22 Major Titles

The King of Clay has amongst the most Grand Slams in men's history at 22. More than half of those are a credit to his dominance on clay, with a tally of 14 at Roland Garros. A pro for more than two decades, Nadal has amassed over 90 career titles.

Roger Federer, a maestro of elegance and precision, redefined tennis with his artistry and dominance. With 20 Grand Slam titles and an enduring legacy of grace, he inspired generations, leaving an indelible mark on the sport. 

Williams has won more than 20 Grand Slam singles titles, on top of 14 Grand Slam doubles with sister Venus, and two mixed doubles, making her the major title record-holder of the Open Era. Those 23 majors were spread out over an impressive 18 years as Williams dominated the court.

Hingis was the first tennis player, male or female, to win a major title and attain the prestigious World No.1 ranking for Switzerland. Secondly, she reached the top ranking at just 17 years old, in 1997, also making her the youngest ever No.1 in history. It doesn’t stop there for Hingis: the then 17-year-old also bagged the title as the youngest-ever Grand Slam champion that same year, as she walked away with the winner’s trophies at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Despite winning multiple titles, Sampras never completed a Grand Slam set, surprisingly unable to hack the clay courts of the French Open. Nonetheless, he dominated on hard and grass, topping the world rankings for six years.

Graf's model was consistency, holding her place at number one for a record 377 weeks—the longest of any player. She could win on all surfaces, and in 1988 became the first player to achieve a calendar Golden Slam, winning all four majors and Olympic Gold in the same year.

Former number one tennis player, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion, Olympic gold medalist, and seven-time major-title runner up. Among these accolades, Agassi holds the ‘career Grand Slam’ for his victories in each of the four major tournaments—Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.

Venus was certainly the woman to beat on the WTA tour in the early 2000s; in just 2000 and 2001, Venus bagged four of her seven Grand Slam titles, which aided her to bag her the No.1 status in 2002 for the first time. Venus was the first African American women to reach No.1 in the Open era, making it a key moment in history. It is said that Wimbledon is her favourite tournament on the Grand Slam tour, which is no surprise given her five impressive victories there between 2000 and 2008.

Borg won Wimbledon five times in a row in the late 1970s, making him the first player of the modern era to top 10 majors. The last of his Wimbledon championships, a five-set win against John McEnroe, is considered one of the greatest tennis matches in history.

Title record-holder of the Open Era, Navratilova holds 167 career titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She also holds the record for career Wimbledon titles, winning the tournament nine times.

Novak Djokovic, a fierce competitor and master of adaptability, redefined tennis with his resilience, precision, and mental strength. With a record-breaking Grand Slam tally and an unyielding drive, he etched his name among the sport’s greatest, balancing dominance with determination. 

Connors was a title machine in the mid 70’s. Combining one of the best service return’s the game had seen at the time with a never say die and often (way) over-the-top attitude.  Despite occasionally strange on court antics, the American spent 160 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings from 1974-1977, and still holds the records for most tour titles in the Open Era (109).

Undoubtedly the most important player in British tennis history, but maybe the unluckiest in the sports history?  Murray went toe to toe with legends to be, cutting off slices of his own history along the way, including becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, leading Great Britain to a historic Davis Cup win, and standing alone as the only player in history to win back-to-back Olympic singles titles. 

With an impressive 7 Grand Slam titles - 4 at The French Open, where she won 3 titles in a row - Henin has been highly regarded by other tennis stars, including Billie Jean King, who gave Henin the title as the best player of her generation, whilst John McEnroe hails her back-hand as the best single-handed backhand in both the men’s and women’s game. It was this one-handed backhand, alongside her footspeed and mental toughness, that were reasons why she was so successful.

Evert recorded an incredible career winning percentage of more than 90 per cent. She was the year-ending number one player for seven years, and holds the record for reaching the most Grand Slam titles, winning 18 of the 34 times she made it to the final round.

Seles represented both Yugoslavia (now Serbia) and United States in her professional career; she bagged 8 Grand Slam titles for the former and her final title for the latter. Seles reach World No.1 ranking at just 18 years old in March 1991, which was aided by her Australian Open victory two months before. However, it was the year prior that she made history; Seles won her first Grand Slam title, the French Open, at just 16 years old!

Anchored by his sport altering top-spin forehand, Lendl was faced with the stiffest competition, regularly facing off with both Connors and McEnroe (all be it retiring with a winning record over both) and losing his first four major finals. But once over the line at the 1984 French Open, he never looked back, collecting eight Slam titles and spending over 200 weeks at #1.

With a staggering 200 titles to his name, Laver is one of the most successful players of all time. The first in a long list of Australian tennis greats, Laver later had the centre court at the Australian Open named for him. He was world number one for seven years running, holding the position until 1970.

Emerson was the first male tennis player to win 12 singles majors, holding the record for 30 years before he was overtaken by Pete Sampras in 2000. His six-time win record at the Australian Open was unbeaten for more than 50 years, until Novak Djokovic's win in 2017.

Wills was women's number one for eight years in the 1920s and 30s, managing to win every singles set she played between 1926 and 1932. She collected two gold medals at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, and was a seven-time US Open champion and eight-time Wimbledon winner.

Regarded by many experts as the best player in the history of tennis, Court collected 24 Grand Slam titles over her career—the most of any player. Add in 19 doubles and 19 mixed doubles, and Court has a record 62 major titles to her name.

King made history in 1971 as the first female athlete to top $100,000 in prize money in a single year. A champion of the game, she convinced her colleagues to form a players' union, becoming the first president of the Women's Tennis Association, officialising the women's league.

Tilden was the first player from the United States to win the men's championship at Wimbledon in 1920, and held the title for the next two years. Rumoured to be clocked at 263 km/h, his serve is the second fastest of all time.