betting fans checking out the markets after claiming their new customer free bet offer always have to take US competitors seriously, particularly in tournaments such as the US Open and the Indian Wells Masters.

Selecting the best US players of all time would be tough enough with a top 10, but for an extra challenge, we’ve restricted ourselves to just four. There will be plenty of room for debate with this selection, but we aimed to celebrate the most iconic as well as the most successful of US tennis stars in our top four.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams made her debut on the professional circuit when she was 16 in 1997. After a difficult start to the year, she defeated two top 10 players in November. Her first triumph came in early 1999, and she won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open later that year.

Overall, she has won 23 Grand Slam titles in her career. She has won seven Australian Open titles, three French Open titles, seven Wimbledon wins and six US Open titles. Serena Williams first reached the rating of first in the world in July 2002, and she went on to tie Steffi Graf’s record of 186 weeks at the top.

She has also excelled at the Olympics. She won three gold medals in doubles with her sister Venus, as well as a gold in singles in the 2012 London Olympics. She also assisted the United States in winning the Federation Cup in 1999. She will probably go down in history as one of the most iconic, successful and inspirational tennis players to hail from the US.

John McEnroe

Although John McEnroe was notable for his on-court antics, his numerous tennis achievements speak for themselves. Despite competing at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1977, McEnroe became professional in 1978 and won his first Grand Slam championship at the US Open a year later in 1979, which he defended for the next two years in 1980 and 1981. He claimed seven Grand Slam trophies over the course of his career, including four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon.

In 1984, he had a fantastic year, reaching the finals of the French Open for the first time and winning Wimbledon and the US Open, amassing the best winning record for a single season, going 62-7 for an incredible victory percentage of 89.9%. He was also a major contributor to the United States’ Davis Cup victories in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1992.

Chris Evert

Chris Evert made a big impact early in her career when she defeated first in the world Margaret Court in a clay court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, it was in 1974 that she had her first major success, winning the French Open and Wimbledon, kicking off a 13-year streak in which she won at least one Grand Slam, totaling an incredible 18 by the time she retired.

Evert won two Australian Open titles, seven French Open titles, three Wimbledon titles and six US Open titles, as well as finishing as runner up in 16 Grand Slams. She rose to the top of the global rankings in 1975, and remained there for a total of 260 weeks, also becoming the second-oldest woman behind Serena Williams to earn the first in the world ranking.

Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors turned professional at the age of 20 but went on to have a remarkable 24-year career, during which he accumulated 109 titles, the most in the Open Era. He also earned the record for career wins, beating every other player who has so far appeared in the Open Era.

Connors also earned eight Grand Slam titles, with one of those coming in Australia, two secured at Wimbledon and a record-tying five US Open successes. His record is remarkable considering that he didn’t play the French Open at all between 1974 and 1978, when he was arguably at his peak. Connors initially achieved the first in the world ranking in 1974 and held the top spot for an impressive 268 weeks.