Tennis
Who Has Won The Most Grand Slam Titles In Tennis History?
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The latest Grand Slam men’s singles title went the way of Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, but which tennis players have won the most Grand Slams throughout history?
Who Has Won The Most Grand Slam Titles In Tennis History?
=9. Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Ken Rosewall & Fred Perry – Eight Grand Slams
With eight Grand Slams apiece, all of Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Ken Rosewall, and Fred Perry are level in ninth on the Grand Slam men’s singles champions list.
Agassi, Connors, and Lendl won all eight of their Grand Slams in the Open Era, while Rosewall won four in the Amateur Era and four in the Open Era, and Perry secured all eight of his during the Amateur Era.
Of the five with eight Grand Slam titles, Agassi and Perry are the only two to have won a career Grand Slam, with Agassi winning four Australian Opens, one French Open, one Wimbledon, and two US Opens between 1992 and 2003, and Perry winning one Australian Open, one French Open, three Wimbledons, and three US Opens between 1933 and 1936.
Rosewall’s triumphs came at the Australian Open on four occasions (1953, 1955, 1971 & 1972), the French Open twice (1953 & 1968), and the US Open twice (1956 & 1970). Despite not being able to get over the line at Wimbledon, the Australian was a finalist on four occasions (1954, 1956, 1970 & 1974).
Connors’ standout tournament was easily the US Open with a stunning five triumphs in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982 and 1983, with the former world No. 1’s other three Grand Slam men’s singles titles coming at Wimbledon in 1974 and 1982, as well as the Australian Open in 1974.
Last, but certainly not least, Lendl won two Australian Open titles (1989 & 1990), three French Opens (1984, 1986 & 1987), and three US Opens (1985, 1986, 1987). The Czech-American was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a then-record 270 weeks, and has coached the likes of Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev since retiring from playing.
8. Bill Tilden – 10 Grand Slams
Having become the first person in history to win 10 Grand Slams, American Bill Tilden makes our list thanks to his triumphs between 1920 and 1930.
Nicknamed ‘Big Bill’, Tilden won all 10 of his Slams in the Amateur Era, and holds the record alongside William Larned and Richard Sears for the most title wins at the US Open with seven between 1920 and 1929.
His other three singles Grand Slams came at Wimbledon in 1920, 1921 and 1930, with his 1920 win making him the first American to win at the England-based championships. Despite his successes, Tilden was never able to win a French Open singles title, finishing as the runner-up in 1927 and 1930, and never played at the Australian Open.
Across doubles and mixed doubles competitions, Tilden was also extremely successful when it came to Grand Slams, winning 11 tournaments across Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open.
=6. Björn Borg & Rod Laver – 11 Grand Slams
Swedish icon Björn Borg and former Australian world No. 1 Rod Laver are next up on the men’s singles Grand Slam champions list, with the pair boasting 11 successes apiece across the sport’s major tournaments throughout their illustrious careers.
Borg won his 11 Grand Slam titles during the Open Era of tennis, winning an impressive six French Opens (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 & 1981), and five Wimbledon Championships (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 & 1980). The 68-year-old came close to winning the US Open on four occasion, losing in the 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1981 finals, while his best finish at the Australian Open came in 1974 when he was eliminated in the third round.
Laver’s 11 titles were split between the Amateur Era and the Open Era, with his first six coming when he was an amateur, and his final five as a professional. The Australian is one of eight players to win a career Grand Slam, and is just one of four to win two career Grand Slams. The Queensland native has three Australian Open titles to his name (1960, 1962 & 1969), two French Open titles (1962 & 1969), four Wimbledon Championships (1961, 1962, 1968 & 1969, and two US Open titles (1962 & 1969), and holds the record for the most singles titles in history with 198.
5. Roy Emerson – 12 Grand Slams
Another Queensland-born Aussie sensation Roy Emerson comes in at fifth place with 12 Grand Slams, and like his compatriot Laver, he is one of four players to have won two career Grand Slams throughout the history of the sport.
All 12 of Emerson’s Grand Slam singles triumphs came during the Amateur Era, a record high for the Amateur Era, with six coming at the Australian Open (1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 & 1967), two at the French Open (1964 & 1967), two at Wimbledon (1964 & 1965), and two at the US Open (1961 & 1964).
Emerson was also an accomplished doubles player, being one of only two players to have won three career Grand Slams in the format. The 87-year-old recorded wins at the Australian Open on three occasions (1962, 1966 & 1969), the French Open six times (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 & 1965), Wimbledon on three occasions (1959, 1961 & 1971), as well as at the US Open four times (1959, 1960, 1965 & 1966).
4. Pete Sampras – 14 Grand Slams
The top four players with the most Grand Slam wins throughout the history of tennis all played in the Open Era, with fourth place Pete Sampras winning 14 Grand Slams between 1990 and 2002.
Despite winning the the fourth-most Grand Slams in history, Sampras was unable to win a career Grand Slam, having failed to win a single French Open. His best performance at the Paris-based championships came in 1996 when he was eliminated in the semi-finals.
A former world No. 1, the American won two Australian Opens in 1994 and 1997, seven Wimbledon titles in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, and five US Opens in 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2002.
Sampras’ glittering career earned him more than £30million in prize money, which puts him sixth in the all-time earnings list for men’s singles players, only behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Alexander Zverev.
3. Roger Federer – 20 Grand Slams
Swiss legend Roger Federer is third on the Grand Slam champions list, as the 42-year-old won an impressive 20 men’s singles majors across a 15 year spell.
Federer holds the record for the most Wimbledon wins with eight between 2003 and 2017, whilst he also won six Australian Open titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017 & 2018), five US Open titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008), and one French Open title in 2009, contributing to an incredible £100million in prize money earned throughout his career.
Retired as of 2022, Federer is truly one of the all-time greats of tennis, and was the face of the sport alongside Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for well over a decade, with the trio often being referred to as the ‘Big Three’.
2. Rafael Nadal – 22 Grand Slams
Another member of the ‘Big Three’, and the first active player on the list, Rafael Nadal comes in at number two. The Spaniard has won 22 Grand Slams since 2005, but hasn’t won one since 2022.
Nadal holds the record for the most French Open titles with an impressive 14 between 2005 and 2022, and the former world No. 1 has also won two Australian Opens (2009 & 2022), two Wimbledons (2008 & 2010), and four US Opens (2010, 2013, 2017 & 2019).
The 38-year-old has a total of 92 career titles, the fifth-highest in the Open Era, and is a two-time Olympic gold medallist having won the singles tournament at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as the doubles tournament alongisde Marc Lopez at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
As of late, Nadal has suffered with a hip injury, which saw him drop out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005 last year, as well as out of the top 100 for the first time since 2003, and was most recently ranked 161st in the ATP world rankings.
1. Novak Djokovic – 24 Grand Slams
Coming in at number one with a world record-high 24 Grand Slams, is none other than the final member of the ‘Big Three’ Novak Djokovic, who is just the second active player to be named on SportsCasting‘s Grand Slam champions list.
Djokovic first won a Grand Slam back in 2008 when he reigned supreme at the Australian Open, and since then, he has taken the tennis and sporting world by storm. His 10 wins at the Australian Open (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023) is a record-high, while he also has three wins at the French Open (2016, 2021 & 2023), seven at Wimbledon (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2022), as well as four at the US Open (2011, 2015, 2018 & 2023).
These wins, along with his 98 total career titles, have earned the Serbian an all-time high of over £142 million in career earnings, whilst he is also the only men’s singles player in the sport’s history to win three career Grand Slams.
The 37-year-old remains firmly among the best players on the planet, currently ranked No. 2 in the ATP world rankings, as he reached the most recent Wimbledon final, in which he was defeated by back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz.