Ma Long. 7. The team won two titles, in 70 (sans Jimbo) and in 71. I have actually included 11 players here with two greats tied for the 10th position. 1 singles slot his junior season, Norrie also claimed TCUs season singles winning percentage record. The Australian finished his career with five Grand Slams, but is often overlooked by some of the greater players from his country. Federer first claimed the world No. ITA Mens All-American Singles Championship, US Open Singles Draw Features Six Former Women Collegiate Athletes, Coach Masterclass The ITA & Coach Governance, College Tennis In the Community: Teams Give Back In The Month of February, The Power of Community Davidson Kozlowski [Coaches Podcast], Division I Mens Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point February 28. He became world No. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Trinitys No. BTW: Whitlinger beat Hagey to claim the singles crown, and would coach Stanford for a decade. However, throughout his career, Sampras got the best of him. There are tennis fans who sometimes forget just how dominant Jim Courier was during his prime. He used his size and athleticism to get to the net, and that helped him win six Grand Slams. He has proven his talent for over 20 years and is still competing at the very highest level. Although its tough to imagine a player who will eclipse the big three on the mens side or the top players on the womens, one thing is for sure it will happen. As a professional, Isner has continued his excellence. He finished with 14 Grand Slams and 64 career titles, and he was nearly impossible to beat on grass courts and very fast hard courts. However, adversity comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most famous players under his tutelage include Ken McGregor . 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. 10. He became the first African-American to win a Grand Slam title on the mens side, and his activism off of the court makes him a legend. 1 in doubles. 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. 1 through 4 and gladly made sacrifices for a team that went 28-0 and scored 26 shutouts. Johnson reached No. Some, such as prize money and whether they were left or right-handed, are there for fun. 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. 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. 2, Frank Froehling, who was ranked No. Top Tennis Players Ever. Throughout the years, there have been many great tennis players who have made a name for themselves. Despite the challenge, here is my list of the 10 greatest male tennis players of the Open Era1968 to present. Joe is the best Tennis Pro I've ever had. 3. Many would say that this is the year Novak Djokovic finally took over as the greatest tennis player of all time. 1 in the singles and doubles Oracle ITA Rankings. 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. 9. His performances in 2015 and 2021 were equally impressive on many levels, both years earning three Grand Slam titles. For example, if one player has a winning record against a player with straight-set victories is more compelling than a player who has a winning record where every match was highly competitive and could have gone either way. Federer: 11. In 2002, Venus ascended to the world No. List of male doubles tennis players. He currently sits at No. Djokovic also leads in Masters titles, and has the greatest finals win percentage. Hopefully, the combination helps explain why we ranked players as we did while providing a jumping-off point for future debate. Lutz won the NCAA singles in 67, but lost the 68 final to Smith. These days, the Olympics hold quite a bit of significance related to a players overall success and perception. Despite that success, he found the majority of his dominance on hard courts. He captured his first professional singles title at the Godfrey Futures by taking the day over Rudy Siwy. Beyond her success in singles, Venus achieved stellar results in doubles with fourteen Grand Slam titles and three gold medals. During the NCAA team tournament, he won all three of his singles matches and all four of his doubles matches. The left-hander could spin the ball anywhere, and had put-away volleys that were unseen at the time. When evaluating the best tennis players ever, some people believe its necessary to consider a players ability to compete in doubles because its an essential discipline that the sport has to offer. Hes another casualty of the Roger Federer era, constantly going up against him and other greats during any deep runs in tournaments. Koepfer also became the first Tulane player to be ranked No. No.1 in 1991. In 1971, Goolagong managed to reach the world No. 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. USC, 1962-1964 7) all stepped up at USCs new tennis center to take Stanfords first title, in what would become a dynastic run of 17 championships. UCLA, 1970-1971 Jimmy Connors, Jeff Borowiak, Haroon Rahim. Overall, Lendl earned 94 titles and is currently the third most in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. Toley said he could put together a third team that would win this thing 50 percent of the time. In one match they beat UCLA, with Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell, 9-0. They almost won the 72 NCAAs. Create a free account and explore my latest videos below, Before we dive into many of the nuances of ranking the best players of all time, lets get clear on what exactly we mean by best.. 7 in the world, and the injured Pat Dupre, who reached the 79 Wimbledon semis, were out. Your email address will not be published. List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players. Roger Federer. Top 10 Greatest Men's Tennis Players of All Time: 10. Theres no doubt that Gustavo Kuerten deserves mention on this list, but he is a specialist for the most part. Ramanathan Krishnan. For most coaches, the recruiting process begins with academics. For as much as people talk about the Big Three or Big Four of this current era, Stan Wawrinka deserves mentioning as well. He won it in 1974 and reached the finals in 1975, so he certainly missed out on some golden opportunities. In 1998, she won her first WTA tournament, which she followed up with a few additional titles that year. Longevity is another factor to consider. Depending on a players ranking, that extra cash can be crucial. Although Stefi didnt play doubles frequently, she has a womens Grand Slam to her name, which she earned in 1988 alongside Gabriela Sabatini. Johnson has finished the past six seasons ranked in the Top 100. 4. Each of the 14 left a legacy at their school and in the greater scope of college tennis. With that said, there is still time for Nadal, and I do believe if his body can hold up, he can overtake Federer. She holds an astounding 177 career titles, including 31 Grand Slam victories. She narrowly missed that feat before the Open Era in 1965, only losing in the French Open finals. Table of Contents show. Just a couple of decades ago, many labeled Pete Sampras as the greatest tennis player of all time. 1 ranking for the first time, a position she held briefly throughout her career for a total of eleven weeks. 1. Venus Williams (Born: June 17, 1980) Venus Williams is an American professional tennis player. Bjrn Borg resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, but was born in Sweden on June 6, 1956. 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. J.J. Wolf was a force to be reckoned with for the Buckeyes. For such a small school to have two of your all-time top ten teams shows what an incredible job Clarence Mabry and later Bob McKinley did with limited resources. Furthermore, not all titles are equal. John Whitlinger, Jim Delaney and Chico Hagey (who a few weeks earlier had been Stanfords No. That is until the big three came along. Not only did Mackenzie McDonald etch his name in the UCLA record books he left his mark on the NCAAs as well. He has six Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, with an additional six before. Federer turned pro in 1998, and it didnt take long before his career began to pick up steam. Here are D1baseball.com's picks for the best college baseball players of the 64-Team/Super Regional Era. Wolf turned professional a little over a year ago in July of 2019. He was also a great doubles player, holding the #1 ranking in the world in singles and doubles at one point in his career. In total, she would win 12 Grand Slam titles, including one at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, six at Wimbledon, and four at the US Open. She holds the fifth-most career titles of any woman in the Open Era at 73 and has a record 855-152 in matches for a win rate of 84.9%. In the Olympics, Roger Federer has a silver and gold medal. Over the course of four seasons, Johnson was named an ITA All-American seven times. 1 Margaret Court in a small clay court tournament held in Charlotte, NC. She holds seven titles at the Australian Open, three at the French Open, seven at Wimbledon, and six at the US Open. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. Wed love to hear from you in the comments below. Nakashima turned pro ranked No. He played for UW-Whitewater and was the highest-drafted football player in college history, having been selected 98 th overall in the third round of 2021 NFL drafts. If not for Federer, he likely would have won a few more trophies along the way. 1. A few years later, in 1978, Navratilova won her first singles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Chris Evert. It doesnt make accomplishments from years past less impressive, relevant, or important, but its a factor that we should weigh when making comparisons. In their 34 meetings, his record was 14-20. Just like last year, Daevenia can again call herself the best Dutch college tennis player this year. 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 . USC, 1967-1968 Each is worth considering when ranking players. He has 98 career titles and 20 Grand Slam Singles Title including 8 Wimbledon, 6 Australian Open, 5 US Open, and . 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. Perhaps this is a bit low for some, but its very hard to compare eras that are so far apart. A. andfor Legend. Winning Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces can be a huge challenge. He currently sits ranked No. To be clear, we dont perceive one tour as better or worse than the other. Despite that, she did compete in a professional tournament that year but didnt perform well. A list that gives the top 10 tennis players of all time! 1 and helped the US win the 63 Davis Cup. Grand Slams Won: 2. Before retiring in 2020, this talented, beautiful Danish tennis player became the first Scandinavian woman to win big prize money and hold her No. 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. Between 2004-2008 he was number one for a . Jason Jung spent four years playing for the University of Michigan where he finished ranked fourth in career doubles wins and third for most doubles wins by a freshman. In 2011, he was selected as a member of the USTA Summer Collegiate Team along with his teammate Rhyne Williams. Although many people would agree on the data, qualities, or attributes that make one player better than others, theres ultimately personal opinion injected. McDonald was named an ITA All-American in singles for three straight years. Herschel Walker #2. Even though he never won Wimbledon, he did win the Australian Open when it was on the grass. Stockton edged Gottfried to win the singles championship. UCLA, 1965-1966 These character traits, when combined, will produce exceptional, top-tier results, as evidenced by the accomplishments of the coaches and their tennis programs. Toward the end of 2003, Henin managed to find her way to the world No. The following year was one of her most impressive, winning all four Grand Slam events and a gold medal in singles at the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Andre Agassi is the only other player to accomplish this feat. He had some mild success on other surfaces, but clay courts are where he made his name. 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. On the ATP Tour, Tennys has achieved a career-high of No. This question a few years ago was Federer and Federer only, but now he has company. He was a strong all-around player who could dominate in doubles as well. When it comes to the best female tennis player of all time, many consider the case to be closed due to the sheer dominance of Serena Williams in recent years. Writer Frank Deford suggested Toleys fellow coaches might well consider scheduling a separate tournament of their own at that asylum in Hartford., 2. Goldstein reached No. Some rules are different, i.e., on-court coaching is allowed on the WTA tour outside of the Grand Slam events. She was so successful across multiple disciplines that she swept Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mix doubles at the same tournament five times, referred to as the Triple Crown in tennis. However, dig a little deeper, and its surprisingly nuanced, brimming with subjectivity and emotion. She was one of the best female tennis players when she won 18 Grand Slam titles and 157 other titles during her playing career. Everyone else, I believe, would benefit greatly from . 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. Skip to primary navigation; . Whos on our list for the best male or female tennis players of all time? Find the US States - No Outlines Minefield. Agassi was well known for his rivalry against all-time great Pete Sampras. During those years, he claimed eight titles at three of the biggest professional tournaments, the US Pro, French Pro, and Wembley Pro. 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. 8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 2 French, 2 US Open. Heres another hypothetical example to consider: Again, which player is more impressive. Andre Agassi had one of the longest careers of any of our top-ranked mens tennis players at a thoroughly impressive 20 years. After all, if someone is coming up with their list of the best tennis players of all time, they might want to consider the whole player beyond their talents on the court. In addition to the NCAA national championships his senior year, Kwiatkowski helped Virginia to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The last comment and 13 other comment(s) need to be approved. Giron reached a career high ranking of No. However, when narrowing it down to the best of the best, here are the top 10 best tennis players of all time. Stanford's chest-bumping identical twins and all-time men's doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan rank just behind McEnroe. As a result, many players who are considered the greatest of all time didnt have an opportunity to compete at the Olympics, which is noteworthy when evaluating a players rank. He was named an ITA Singles All-American all three years. Serenas first title came in early 1999, and later that year, she also claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. Of course, we had to make the cutoff somewhere, so here are a few additional men worth noting. The beauty of Andre Agassis game allowed him to excel on all different surfaces. Jan 9, 2013 . Quinn Meinerz. 220. 9. 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. In 1960, at the age of 18, Court began playing professional tennis and quickly enjoyed success, including her first major title at the Australian Open, then named the Australian Championships. In 1975, Chris Evert reached the world No. Dick Butkus. Throughout her career, she won 43 titles and had a career record of 525-115 for a winning rate of 82%. That was only his sophomore year. Visit the following rankings sites to find out. "Playing college tennis, no, but going to university after tennis, yes, that was always the plan," Dabrowski said. Erase the USA (No Outlines) 3. He won the 1995 French Open, but he dominated in plenty of tournaments on clay courts as well. Popular German former tennis player Boris Becker is ranked number ten on the list of the greatest tennis players in history. ITA. Shed only lose one more match the entire year to Navratilova, going an astounding 75-2 for the year. 3. 6 in Lance Tingay's amateur rankings. He was first ranked No. 101 after qualifying at Cincinnati. 1 for the first time, a position he held for a total of 170 weeks throughout his career. Nadal is perhaps one of the most interesting players to analyze regarding his performance on clay 13 of his 20 grand slam titles are on this surface, and 62 of his total 88 titles on clay. Rodrigues Finishes as NCAA Singles Runner-Up. Grass. 10. The NCAA tennis championships began in 1883 on the courts of a Hartford insane asylum. In 1896, the inaugural Olympics took place, and tennis was an official sport. Rafa by Rafael Nadal, John Carlin. After qualifying at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, Wolf reached a career high ranking of 143. As challenging as it is to make a list of the best female tennis players of all time, there has to be a cutoff, despite many other players significant achievements. He has won 15 ATP Tour titles. World number 1 ranked male tennis players. 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. In addition to her gold medal in the 1988 Olympics, she earned a bronze in doubles that year. 1. His highest career ranking is No. Steve Johnsons collegiate career is the stuff of legends. Given enough time, another player will come along that does what many now believe to be impossible. 58 and now is Stanfords popular coach. Trinity, 1962-1965 Team Player - 5. 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 . 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. Serena Williams is one of the greatest Tennis players of all time, male or female. King returned the following year and made it to the third round. 2. Overall, Nadal has 88 titles to his name, with an astounding 62 of those coming on clay. Compared to last year, her UTR has even improved considerably, well done Daevenia! Despite his record against Nadal, I give Federer the edge in my list of the all-time best tennis players for a few reasons. Caroline Wozniacki. 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. In addition to his Grand Slam count, he has a convincing lead in our rankings over Jimmy Connors because he had a head-to-head record of 22-13 over Connors, which gives him a clear edge.