He had some mild success on other surfaces, but clay courts are where he made his name. 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. Tennys Sandgren | University of Tennessee. His first biggest win of his career came in 2012 as he defeated Jurgen Melzer in five sets. Navratilova is the record holder for the most titles in the Open Era with 167 and ended her career with a 1,442-219 record for an impressive win rate of 86.8%. So let's get started! That year, Laver claimed the Wimbledon title. 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. Throughout her career, she won 43 titles and had a career record of 525-115 for a winning rate of 82%. "When I was coming up, the years between 18 and 22, there were a lot of girls who were breaking into the Top 100, Top 50, and Top 10, so I knew those were kind of the peak years. What's new. Johnson anchored the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA Team Championships and collected two NCAA Singles Championships for himself. UCLA, 1970-1971 Jimmy Connors, Jeff Borowiak, Haroon Rahim. Born on June 17, 1980, in California, Venus Williams is an American tennis player whos achieved considerable success in her long career on the WTA tour. In their 34 meetings, his record was 14-20. 1. The game has changed so much throughout the years, making it virtually impossible to make direct comparisons. She followed up those results with an excellent 2007, where she won the French Open for the third consecutive year and the US Open. 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. These days, the Australian Open is a staple and a guaranteed stop for every player who qualifies. In 2012 he won the silver in London, and in 2008 he won the Gold in Beijing. Stanford, 1978 Find the US States - No Outlines Minefield. To be clear, we dont perceive one tour as better or worse than the other. Instead, these tournaments only allowed amateurs to play, and these players didnt receive prize money. Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert, Steve Jamison. . The Ohio State Buckeyes men's and women's varsity teams are among the best in the NCAA, too. That statistic would show how consistently the . Djokovic is younger than the players #2 and #3 players on the list, and the most likely to add Grand Slams to his rsum. The team they beat Earnhart and Bond were also Trojans. 10. Steffi is right-handed with a one-handed backhand and our pick for the greatest female tennis player ever. 10. He made a huge statement winning a pair of titles at the French Open and Australian Open for his career. 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. The Art of Doubles by Pat Blaskower. List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players. Bob won the singles championship yet he was only their No. Impressively, Evert was also the runner-up at 16 Grand Slams. Titles can be any combination of singles and doubles, so the combined total is the default sorting of the lists.The current top-level events are on the ATP Tour for men and the WTA Tour for women. Somewhat surprisingly, tennis didnt make it back into the Olympics until 1988, 64 years later. Laver had the distinction of the greatest tennis player of all time at one point, but the way tennis changed from a playing and business perspective hurt him. 3 behind Jeff Borowiak, who would become No. Stanford, 1978 John McEnroe, Matt Mitchell, Bill Maze, Peter Rennert, Lloyd Bourne. However, against Djokovic, he trails slightly by 28-30. Federer is joint top as the player with most Grand Slam titles in the world (20) and is second behind Djokovic in most weeks spent at the World No.1 spot. In the 1970s, Lavers dominance in Grand Slam events diminished due to his commitments with the National Tennis League and World Champion Tennis tours, where he remained dominant. A Terrible Splendor by Marshall Jon Fisher. Koepfer broke into the Top 100 after his US Open run he was one of six former collegiate players who finished inside the Top 100 in 2019. Compilation of the top singles points from matches featured on this channel during the 2020 college tennis season. When considering the best tennis players of all time, its tempting to rank male and female tennis players right alongside each other. Stockton edged Gottfried to win the singles championship. Ranked 128 in singles, Bradley has achieved so much success while on tour. These character traits, when combined, will produce exceptional, top-tier results, as evidenced by the accomplishments of the coaches and their tennis programs. 1 the most ever. Hottest Female Soccer Players. 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. However, he never managed to win the French Open, where his best result was a semi-final appearance in 1996. World number 1 ranked male tennis players. Djokovic has also eclipsed the rapidly fading Nadal as the active player with the best chance to eclipse Federer for best ever, even if he has far to go in the major title tally (12 to Federer's 17). List of the best men's tennis players from 2000s, listed by popularity with photos of the players when available. Similarly, is it more impressive that a player wins a Grand Slam at the age of 16 or 35? However, he impressed once again, winning another calendar-year Grand Slam in 1969. NCSA analyzed over 880 four-year colleges with men's college tennis programs across four division levels (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) to develop a list of the Best Men's Tennis Colleges for Student-Athletes.. NCSA Power Rankings are based on proprietary analysis of NCSA Favorites data obtained from the college search activity of the over 3 million student-athletes on . 1. During that match he didnt drop a set. During those years, he claimed eight titles at three of the biggest professional tournaments, the US Pro, French Pro, and Wembley Pro. Beyond his success in singles, its also worth noting his accomplishments in doubles, where he had 78 titles, an 87.7% win record, and ranked No. 6 in Lance Tingay's amateur rankings. He is one of three men to end each of the last 10 years ranked in the top 20 and with 30+ wins. For that reason, thats why the big three are held in such high regard because they so consistently dominated the game, with very few players ever breaking through to win big titles during their time on tour. Then, in 1992 at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, she claimed silver in singles. They were just nails, from top to bottom. He has 98 career titles and 20 Grand Slam Singles Title including 8 Wimbledon, 6 Australian Open, 5 US Open, and . 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. 3. In college at Ohio State, Gholston bench pressed a team-high 455 pounds and squatted 405 pounds for twenty reps. 1 ranking, which she held for 117 weeks throughout her career. When she was 9, she moved with her family (including fellow tennis great and sister Venus) to Florida. 1. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. However, it wasnt until 1992 that he earned his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, playing Goran Ivanievi in a tough five-set match. 1 through 4 and gladly made sacrifices for a team that went 28-0 and scored 26 shutouts. Erase the USA (No Outlines) 3. 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. Do we believe player A holding the number one ranking for 20 more weeks is more valuable than player Bs five additional titles? Despite that, he managed to win 72 of his 198 titles in the Open Era past the age of 30. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski | University of Virginia. In 2006, Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe became only the third Illinois duo to capture the NCAA Doubles Championship. Its hard to imagine that Rosewall would dominate in todays game standing only 57 tall and under 150 pounds, but he made it work during his prime. Throughout the years, there have been many great tennis players who have made a name for themselves. After qualifying at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, Wolf reached a career high ranking of 143. They promptly lost, but the team went 24-0 and won the national championship, and Mac won the singles. Toward the end of 1982, Graf turned pro, and she played her first full season the following year at the surprisingly young age of 13. Theres only a handful of players who have done that, and Mats Wilander is one of them. Vernon Gholston - 6'3, 260 lbs. Novak Djokovic has held the No. However, despite significant success over the next few years, King didnt win her first Grand Slam title until 1966 at Wimbledon. Toward the end of 2003, Henin managed to find her way to the world No. John McEnroe was perhaps the sweetest recruiting plum in college history. 1 ranking for 67 consecutive weeks, which is quite an achievement. Despite his success, he had a unique relationship with the slams. First, the age and timing of head-to-head matchups can significantly influence the eventual record between two players. Getting to Grand Slams finals was never an issue for Ivan Lendl. Born on June 3, 1986, in Mallorca, Spain, Rafael Nadal has consistently delivered some of the most impressive results the sport has ever seen and is one of the most successful teenage players in history. Video History Championship Info. Stefi Graf is third all-time on the title leaderboard with 107 and has a singles career record of 900-115 for a win rate of 88.7%. 3. Three collegians with St. Louis connections made their mark on college tennis Chuck McKinley, Arthur Ashe and a feisty fellow named Jimmy Connors. 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. 3. Although theres certainly nothing wrong with the exercise, weve decided to maintain two separate lists. Until the 1980s, very few top players attended the tournament due to Australias remote location, low prize money and prestige, and schedule, which fell around the holidays. He might not be the most complete player of his era, but he was a matchup nightmare for all the greats when he squared off against them. She also made it to 11 other Grand Slam finals, where her opponent defeated her. For example, which of the following hypothetical players is better: Theres no doubt the Grand Slam events are the most prestigious and challenging for a player to win. UCLAs 76 team featured Brian Teacher, Peter Fleming, Ferdi Taygan and John Austin. Outside of singles, Serena has had a successful career in doubles, primarily competing with her sister. Our writers made the case for Djokovic, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer. 10. 4. 2. $15 million. Serena Williams. Weeks at number 1: 72. You have entered an incorrect email address! However, in 1924, the Olympics dropped tennis due to disagreements between the International Olympic Committee and International Lawn Tennis Federation. Plus John Isners Georgia Bulldogs, Kevin Andersons Illini and recent Virginia Cavalier teams all earned A+s. You have entered an incorrect email address! Each is worth considering when ranking players. Each of the 14 left a legacy at their school and in the greater scope of college tennis. Furthermore, she contested 14 Grand Slam finals, where she was the runner-up. Then again, insanity has never stopped us before. USC, 2009-2013 Steve Johnson, Yannick Hanfman, Robert Quiroz, Robert Farah. Agassi also managed to earn himself a career Super Slam, which he is the only player to hold, and a Golden Slam, the latter of which has only been matched by Rafael Nadal. Forty of his 44 career tournament wins all came on dirt. He reached the finals of Wimbledon after a marathon semifinals match against John Isner that lasted six hours and 36 minutes the second longest match in Grand Slam history. There was USCs 58 squad, led by Perus Modesto Junior College transfer Alex Olmedo, who won the NCAA singles and doubles and led the US to the Davis Cup title. Trying to figure out the 25 greatest tennis players of all time can seem like a daunting task for a lot of people out there. Before this year, professional tennis players who played tennis for money werent allowed to compete in many of the biggest tennis tournaments, including the Grand Slam events. With that said, there is still time for Nadal, and I do believe if his body can hold up, he can overtake Federer. A year later, in 1987, Stefi Graf won her first Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, defeating Martina Navratilova, another top player and world No. 1 for 270 total weeks through his career. The last comment and 13 other comment(s) need to be approved. The number 1 in our best table tennis players list is a Chinese player, Ma Long. Overall, Lendl earned 94 titles and is currently the third most in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. Visit the following rankings sites to find out. 63 heading into the US Open. If not for Federer, he likely would have won a few more trophies along the way. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT, University of California - Los Angeles - UCLA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo, 2002-2023 NCSA College Recruiting All Rights Reserved. Perhaps at another point, well consider the group as a whole. I hope you enjoy the resources. Harvard's second-place finish is driven by the Danish-born Caroline Wozniacki, who became the first Scandinavian woman to rank as the top player in the world, a title she held for 71 weeks between 2010 and 2011.