The star-studded history of tennis that spans over decades has witnessed a few legendary unseeded tennis players who have outperformed the greats and clinched prestigious Grand Slam titles. Some of the biggest upsets in the world of professional tennis, where the unseeded players entered the Grand Slam tournaments as wild cards and dominated the tennis stalwarts has often attracted insane attention from the billions of tennis aficionados from all over the world.
Well, if you’re a hardcore fan of tennis, you must remember Emma Raducanu shocking victory at the 2021 U.S. Open where she clinched the prestigious Grand Slam title without dropping even a single set at the young age of eighteen. Have you ever wondered about the major upsets where the unseeded players outplayed the greats and left the fans absolutely stunned? Well, let’s find out.
In this article we will take a look at the top four unseeded tennis players who have clinched the prestigious Grand Slam titles against the biggest names in the world of professional tennis.
Top 4 Unseeded Players Who Won Grand Slams in Open Era
Mark Edmondson – Australian Open 1976
The 71-year-old retired Australian professional tennis player, Mark Edmondson, is at the first spot in our list of the top four unseeded tennis players who left the fans absolutely stunned after clinching the coveted Grand Slam titles. Mark Edmondson entered the Australian Open 1976 tournament as an unseeded player and was ranked at the 212th position by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Throughout the season, Mark Edmondson left the fans shocked after defeating numerous seasoned players and faced the multiple-time Grand Slam champion, John Newcombe, in the finals. Although fans were anticipating Newcombe to easily defy Edmondson, the unseeded Australian underdog stunned Newcombe in four sets, winning 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 6–1.
Goran Ivanišević – Wimbledon 2001
At the second spot in our list of the top four unseeded tennis players who have clinched the prestigious Grand Slam titles against the biggest names in the world of professional tennis, we have the Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach, Goran Ivanišević, who was ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. The fiery, big-serving Croatian, Goran Ivanišević, entered Wimbledon 2001 as a wildcard with an ATP rank of 125.
Although fans did not have overwhelming expectations of Goran owing to his unseeded status, he undoubtedly left them stunned with his spine-chilling performances throughout the season and ended up defeating great names in the tennis world, including Carlos Moyá, Andy Roddick, and Marat Safin. In the finals of Wimbledon 2001, Goran Ivanišević went against Aussie star Patrick Rafter and in a tension-packed five-set battle, Goran triumphed 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 taking the prestigious title home.
Andre Agassi – U.S. Open 1994
Next, at the third spot in our list of the top four unseeded tennis players who left the fans absolutely stunned after clinching the coveted Grand Slam titles, we have the legendary American former professional tennis player Andre Agassi, who was ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 1999.
Often hailed as one of the most successful and accomplished professional tennis players of all-time, Andre Agassi was an unseeded player who entered the U.S. Open in 1994 and stormed the season, defeating the most decorated names, including Michael Chang and Todd Martin, before facing Michael Stich in the final. Well, although the fans were a bit sceptical about Andre Agassi’s grit to clinch the title, he re-defined his stature and defeated Stich in straight sets to claim his first U.S. Open title and his second Grand Slam overall.
Emma Raducanu – US Open 2021
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four unseeded tennis players who have clinched the prestigious Grand Slam titles against the biggest names in the world of professional tennis, we have the British professional tennis player Emma Raducanu, who took the world of professional tennis by a storm after she entirely dominated the US Open 2021. The British teenage tennis sensation, Emma Raducanu, entered the US Open 2021 as a wildcard and had to go through the qualifying rounds — playing 3 matches just to enter the main draw.
Throughout the tournament, Emma Raducanu displayed her unmatched exploits on the court and defeated numerous seasoned players, including Belinda Bencic and Maria Sakkari to face the Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez in the final. At the age of eighteen, Emma created history and defeated Fernandez 6–4, 6–3, sealing victory with an ace.
