People of various ages and all groups enjoy the Olympic sport of tennis. Everyone who can grip a racket can participate in the sport, including wheelchair users. In the late Medieval Ages, France saw the development of the first tennis games. In Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century, lawn tennis gave rise to the contemporary game. Professional tennis players benefit from the same advantages as the majority of the top sports stars, including apparel, accessories, and endorsements. Like athletes who play other individual sports like golf, they are not paid, but they can earn rewards by competing and doing well in contests.
In this article, we will take a look at the top five tennis players in history who have set the bar high for future generations.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer, arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, has achieved everything. The Swiss held the record for the longest world number one streak in Open Era history, spending a total of 237 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings from 2004 to 2008, during the course of a 23-year career spanning four decades. He reached 18 of the 19 major finals between 2005 and 2010 thanks to his domination in the 2000s. In 2004, 2006, and 2007, he won three of the four Grand Slam competitions. In 2009, after winning the French Open, he finished off his Career Golden Slam. He is the second-most successful singles player in the Open Era with 103 victories, trailing only Jimmy Connors. His tally includes a record 20 Grand Slams and a record six ATP Tour Finals victories. He shared the record for the most US Open titles (5) with Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors in 2017, and he earned a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon crown the same year.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal, one of the most successful youngsters on the ATP tour, attained the world no. 2 rating at the young age of 19 after winning 16 titles, including his first French Open title in 2005. By 2008, Nadal had won his first Wimbledon championship and his fourth French Open title. He had also dethroned Roger Federer in one of the greatest tennis matches in history. He won an Olympic gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and became the first person to hold the world’s number one position in the same year.
Novak Djokovic
Most historical records have been broken by Novak Djokovic. At the time of writing, Djokovic had been the number one player for a record-breaking 378 consecutive weeks. He has won 93 singles titles overall in his 20 years on the professional tour, including an incredible 22 Grand Slam titles, which ties him with Nadal for the record for the most Grand Slam victories ever. However, he appears to have the best chance of the “Big Three” to win one more major championship. In addition to seven Wimbledon victories, three US Open victories, and two French Open victories, he holds a record nine Australian Open victories.
Rod Laver
Several people rank Rod Laver as one of the greatest tennis players in history. Laver, whose career began before the Open Era, owns the record for the most victories in tennis history with a staggering 198 victories, including 6 Grand Slams before 1968 and 5 Grand Slams within the Open Era. Laver holds the distinction as the only player to win ten or more titles in seven straight seasons. He also has six doubles Grand Slam titles and five Davis Cup victories to his credit (1964-1970).
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras, who is regarded as the most successful player of the 1990s, was ranked first at the end of each year for six straight years between 1993 and 1998, holding the top spot for a total of 286 weeks. He won seven Wimbledon titles thanks to his unmatched success on grass courts; Roger Federer eventually broke his record. He also excelled on hard courts, winning a joint-record five US Open titles and two Australian Open crowns (shared with Jimmy Connors & Roger Federer). He defeated longtime adversary Andre Agassi in the 2002 US Open final to win the trophy, capping out his professional career. Sampras retired with 64 singles titles under his belt, including a then-record 14 Grand Slams.
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