Fifteen tennis greats and two Grand Slams, from Connors, Lendl, Navratilova and Graf to Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz, plus the stories of Wimbledon and the US Open.
Tennis has produced some of the longest rivalries and most remarkable records in sport. This collection brings together fifteen of its greatest players, from the 1970s and 1980s champions Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, through the 1990s stars Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Goran Ivanišević, to the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova and the new champion Carlos Alcaraz. Two articles look at the tournaments themselves: Wimbledon and the US Open.
Their records are staggering. Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles and spent more weeks at world No. 1 than anyone, Nadal won 14 French Open titles with a 112-4 record at Roland Garros, and Steffi Graf is the only player to win the calendar-year Golden Slam. Jimmy Connors won 109 singles titles, a men's record that still stands, and Martina Navratilova collected 59 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles.
Behind the trophies there are surprising stories. Nadal plays left-handed although he is naturally right-handed, Djokovic practised in a drained swimming pool during the NATO bombing of Belgrade, Agassi wore a wig and later admitted he hated tennis, and Federer was a hot-headed teenager who once received a cow as a prize. Goran Ivanišević won Wimbledon as a wild card ranked 125th in the world.
The tournaments have their own traditions, from Wimbledon's grass cut to exactly eight millimetres and its 38 tons of strawberries to the US Open, which pioneered equal prize money, tiebreaks and night tennis. Choose an article below to read fifteen facts.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Federer | Switzerland, 20 Grand Slams | He never retired during a professional match. |
| Rafael Nadal | Spain, 22 Grand Slams | He won 14 French Open titles with a 112-4 record at Roland Garros. |
| Novak Djokovic | Serbia, 24 Grand Slams | He practised in a drained swimming pool during the NATO bombing of Belgrade. |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Spain, born 2003 | He became the youngest men's world No. 1 in history at 19. |
| Andy Murray | Scotland, 3 Grand Slams | He won back-to-back Olympic singles gold medals. |
| Pete Sampras | USA, 14 Grand Slams | He retired immediately after winning the 2002 US Open. |
| Andre Agassi | USA, 8 Grand Slams | His famous hair was secretly a fragile wig. |
| Ivan Lendl | Czechoslovakia and USA, 8 Grand Slams | He never managed to win Wimbledon. |
| Jimmy Connors | USA, 8 Grand Slams | He won 109 singles titles, a men's record that still stands. |
| Goran Ivanišević | Croatia, Wimbledon 2001 | He won Wimbledon as a wild card ranked 125th in the world. |
| Serena Williams | USA, 23 Grand Slams | She won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant. |
| Venus Williams | USA, 7 Grand Slams | She led the fight for equal prize money at Wimbledon. |
| Steffi Graf | Germany, 22 Grand Slams | She is the only player to win the calendar-year Golden Slam. |
| Martina Navratilova | Czechoslovakia and USA, 59 Grand Slams | She won 59 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles. |
| Maria Sharapova | Russia, 5 Grand Slams | Her father moved to Florida with her and just $700. |
| Wimbledon | London, since 1877 | The championship grass is cut to exactly eight millimetres. |
| US Open | New York, since 1881 | In 1973 it became the first Grand Slam to pay men and women equally. |
Most Weeks at No. 1
Djokovic
Novak Djokovic holds the all-time record for weeks at world No. 1, passing Federer's men's record and Steffi Graf's overall mark. Novak Djokovic
Most Titles at One Slam
14
Rafael Nadal won 14 French Open titles with a 112-4 record at Roland Garros. Rafael Nadal
Most Singles Titles
109
Jimmy Connors won 109 men's singles titles, a record that still stands. Jimmy Connors
Longest Match
11+ hours
The longest match in tennis history, at Wimbledon in 2010, lasted more than eleven hours. Wimbledon
Switzerland, 20 Grand Slams
Roger Federer was a hot-headed teenager and a former ball boy in Basel before becoming the epitome of calm. He has two sets of twins, speaks four languages and was the first living Swiss person on a stamp. He was once given two cows as prizes.
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Spain, 22 Grand Slams
Rafael Nadal plays left-handed although he is naturally right-handed, and his water-bottle ritual became famous. He fought Djokovic in the longest Grand Slam final ever, lasting 5 hours 53 minutes. He is also a near-scratch amateur golfer.
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Serbia, 24 Grand Slams
Djokovic was discovered by coach Jelena Genčić and changed his diet after an unusual bread test. He has won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles and spent more weeks at world No. 1 than anyone. He completed the career Golden Slam at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Spain, born 2003
Carlos Alcaraz follows his grandfather's "CCC" motto and sharpens his strategy with chess. He won his first four Grand Slam finals and was signed by Babolat at ten. He keeps his trophies in his parents' living room.
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Scotland, 3 Grand Slams
Andy Murray survived the Dunblane school massacre as a child and was born with a split kneecap. He appointed a female coach when few men would, ties his wedding ring to his shoelaces and came back with a metal hip. He was knighted at 29.
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USA, 14 Grand Slams
Pete Sampras managed a genetic blood condition throughout his career and was once sick on court before winning a US Open match. He used an unusually heavy racquet strung at extreme tension. Burglars stole most of his trophies from storage.
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USA, 8 Grand Slams
Andre Agassi's father built a ball machine called "The Dragon", and Agassi later admitted he hated tennis. He boycotted Wimbledon over its dress code and became the first man to win the career Golden Slam. He married fellow champion Steffi Graf.
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Czechoslovakia and USA, 8 Grand Slams
Ivan Lendl is seen as the father of modern power tennis and a pioneer of sports science. Nicknamed "The Terminator", he spent years at world No. 1 and reached a record run of US Open finals. He later coached Andy Murray to Grand Slam glory.
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USA, 8 Grand Slams
Jimmy Connors was coached by his mother and grandmother and won the US Open on three different surfaces. He spent 160 consecutive weeks at No. 1 and reached a record 31 Grand Slam semi-finals. At 39 he made a legendary run to the 1991 US Open semi-finals.
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Croatia, Wimbledon 2001
Goran Ivanišević lost three Wimbledon finals before beating Patrick Rafter in the famous "People's Monday" final. He once defaulted a match after running out of racquets, and 200,000 fans welcomed him home in Split. He later coached Novak Djokovic.
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USA, 23 Grand Slams
Serena won a Grand Slam before her older sister Venus and completed the "Serena Slam" twice. She is a certified nail technician, co-owns an NFL team and built a venture-capital firm. Her 23 Grand Slam titles are an Open Era record.
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USA, 7 Grand Slams
Venus Williams was the first African American woman to reach world No. 1 in the Open Era and has won four Olympic gold medals. She was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome in 2011 and switched to a plant-based diet. Her serve was clocked at 129 mph.
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Germany, 22 Grand Slams
Steffi Graf began hitting balls in her family's living room and spent 377 weeks at world No. 1. Nicknamed "Fräulein Forehand", she won 22 Grand Slam titles before retiring at the top. She was named AP Female Athlete of the Century.
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Czechoslovakia and USA, 59 Grand Slams
Martina Navratilova defected from Czechoslovakia at 18 and pioneered sports nutrition. She became the oldest Grand Slam champion in history, writes detective novels and paints with tennis balls. She has beaten cancer twice.
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Russia, 5 Grand Slams
Martina Navratilova spotted Maria Sharapova's talent in Moscow, and she won Wimbledon at 17 in 2004. She completed a career Grand Slam, signed a $70 million deal with Nike and founded the candy brand Sugarpova. She served a 15-month doping suspension.
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London, since 1877
Wimbledon's all-white dress code extends to underwear, and spectators eat over 38 tons of strawberries. A German bomb hit Centre Court in World War II, and the tournament resisted yellow balls until 1986. A security hawk even has its own accreditation.
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New York, since 1881
The US Open began at an exclusive Rhode Island casino and is the only Grand Slam played on three surfaces. It pioneered the tiebreak, night tennis and Hawk-Eye line calling. Its Honey Deuce cocktail earns more than the singles prize money.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. Which hand does Rafael Nadal naturally use?
2. What did Roger Federer once receive as a prize?
3. What was Andre Agassi's famous hairstyle secretly made of?
4. How was Goran Ivanišević ranked when he won Wimbledon as a wild card?
5. What qualification does Serena Williams hold outside tennis?
6. What did Steffi Graf achieve uniquely in 1988?
7. Which bird has its own accreditation pass at Wimbledon?
8. Where was the US Open originally played?
Novak Djokovic holds the men's record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena Williams won 23 in the Open Era, passing Steffi Graf's 22, and Martina Navratilova won 59 counting singles and doubles.
Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold. Steffi Graf is the only player to do it in a single calendar year, 1988. Agassi, Nadal and Djokovic later completed the career Golden Slam.
The 2012 Australian Open final between Nadal and Djokovic lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes. The longest match of any kind was played at Wimbledon and lasted more than eleven hours.
Wimbledon enforces a strict all-white dress code that even extends to players' underwear. Andre Agassi once boycotted the tournament over the rule before eventually winning it.
The US Open, in 1973. Venus Williams later led the campaign that won equal prize money at Wimbledon.
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