Men’s tennis has had its fair share of noteworthy individual seasons. From Rod Laver completing the first and, as of yet, unmatched calendar Grand Slam in 1969 to Jannik Sinner’s stellar 2024 season, the ATP tour has given us plenty of such moments.
Each season features a mix of Grand Slam titles and Masters 1000 trophies, highlighting the consistency of the players who have given us those seasons to remember. Here we take a look at the top six best individual seasons in tennis men’s singles.
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Rod Laver secured a calendar-year Grand Slam in 1969. That remarkable season remains the benchmark in the Open Era. Since then, other players have come close to emulating Laver, but none have been able to pull it off. The Australian’s repeat of his 1962 feat when he completed his first calendar Slam places him among the greats.
In 1969, he won 16 titles, including the four majors. Laver finished the season with an 86.6% win percentage. The Aussie also won titles all around the world that year, including varied locations from Johannesburg to Wembley to Boston.
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The 1970s were all about Jummy Connors. The American won six tour-level titles in his first pro season, including the prestigious Queens Club in London. In the 1974 season Connors won the Australian Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon finishing the season at 94-4 overall with 15 titles. The 96% win rate that year is one of the best in the Open era.
Had he not been banned, he might have won the French Open and completed a calendar slam. The decision by Connors to back a rival governing body for men’s tennis led to him being barred from playing in Paris.
Roger Federer finished the 2006 season with 12 ATP titles, including three Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 wins. A 92-5 record and holding the No. 1 spot throughout the season are among his other milestones. The Swiss great made all four finals that season, clashing with Rafael Nadal at two of them. A four-set loss to Nadal in Roland was set right when Federer won the Wimbledon final facing the Spaniard. But an opportunity to become the first man since Rod Lave to complete a Calendar Slam was gone.
Federer repeated the feat in 2007, winning three of the four Grand Slams while holding to the ATP No. 1 ranking. Once again, the Swiss legend fell short of a Calendar Slam against his clay court nemesis, Nadal. The scoreline was identical in both seasons, with the Spaniard winning in four sets.
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Rafael Nadal ended up with a rich haul in the 2010 season. He was victorious at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Three Masters titles were a part of the Spaniard’s exceptional season. Grand Slam wins on three different surfaces in the same year proved that Nadal was more than just a clay court player.
Nadal began the year with back-to-back Masters wins at Monte Carlo, Rome, and Madrid. This was before arriving in Wimbledon to mark the beginning of his Grand Slam winning streak. A 71-10 record and seven ATP level trophies earmarked his 2010 season. A chance to earn a Calendar Slam did not begin well when Nadal had to retire when playing Andy Murray in the last eight of the Australian Open.
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The 2015 season belonged to Novak Djokovic as it saw the Serb virtually sweep up all the major titles on the ATP tour. His list of conquests included three Grand Slams, six Masters 1000 titles, and his fourth consecutive ATP Finals title. Djokovic finished with an 82-6 record and 11 titles, bettering his 2011 season (70-6, 10 titles).
Djokovic’s 2015 season mirrored Federer’s 2006 and 2007 seasons by reaching the finals of all four majors and winning three of them. He went one up on the Swiss by winning six ATP 1000 titles to four by Federer. However, Roger overall won 12 titles to Novak’s 11.
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Jannik Sinner’s 2024 season deserves a mention among the list of best individual seasons. While it may not match up to Laver’s 1969 season or Connors’ achievement in 1974, it has its place when considering his place as the most dominant Italian in the game.
Sinner has shifted the narrative of men’s tennis throughout 2024 by emerging as one of the new faces of the sport. Only Alcaraz was in the same league as the Italian in 2024, with the pair splitting the Grand Slam titles in 2024. The 23-year-old Sinner finished the season as the first Italian World No. 1 and also the first from Italy to finish the year as No. 1.
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