Often hailed as the oldest and the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, “the Wimbledon Championship” has witnessed some of the most prominent Wimbledon stars of all time. As one of the four major grand slam tournaments, the most recent Wimbledon 2024 took place at the iconic All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.
With an extremely rich and glorified history of 147 years, the Wimbledon Championship, founded in 1877, has witnessed a few of the greatest tennis players also referred to as the “all-time stars of Wimbledon”, including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras and many more dominating the tennis court with their high-octane exploits.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 Wimbledon stars of all-time
-
Roger Federer
Former Swiss professional tennis player, Roger Federer, who officially announced his retirement from tennis in September 2022, continues to be one of the top five Wimbledon stars of all time owing to his stellar records and dominating exploits on the court. With a total of eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles and 105 victories, Roger Federer is considered to be one of the most successful and accomplished players in the history of Wimbledon.
Federer’s eighth Wimbledon men’s singles title in the 2017 Wimbledon Championships is often hailed to be the most special by his fans from around the world as the victory marked a roaring comeback of the Swiss tennis stalwart after a half-year hiatus due to a serious knee injury. Additionally, as of 2024, Roger Federer is the only tennis player in the world to successfully clinch all three tournaments, including Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open at least five times, speaking volumes about his timeless legacy.
-
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic, the Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked at the number one position for a record total of 428 weeks by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), is undoubtedly one of the top five Wimbledon stars of all time. Novak Djokovic has successfully clinched a total of seven men’s singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships in the years 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, which is the second-highest record total after Roger Federer.
The 2019 Wimbledon Championships final match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is often highlighted as the most memorable match of Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon career, where he defeated Federer with a final score of 7–6, 1–6, 7–6, 4–6, 13–12. Additionally, the match between the two legendary players lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes, making it one of the longest and most memorable singles in the history of Wimbledon.
-
Pete Sampras
Former American professional tennis player Pete Sampras, often hailed as the world’s greatest tennis player, has undoubtedly dominated the Wimbledon championships as one of the top five Wimbledon stars of all time. Pete Sampras has successfully clinched a total of seven Wimbledon titles in the men’s singles events in the years 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Apart from his four consecutive victories at the Wimbledon men’s singles events, Pete Sampras has also made history with his winning records. Out of the seventy men’s singles matches that he has played at Wimbledon, he has clinched a total of sixty-three out of them and lost just seven, establishing him as one of the greatest tennis players at Wimbledon.
-
Bjorn Borg
With a total of five consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles titles in the years 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980, Swedish former tennis player, Bjorn Rune Borg, popularly referred to as “Björn Borg”, is on our list of top five Wimbledon stars of all-time. Björn Borg became the first male tennis player in the world to clinch the Wimbledon Championship men’s singles title five consecutive times.
With his highly impressive and dominant exploits at Wimbledon, Björn Borg clinched a total of fifty-one men’s singles matches and lost only four, speaking volumes about his hold on the game. Although the former Swedish tennis player has delivered sensational performances at Wimbledon throughout his career, his 1976 knock against Novak Djokovic and the 1980 Wimbledon men’s singles finals against John McEnroe still reverberate as one of the best performances of the legendary tennis player in the annals of Wimbledon.
-
Boris Becker
Often hailed as the youngest tennis player to ever clinch a Wimbledon men’s singles title in 1985 at the age of seventeen, the German former tennis player, Boris Franz Becker undoubtedly created history. With a total of three Wimbledon men’s singles titles in the years 1985, 1986, and 1989, Boris Becker is fifth on our list of the top five Wimbledon stars of all time.
After John McEnroe, Boris Becker became the second tennis player in the world to consecutively clinch the Wimbledon men’s singles title for the second time in 1986. An expert at powerful serves and diving volleys, Boris Becker clinched a total of seventy-one Wimbledon men’s singles title matches and lost a total of twelve. The epic encounters of Boris Becker against Stefan Edbarg in 1988, 1989, and 1900 at the Wimbledon men’s singles are often hailed as one of the most memorable and thrilling matches of Becker’s career at Wimbledon.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Scripts History With His Wimbledon’s Debut, Leaves Tom Cruise Behind
