BTW: Whitlinger beat Hagey to claim the singles crown, and would coach Stanford for a decade. Here are D1baseball.com's picks for the best college baseball players of the 64-Team/Super Regional Era. Although John McEnroe is perhaps best known for his outbursts on the court, his many accomplishments far outweigh his frequent sub-par behavior and speak for themselves. However, her first Grand Slam victory came a few years later at the French Open in 1971, which she quickly followed up with a win at Wimbledon as well. John McEnroe Tennis Academy at SPORTIME Randall's Island. However, we removed a lot of nuances when we broke the two out and therefore decided to rank men separately from women. He is also one of only two players to achieve a career Golden Slam winning all four majors and a Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. When it comes to the Olympics, Serena is also highly accomplished. From 2004 to 2007, Federer asserted significant dominance winning 11 of the 15 Grand Slam events during this period. 1 ranking for the first time, a position she held briefly throughout her career for a total of eleven weeks. For example, Bjrn Borg played professional tennis for roughly ten years, while Jimmy Connors played for more than double that at 24 years. He was named an ITA Singles All-American all three years. George Toleys 62-64 USC teams werent exactly that. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Over the years there have been many fantastic teams. At the end of his collegiate career, Koepfer held the singles season winning percentage record and was second in career singles wins and career overall wins. Trinity turned tenniss California dream into a nightmare. Your Admin status expires in$(daysToExpire) days! He became the first mens player to sweep the NCAA individual titles in 15 years. That statistic would show how consistently the . 6. USC was led by Steve Johnson, who won 72 straight matches, was ranked No. 10. One thing is for sure, these types of lists will continue to change as new players emerge. Furthermore, the surface can play a huge role in a players success against another. 9. Moving on to the list comes the 15 best tennis players of all time with three bonus ones. No American has won a Grand Slam singles title in men's tennis since 2003, when Andre Agassi won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam and Andy Roddick won his lone . This article lists the tennis players who have won the most tour-level professional tournament titles since the Open Era began in 1968. ***Title totals include pre and post Open Era where relevant. Hottest Female Golf Players. Active Career: 1983 - 1996. The game has changed so much throughout the years, making it virtually impossible to make direct comparisons. 1 womens tennis player in August of 1987, not long after her first Grand Slam title and final appearances in Wimbledon and the US Open. In 2001, he claimed his first significant singles title, and he also managed to make it to the quarterfinals of the French Open that year. Jeremy on May 15, 2020: In 72, four of the eight quarterfinalists Stockton, Gottfried, McKinley and Paul Gerken were Trinitonians. Three collegians with St. Louis connections made their mark on college tennis Chuck McKinley, Arthur Ashe and a feisty fellow named Jimmy Connors. Then, in 1992 at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, she claimed silver in singles. As a result, what one player could accomplish playing tennis in the 1950s is fundamentally different from the 2000s. Swiss player Roger Federer, the greatest player of all time is easily justifiable. The US Open will be Jungs first tour-level event since the resumption of the ATP Tour. However, in 2005, he earned his first Grand Slam singles title, winning the French Open to wrap up a dominant clay-court season and becoming one of only two male players to win the French Open on his first attempt. He was a strong all-around player who could dominate in doubles as well. Grand Slams Won: 2. As the game started to evolve, Stephen Edberg still heavily relied on the serve and volley. In this article, well share our selection of the greatest players of all time, but well also discuss the challenges when ranking and why theyre important to keep in mind. Born in Belleville, IL, in 1952, Jimmy Connors is an American tennis player who turned pro in 1972 at the age of 20. During the four years Dominik Koepfer spent at Tulane, he set records and recorded firsts for the Green Wave. Theres no doubt that Gustavo Kuerten deserves mention on this list, but he is a specialist for the most part. Also explosive were the results: They were NCAA champions. If youre looking through the mens singles draw for the 2020 US Open, you might come across some former collegiate mens players 14 to be exact. Court holds the record for the most singles titles at 192. The team won two titles, in 70 (sans Jimbo) and in 71. Help us better understand the makeup of our tennis community. Shes placed particular emphasis on Grand Slam events as she attempts to tie Margaret Court for the most Grand Slams of any player in history. Andre Agassi had one of the longest careers of any of our top-ranked mens tennis players at a thoroughly impressive 20 years. It was the most selfless team Ive hadIt was probably the best team in recent history. The top four players would alternate playing No. He reached #1 in the world and dominated during the U.S. Open run, but he was a mainstay in the top 10 for quite a while as well. They won back-to-back NCAA doubles titles and were part of a four-year run in which USC won the NCAAs from 66 to 69. He won it in 1974 and reached the finals in 1975, so he certainly missed out on some golden opportunities. As if her success on the singles court wasnt impressive enough, Court was also highly accomplished in doubles with 19 womens doubles Grand Slam titles and 21 mixed doubles titles. 1. Caroline Wozniacki. Photo Credit: @Wimbledon. Wolf turned professional a little over a year ago in July of 2019. Hailed as the player who changed the way professionals approached their diet, Ivan Lendl had a fruitful decade at the top which saw him collect at least one major per year between 1981 - 1991, winning 8 grand slams in total. The US Open will be his first tour-level event since resumption of the ATP Tour. She also had an impressive career record of 704-165, winning 81% of her matches. Playing from the baseline at a time when many were not, the left-hander found a way to play against the best in the world and win consistently. Bjrn Borg resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, but was born in Sweden on June 6, 1956. For example, suppose Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic never showed up in tennis. For starters, many players compete in doubles for the extra prize money. Born on October 18, 1956, in Czechoslovakia, Martina Navratilova also competed as a US citizen after receiving her citizenship in 1981. She holds an astounding 177 career titles, including 31 Grand Slam victories. A few years later, in 1978, Navratilova won her first singles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Chris Evert. As a perfect example, hes made five finals at the Australian Open, but never hoisted the final trophy. 124. In March 1991, Seles replaced Stefi Graf as world No. Furthermore, and appeared in the finals of nearly every one of these events except the Wembly Pro in 1963 and won all three events in 1967 a professional Grand Slam. Greatest college players of all time. A Terrible Splendor by Marshall Jon Fisher. Lastly, if a player is consistently engaging in competitive matches and sometimes beating players in the top 300 (in tournament play, not practice) in the ATP or WTA rankings, then they may be ready physically, mentally and technically to play professional tennis on a full time basis. 1. Although identifying the challenges doesnt remove subjectivity, it allows us to keep those factors in mind and ensures we weigh them accordingly when establishing a ranking. In his short career, Bjorn Borg was able to accomplish a lot. Rod Lavers career is unique because of his success and crossover from amateur to professional and subsequent success during the Open Era. In 1998, she won her first WTA tournament, which she followed up with a few additional titles that year. Theyre both remarkable and critical to the health and ecosystem of the sport as a whole. Shed only lose one more match the entire year to Navratilova, going an astounding 75-2 for the year. Many would say that this is the year Novak Djokovic finally took over as the greatest tennis player of all time. However, he impressed once again, winning another calendar-year Grand Slam in 1969. In 73, Stanford was on the cusp of greatness. Like Evert, Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including three at the Australian Open, two at the French Open, nine at Wimbledon, and four at the US Open. However, as it stands now, I think Federer is more deserving of this spot. However, with such great emphasis placed on Grand Slams when considering the greatest players of all time, its worthy of reference and consideration. Their No. He was an American tennis player who won a total of 77 career titles in his playing years. The year after, John McEnroe earned his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1979, which he defended for the following two years in 1980 and 1981. Another perhaps less visible or challenging factor to consider, especially when looking back at players in history, is a deep understanding of the adversity or difficulties a player had to overcome during their career. Our writers made the case for Djokovic, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer. 120. In four years at Pitt, the smooth runner, named in a 2016 ESPN coaches' poll as the 10th-best college player of all time, dodged and weaved his way to a then-record 6,082 career rushing yards. Despite that, she did compete in a professional tournament that year but didnt perform well. Now let's look at how many weeks each player has been rated the No. These unique accomplishments certainly add weight to a players bid for consideration as one of the best players. He led his nation to its only Davis Cup final. His first biggest win of his career came in 2012 as he defeated Jurgen Melzer in five sets. One of the most challenging elements to establishing a list of the best players of all time is that all of the most accomplished players didnt play tennis or compete at the same time. Despite the wound healing relatively quickly, the attack took its toll on Seles, who didnt return to the tour until 1995, resulting in her missing ten Grand Slam events during that time. Impressively, Evert was also the runner-up at 16 Grand Slams. But something happened in the last 20 years. Net Worth. Grass. However, Evert posted a handful of impressive results as early as 1970 while competing as a junior, including a win over world No. Access available rankings data at ITA. Coming off his NCAA titles, McDonald was awarded a wildcard into the 2016 US Open. Winning Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces can be a huge challenge. That is until the big three came along. Her Grand Slam titles include 11 at the Australian Open, five at the French Open, three at Wimbledon, and five at the US Open totaling 24. Proponents of college note that the game has become much more physical in recent years due to advances in racket technology, and, as a result, the average age of the top 100 players is around 27 . Born on December 21, 1954, Chris Evert is an American tennis player who competed from 1972 1989. 5. Top ten ranked male tennis players (1912-1972) Where does your favorite college tennis teams and players rank across the country and the world? Barry Sanders #5. After going 21-1 at the No. USC, 2009-2013 Steve Johnson, Yannick Hanfman, Robert Quiroz, Robert Farah. Bob Bryan won the singles championship over Goldstein. In their 34 meetings, his record was 14-20. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski | University of Virginia. After Margaret Court, who is the greatest female tennis player of all time with 64 Grand Slam titles (24 in singles, 19 in doubles and 21 in mixed doubles), the second greatest female tennis player of all time is Martina Navratilova, who has 59 Grand Slam titles (18 in singles, 31 in doubles, and 10 in mixed doubles). He will be seeking his first tour-level win at the Open. Federer is the player that has the most Grand Slam titles in the world (20) and is second behind Djokovic in most weeks spent at the world No.1 spot. List of the best men's tennis players from 2000s, listed by popularity with photos of the players when available. For starters here are our top ten men's teams. He won a total of 16 Davis Cup titles in his 22 year spell as coach of the Australian Davis Cup Team between 1939 to 1967. Before finishing his career as a Buckeye, Wolf won the school's first ITA Men's All-American Singles Championship and was named an ITA All-American in singles. The Australian reached #1 at a very young age, and his overall career success started younger than most players in general. When she was 9, she moved with her family (including fellow tennis great and sister Venus) to Florida. 7. Although theres certainly nothing wrong with the exercise, weve decided to maintain two separate lists. Osuna was recruited to USC out of obscurity and remains the best Mexican player ever. UCLA, 1965-1966 Charlie Pasarell, Arthur Ashe, Ian Crookenden. Heading into the 2020 US Open, McDonald is ranked No. Johnson has finished the past six seasons ranked in the Top 100. Ramanathan Krishnan (born 11 April 1937) is a retired tennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. Top 10 Greatest Men's Tennis Players of All Time: 10. A. andfor Legend. However, he wouldnt play his first ATP tour event until 2004, and hed claim his first ATP title in 2006. Without a doubt, shes one of the greatest female tennis players ever. He became world No. Roger Federer. Tennis Strategy by Grant Grinnell. The greatest Australian mens tennis player ever now has an arena named after him in Melbourne. For more information on the NCSA Power Rankings, visit our press kit or email us. Shed claim four additional titles at the Australian Open and another her final at Wimbledon again in 1980. The list of accomplishments during his college career isnt short for Tennys Sandgren. Her breakout year was in 1997, when she made it deep into a few tournaments, including the finals of the US Open, where she lost to Martina Hingis. 1 ranking, and she earned this spot for a total of 260 weeks throughout her career. However, dig a little deeper, and its surprisingly nuanced, brimming with subjectivity and emotion. 1. Surprisingly, McEnroe was born in 1959 in West Germany with his parents stationed in the country because of his fathers role with the United States Air Force. When I was a young kid and teenager, he was incredible at learning how I learn and making me the . -These polls use voters to determine the best 25 men's and women's teams in Division I. Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rankings. Stefen Edberg. 1 in the singles and doubles Oracle ITA Rankings. Born: April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada; Net worth: $145 Million Popular German former tennis player Boris Becker is ranked number ten on the list of the greatest tennis players in history. In his final season with the Bruins, Maxime Cressy alongside Keegan Smith brought home the 14th NCAA Doubles title in UCLA history. However, there are players who make winning Grand Slams a habit and win numerous titles at prestigious events. And collegian Arthur would go on to become an icon. Her most notable record related to Grand Slam titles was her 1970 performance, where she won all four Grand Slam events in the calendar year. During the 2019 US Open, he reached the fourth round after upsetting No. #5 Waves Clash with Top-Ranked North Carolina in NCAA Semifinals. Serena was ready to play at the professional level when she was 14 in 1995. A lot of guys are more than happy to jump in to this question especially in the aftermath of US Open 2018 final fiasco (and Serena's claims on sexism) on. Outside of singles, Serena has had a successful career in doubles, primarily competing with her sister. 4. She is the only player in history to win nine titles at Wimbledon. For as much as people talk about the Big Three or Big Four of this current era, Stan Wawrinka deserves mentioning as well. Matches featured in this video: Daniel Cuk. Venus turned pro at the early age of 14 in 1994 when she played her first WTA tournament. 5/28/2021. 101 after qualifying at Cincinnati. The Art of Doubles by Pat Blaskower. It doesnt make accomplishments from years past less impressive, relevant, or important, but its a factor that we should weigh when making comparisons. By mistake, the kid was sent a tennis racket. Combine that with his dominance as world No. Henin would claim seven Grand Slam titles, one at the Australian Open, four at the French Open, and two at the US Open. The deep team included Jeff Austin, two Argentinian Davis Cup players, two Kreisses Mike and Bob and two Cornells Ron and Steve. Of course, we had to make the cutoff somewhere, so here are a few additional men worth noting. Sin, Sorrow and the Fall of Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Life is Beautiful The Buzz From Down Under, Amanda Anisimova and the Random Cruelty of Sport, Novak Djokovic The Return of the Prodigal Son, Forget the Yips Sabalenka Rips On Laver Aryna, Knowing Novak: Behind the Curtain of the Complex, Controversial Mountain GOAT, The Not-So-Happy Slam: Pro-Putin Ferocity in Melbourne, How Ben Shelton Is Taking Tennis by Storm, Down Under Downers Iga and Coco Crash Out, Bring It On Young Americans Soar in Melbourne, Murray Hailed, Novak Heckled At The Not Always Happy Slam, Mackie McDonald Knocks Out Hobbled Rafa Nadal. Top Tennis Players Ever. Its relatively easy to identify who deserves to be near the top of the list for the best male tennis players of all time. 2 at USC. On the other hand, others dont believe that while a players performance in doubles is interesting, it shouldnt have a bearing on a players consideration for the greatest of all time. You could even take it a step further and evaluate the perceived level of competition present at the tournaments where a player won or how convincingly they defeated their opponents during matches. Brandon Nakashima | University of Virginia. M Men W Women. Mental toughness, confidence, and a positive attitude were also mentioned several times in the responses. Leaving his mark on the college tennis landscape in 2010, Bradley Klahn etched his name in Stanford mens tennis history when he captured the 2010 NCAA Singles Championship. Meinerz is a more recent addition to the NFL, having signed for the Denver Broncos in 2021.The guard is 6 foot 3 inches tall and 320 lbs. better than all others in quality or value. Stockton edged Gottfried to win the singles championship. He has a 16-24 record against Nadal and an 18-20 record against Djokovic. As fans, many of us have our favorite players we appreciate for their style of play, how they present themselves, their off-court demeanor, and a variety of additional criteria. 6 in the world, beat Roy Emerson to reach the 63 US Nationals final, where he lost to Osuna. Table of Contents show. 1. In college at Ohio State, Gholston bench pressed a team-high 455 pounds and squatted 405 pounds for twenty reps. Trinity, 1972 Dick Stockton, Brian Gottfried, Bob McKinley. For example, some will believe its more impressive for a player to dominate across various surfaces and add that to the argument for why one player is better than another. Before retiring in 2020, this talented, beautiful Danish tennis player became the first Scandinavian woman to win big prize money and hold her No. 1 in the Oracle ITA Singles Rankings a first for the program. The greatest tennis player of all time is Roger Federer. 3. Born on March 7, 1960, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, Ivan Lendl had an impressive career that began in 1978 when he turned pro. For example, if youre ranking two somewhat equally successful players, then their head-to-head records is an easy way to establish whos the better player. Born on July 31, 1951, Evonne Goolagong is an Australian tennis player whose results in the 1970s at the start of the Open Era have earned her recognition as one of the best to play the sport. 3 behind Jeff Borowiak, who would become No. Cressys senior season was outstanding. It wasnt until 2004 that hed win his first singles ATP title. Others claim that John whos often said to be the seventh-best player ever was the most talented college player of all time. Against Federer, Nadal has an impressive 24-16 record. As a senior he got it right he beat Fred Stolle to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. Most can only . Monica Seles returned to the French Open a year later after a solid start to the season and captured her first Grand Slam victory defeating world No. 6. Despite his record against Nadal, I give Federer the edge in my list of the all-time best tennis players for a few reasons. At age 25, Norrie is entering his prime, and has reached a career-high ranking of 41 in the world. Ralston and Osuna struggled to win the NCAA doubles in five sets. Each of the 14 left a legacy at their school and in the greater scope of college tennis. Similarly, all of his Wimbledon titles were consecutive from 1976 -1980. Nakashima only spent one season with the Cavaliers before turning pro, but he made the most of his time. Jimmy Connors reached the world No. She holds three Gold medals in doubles with her sister Venus and earned a singles gold at the 2012 London Olympics. They lost maybe two singles matches all year and a doubles point. Mike Bryan added, What we did in the 97-98 season will never be done again. 3 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Any list of outstanding male tennis players should include names like Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal and Bjrn Borgas these guys are easily the top tennis players. He liked to play from the baseline and go for big shots, even when most of tennis was still serving and volleying. Steffi Graf is the only player in history, male or female, to achieve this feat in a calendar year. The longevity of Jimmy Connors career has boosted him a bit, but its hard to put him any higher than this. In 2006, Henin was everywhere, making it to the finals of every Grand Slam tournament but only coming up with a win at the French Open. The following year the pair fell just short of repeating their doubles title falling to Middle Tennessee State duo Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrm. In 1962, Margaret Court achieved a career-high ranking of world No. However, he also amassed the single best winning record for a single season going 62-7 for an absurd win percent of 89.9%. During the NCAA team tournament, he won all three of his singles matches and all four of his doubles matches. 5 Point Friday A few years later, in 1995, he achieved the world No. 17 in singles and No. Connors also holds eight Grand Slam titles, with one at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon, and record-tying five at the US Open. . Perhaps at another point, well consider the group as a whole. Cressy will make his tour-level singles debut at the 2020 US Open. In total, Sampras claimed 64 titles, 762 wins, and had a 77.4% win record. Goolagong was also proficient in doubles with six Grand Slam victories and helped her country win three Fed Cup titles in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Seles started her tennis career early at the age of 14 in 1988, but she officially turned pro the following year, where she won her first title and reached the semi-finals of the French Open, her first Grand Slam tournament. 1 ranking and, to date, has held that position for 319 weeks. He won 8 Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, spent 101 weeks as the world number one, and received over $31 million in . Off of clay, his main rivals are superior. I have followed Joe to his company JXS Tennis Academy at Babson College and I love it. They were so good that when, in an Arizona windstorm, they lost their one doubles point of the year, the usually benign Gould let er rip. Three Grand Slam titles and 33 career titles only tell part of the story of Arthur Ashe. Stanford's chest-bumping identical twins and all-time men's doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan rank just behind McEnroe. A list that gives the top 10 tennis players of all time! "Playing college tennis, no, but going to university after tennis, yes, that was always the plan," Dabrowski said. Despite that, she did manage to win a singles gold medal at the Athens Summer Olympics. By the time he was 21 years old, he already had a U.S. Open and Wimbledon title to his name. 21 in the world. USC, 1967-1968 Looking back on the history of Grand Slam events, the Australian Open is a bit of an outlier. Since leaving Fort Worth, Norrie has reached as high as No. He was most recently in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Before finishing his career as a Buckeye, Wolf won the schools first ITA Mens All-American Singles Championship and was named an ITA All-American in singles. He still walked away from the sport with three Grand Slam titles, and recently made a comeback to continue playing the game he loves. Nakashima turned pro ranked No. They promptly lost, but the team went 24-0 and won the national championship, and Mac won the singles. No problemo. However, it wasnt until 1974 that Borg captured his first French Open title at the age of 18. Not surprisingly, Stanfords Dick Gould, who was said to reload rather than recruit, managed to get him to drop by the Farm for one historic season. He was the greatest clay-court player of all time until Rafael Nadal hit the scene, but it was his all-around game that caught attention from the very beginning. In addition to her gold medal in the 1988 Olympics, she earned a bronze in doubles that year. 1 and a winning 30-28 record over Nadal and a 27-23 record over Federer, and I consider him to be the greatest male tennis player of all time. Born on August 12, 1971, Pete Sampras is an American tennis player who was considered by many to be the best tennis player of all time at his retirement. He is one of the few players to achieve the career Golden Slam, meaning that he won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold. The USA tops the list with 52 victories, more than twice as many as the next best country - Sweden.. After advancing to the 2018 Wimbledon finals, Anderson reached a career-high No. Rodrigues Finishes as NCAA Singles Runner-Up. Moreover, 9 of Novak Djokovics and 6 of Roger Federers Grand Slam titles came on this surface. Led by Dick Stockton, who became world No. Margaret Court retired in 1977 and earned a spot in the International Tennis Hall of fame in 1979. Every generation produced great tennis stars, dating all the way back to the 1890s. The list of his accomplishments in tennis goes on and on. Overall, his list of accomplishments is beyond impressive, and for years, it looked as if no one would ever come close to matching his success on the court. And college tennis has changed so drastically that it's insane to try to come up with an all-time collegiate top 10. The King of Clay is thought of by some as the greatest tennis player of all time. Interestingly, McEnroes only collegiate loss came in a match at Trinity against his former U.S. Open doubles partner, Larry Gottfried. As of now, he shares his record Grand Slam titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. However, only 62 of these occurred in the Open Era, so she doesnt have the achievement during this period. . 41 after winning the Auckland title. King returned the following year and made it to the third round. Girons national championship made him the 11th Bruin to win the NCAA Singles title. Check out the Men's tennis worldwide rankings for 2023, here at ESPN.com.