Peter Smiths Trojans won four straight NCAA team titles. The official rankings page for college tennis including teams, singles and doubles. Pasarell did the same in 66. He currently sits ranked No. In 1966, King became the world No. 5 player Peter Rennert would reach No. UCLA, 1965-1966 However, while tennis is now an active sport in the Summer Olympics, it wasnt always that way. In 2003, Henin claimed her first Grand Slam title at the French Open, making her the first Belgian ever to win a Grand Slam. The greatest tennis player of all time is Roger Federer. Then, in 1992 at the Barcelona Summer Olympics, she claimed silver in singles. ***Title totals include pre and post Open Era where relevant. He was the schools first champion since 2000. He was named the ACC Freshman of the Year becoming only the 6th Cavalier to earn the honor in the programs history. -The ITA lists the top teams and players in the country at all levels of college tennis. 2, Frank Froehling, who was ranked No. Shes also the second oldest woman behind Serena Williams to have held this position. In 1896, the inaugural Olympics took place, and tennis was an official sport. A bit of a late bloomer, Wimbledon has been his only weak Grand Slam of his career. Others claim that John whos often said to be the seventh-best player ever was the most talented college player of all time. Heres the beauty of college tennis a supremely individual sport becomes a wonderful team endeavor. The now 39 year old, also holds the record for the most weeks as number one (310). 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. 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. Its perfectly fine to say that Roger Federer is the best tennis player of all time. Clarence Mabry would go on to coach a tiny Texas school across the street from the San Antonio Zoo into a fearsome predatory force with a nasty bite. Billie Jean King is an icon in the tennis world, dominating her field for almost a decade as she won an astonishing 129 titles which included 12 Grand Slams. 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. Rodrigues Finishes as NCAA Singles Runner-Up. In their 34 meetings, his record was 14-20. He started playing professional tennis in 1998 and was dominating the sport after defeating Andre Agassi at the US Open in 2005. 1. One of the most dominating seasons ever. For years they were at the heart of the US Davis Cup team. He has 98 career titles and 20 Grand Slam Singles Title including 8 Wimbledon, 6 Australian Open, 5 US Open, and . Although many people would agree on the data, qualities, or attributes that make one player better than others, theres ultimately personal opinion injected. 8. Bradley was an ITA Scholar Athlete, an ITA All-American in singles and doubles, and a fierce competitor. During the tennis boom, nobody was bigger, and he had rivalries with Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl at some point. 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. These days, the Olympics hold quite a bit of significance related to a players overall success and perception. But they faced off in a dicey semi against each other in the NCAA championships and then had to play doubles together. His first biggest win of his career came in 2012 as he defeated Jurgen Melzer in five sets. Nakashima turned pro ranked No. However, it wasnt until 1992 that he earned his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, playing Goran Ivanievi in a tough five-set match. For example, as black athletes, Serena and Venus Williams overcame unprecedented challenges growing up to break into tennis. 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. Their No. 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. However, in 1924, the Olympics dropped tennis due to disagreements between the International Olympic Committee and International Lawn Tennis Federation. Johnson has finished the past six seasons ranked in the Top 100. 57 after reaching the third round in Barcelona in 2019. He didnt have as long of a prime and some of the others on this list, but he could beat anyone in a single match. Perhaps at another point, well consider the group as a whole. Stanford, 1998 Bob and Mike Bryan, Ryan Wolters, Paul Goldstein, Alex Kim, At Wimbledon we asked Bradley Klahn, Whats the best college team of all time? He blurted out, Its got to be the Stanford team with the Bryans and Paul Goldstein that only lost three points all year. In 73, Stanford was on the cusp of greatness. The winner of three Wimbledon championships, he finished his career with six Grand Slams overall. Its relatively easy to identify who deserves to be near the top of the list for the best male tennis players of all time. His Grand Slam titles include seven at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, eight at Wimbledon, and give at the US Open. Tennis Strategy by Grant Grinnell. His performances in 2015 and 2021 were equally impressive on many levels, both years earning three Grand Slam titles. With that in mind, let's take a sneak peak at the top 25 South American players of all time! 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. Together with her sister, Venus, they have won 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles, and have been dominating the tennis . Federer: 11. Barry Sanders #5. Wed love to hear from you in the comments below. 6 in Lance Tingay's amateur rankings. Hottest Female Golf Players. They promptly lost, but the team went 24-0 and won the national championship, and Mac won the singles. Australian Rod Laver was born on August 3, 1938, and players and fans widely regard him as one of the greatest players of all time. 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. 6. Combine that with his dominance as world No. John McEnroe was perhaps the sweetest recruiting plum in college history. In total, she holds the most overall Grand Slam titles of any player at 64. He currently sits at No. 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. Throughout his entire career, Djokovic has had 85 career titles. Looking back on the history of Grand Slam events, the Australian Open is a bit of an outlier. Here are the ten best tennis players of all time. In some cases, this may be true, but as weve discovered, it becomes somewhat nuanced and isnt always cut and dry. During the NCAA team tournament, he won all three of his singles matches and all four of his doubles matches. Ma Long. In 1988, Sampras turned pro at 16 years old, and not long after, in 1990, he claimed his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, defeating Andre Agassi in straight sets. However, we removed a lot of nuances when we broke the two out and therefore decided to rank men separately from women. The team they beat Earnhart and Bond were also Trojans. During the four years Dominik Koepfer spent at Tulane, he set records and recorded firsts for the Green Wave. In 1971, Goolagong managed to reach the world No. As a professional, Isner has continued his excellence. Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles, six at the French Open and five at Wimbledon. I have actually included 11 players here with two greats tied for the 10th position. A list that gives the top 10 tennis players of all time! Isner left Athens holding the school records for career singles, career doubles, and career combined wins. As of now, he shares his record Grand Slam titles with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Conversely, some players like Roger Federer manage to go injury-free for the better part of their careers. In addition to his Grand Slam success, Federer has claimed 103 ATP titles, the most ever behind Jimmy Connors in the Open Era. 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. USC was led by Steve Johnson, who won 72 straight matches, was ranked No. The greatest tennis player of all time has to be none other than Roger Federer. 7. . UCLA, 1971 She narrowly missed that feat before the Open Era in 1965, only losing in the French Open finals. 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. . Tennis. UCLA, 1965-1966 Charlie Pasarell, Arthur Ashe, Ian Crookenden. Although he competed at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1977, McEnroe officially turned pro in 1978. 20 in the world, and Pakistani Haroon Rahim. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In addition to her first Grand Slam title, she also claimed the worlds No. Not too long after, in 1962, Laver became the second man after Don Budge to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam, winning all four major tournaments in a single year. Now it's time for . College Tennis Talk . Go. 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 . British standout Cameron Norrie set numerous records during the three years he played for the Horned Frogs. Earning the title as the most jacked football player is not an easy job. Jimmy Connors. For starters here are our top ten men's teams. Stockton edged Gottfried to win the singles championship. 1 ranking for the first time, a position he held for a total of 101 weeks during his career. However, he impressed once again, winning another calendar-year Grand Slam in 1969. The Australian finished his career with five Grand Slams, but is often overlooked by some of the greater players from his country. Longevity is another factor to consider. USC, 1962-1964 Dennis Ralston, Rafael Osuna, Bill Bond, Tom Edlefsen, Ramsey Earnhart, Chuck Rombeau. Newsflash: The Bryans became the best doubles team in history. 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. Not surprisingly, the 78 team had some feisty moments. He was named the ITA Player of the Year in his final two seasons. 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. However, he decided to turn professional to start 1963, which meant he couldnt compete in any Grand Slam Events through 1967. The Australian reached #1 at a very young age, and his overall career success started younger than most players in general. 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. As a result, looking back at players like Bjrn Borg, who has a thoroughly impressive resume, only played the tournament once in 1974 as a 17-year-old, which gave him limited opportunities to further add to his Grand Slam count of 11. Dick Butkus. He is one of the few players to achieve the career Golden Slam, meaning that he won all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold. 5/21/2021. She played a limited schedule for the following two years but accumulated a few solid wins, including her first top 20 victory in 1995. 75.9%. He has proven his talent for over 20 years and is still competing at the very highest level. 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. However, only 62 of these occurred in the Open Era, so she doesnt have the achievement during this period. In 1967, she played at the Australian Open, her first Grand Slam event. Roger Federers most significant rivalries in his career are Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The second-best Rafael in tennis history was ranked No. Despite that, he managed to win 72 of his 198 titles in the Open Era past the age of 30. Jeremy on May 15, 2020: This is where he could get a good look at every single return, and dictate points even as the returner. Regarding her match singles win percentage, Court stands alone, holding the best record at 91.69% through her career and 91.17% during the Open Era. Caroline Wozniacki. 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. J.J. Wolf was a force to be reckoned with for the Buckeyes. 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. He made a huge statement winning a pair of titles at the French Open and Australian Open for his career. On the ATP Tour, Tennys has achieved a career-high of No. 3 behind Jeff Borowiak, who would become No. 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. Outside of singles, Navratilova has one of the most impressive doubles careers in history. 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. M Men W Women. Compilation of the top singles points from matches featured on this channel during the 2020 college tennis season. Connors also holds eight Grand Slam titles, with one at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon, and record-tying five at the US Open. Here are D1baseball.com's picks for the best college baseball players of the 64-Team/Super Regional Era. Everyone else, I believe, would benefit greatly from . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for visiting my site. 6. By the time he was 21 years old, he already had a U.S. Open and Wimbledon title to his name. One of the greatest servers of all time, theres no telling what he could be able to do with modern technology to improve his game even more. List of male doubles tennis players. You might find a players ability to compete at a high level for an extended period more impressive than a shorter career, even if one player in each camp ended up with nearly the same number of titles. Born on December 21, 1954, Chris Evert is an American tennis player who competed from 1972 1989. If we dont dig deeper to understand the quality of titles, we may undervalue a players achievements because a win at a 1000 level is significantly more impressive than a 250. 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). Its challenging enough to reach reasonable conclusions on the best players without mixing the ATP and WTA tour. Greatest Tennis Players of All Time. In the fall of his senior season, Isner won the ITA All-American Doubles Championships and the ITA National Indoor Doubles Championships. However, at this stage in his career, Djokovic is particularly unique in that he continues to dominate and remain healthy, which means hes only going to extend his results and further cement his position as the greatest player ever to live.