A Grand Slam title is the pinnacle of a tennis player’s career with only a handful able to claim that they’ve won more than one.
Tennis is played year-round but only four annual tournaments offer stars the chance to prove themselves among the sport’s elite.
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The differing grass or clay surfaces on offer at Wimbledon, The Australian, French, and US Opens mean it’s rare for one player to dominate at all four Slams.
However, several elite names have dominated on the biggest stage throughout their careers and are in the conversation to be the greatest of all time.
The American, affectionately known as ‘Pistol Pete’, utterly dominated the men’s games during the 1990s.
He claimed his first Grand Slam at just 19 years old after beating compatriot Andre Agassi in New York to lift the US Open.
Sampras, whose 14 titles was a record at the time of his retirement in 2003, was notorious for his fast serve.
His style favoured the fast-playing grass courts over clay and he was 7–0 in Wimbledon finals.
Sampras is also the only male player to win three or more consecutive titles at SW19 twice in his career.
Australian Open: 2 (1994, 1997)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 7 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
US Open: 5 (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)
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The two female tennis icons are locked in joint eighth for Slams, with both winning 18 majors apiece.
They were each at the top of their games in the 1970s and 80s and played a whopping 60 finals against one another.
Their rivalry was among the best in tennis with Navratilova leading the overall head-to-head in finals 36–24.
Evert would have the upper hand on clay while Czech-American Navratilova was at her most dominant at Wimbledon.
Australian Open: Evert 2 (1982, 1984) / Navratilova 3 (1981, 1983, 1985)
French Open: Evert 7 (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986) / Navratilova 2 (1982, 1984)
Wimbledon: Evert 3 (1974, 1976, 1981) / Navratilova 9 (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)
US Open: 6 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982) / Navratilova 4 (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
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The achievements of the late American still stand today, with Wills dubbed the most dominant tennis player of the 20th century.
Becoming a global icon in the 1920s and 30s, Wills racked up 31 Grand Slams, including 19 tournament titles in singles as well.
She won 16 of the 17 majors she entered between 1927 and hanging up her racket, which included a legendary 180-match win streak in the first six years where she barely even dropped a set.
Her stats are even more impressive considering ‘Little Miss Poker Face’ never once competed at the Australia Open due to travel issues.
Renowned for her powerful forehand that was harder than any other woman, Wills memorably used to practice with men to hone her craft.
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Australian Open: 0
French Open: 4 (1928, 1929, 1930, 1932)
Wimbledon: 8 (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938)
US Open: 7 (1923, 1924, 19225, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931)
King Roger only retired in 2022 due to injury after bossing the Grand Slam scene for over 15 years.
The Swiss superstar, who turned professional in 1998, is a 20-time Grand Slam winner and men’s record eight-time Wimbledon champion.
Five of those titles at the All England Club came in consecutive years before that streak was ended during the iconic 2008 final against career rival Rafael Nadal.
Federer, who was also a junior Wimbledon champion, was universally liked for his gracious sportsman demeanour as he was respected for his elegant backhand slices.
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Australian Open: 6 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)
French Open: 1 (2009)
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)
US Open: 5 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Federer’s rival Nadal ranks two Grand Slams and one spot above him – largely in part to his unrivalled performances on clay.
The Spaniard has won a record 14 titles at the French Open, which includes a mind-boggling 81 successive win streak on clay – the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal struggled with injuries before his retirement in 2024, and he was unable to increase his Slam record before calling time on his career.
His final game ever came at the Davis Cup in November as he said a tearful farewell to the sport he dominated over the years.
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Australian Open: 2 (1982, 1984)
French Open: 14 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 2010)
US Open: 4 (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Nadal shares fourth spot with German Graf, whose aggressive style revolutionised women’s tennis in the 1980s and 90s.
In 1988 at just 19, she became the first female to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four majors alongside Olympic Gold in the same year.
Graf also remains the only player male or female to have won at least four titles in each of the four Grand Slams.
However, her surprisingly early retirement aged 30 compared to the rest of this list prevented her from being even higher in the rankings.
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Australian Open: 4 (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994)
French Open: 6 (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999)
Wimbledon: 7 (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996)
US Open: 5 (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996)
Lauded by many as the greatest of all time, Williams may not have the Slam record but is undoubtedly the biggest trailblazer ever.
The American put down her racket in 2022 with 39 Grand Slam titles in total, including 14 doubles titles with sister Venus.
Williams spent an incredible 319 weeks as world No.1, was the highest-earning female athlete in history, and garnered as much acclaim off-court for her charity work and activism.
She claimed her first Slam in 1999 as a teenager and went on to seal the women’s record in the Open Era.
Williams, whose powerful forehand and fierce serve made her unstoppable at her peak, is the only player to accomplish a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
‘The Queen of the Court’ came within one of joining the all-time list but lost her last four grand slam finals before retiring.
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Australian Open: 7 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017)
French Open: 3 (2002, 2013, 2015)
Wimbledon: 7 (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)
US Open: 6 (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014)
And here we are – the two greats of men’s and women’s tennis are both level on 24 Grand Slams apiece.
Court, whose achievements largely came before the Open Era, enjoyed phenomenal success on home turf with 11 wins in Australia.
Her domination also extends to doubles with her total number of Slams being 64 – the most of any female player ever.
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Australian Open: 11 (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973)
French Open: 5 (1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1973)
Wimbledon: 3 (1963, 1965, 1970)
US Open: 5 (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973)
In contrast, Djokovic does not have any doubles titles but his singles success has come in a golden era of men’s tennis which arguably stands him in more impressive stead.
The fabled Big Three of the Serbian, Federer and Nadal dominated men’s singles tennis for two decades, collectively winning 66 major singles tournaments.
To put that in perspective, one of the three finished the season as the year-end No. 1 player every year from 2004 to 2021, with Andy Murray’s peak also coming during Djokovic’s run.
The 37-year-old beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at Flushing Meadows in 2023 to bring up his 24th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open.
But he went without a Slam in 2024 and he’s now aiming for success with Murray as his coach in 2025.
In addition to his Slam record, Djokovic also achieved the Golden Slam at the Paris Olympics – winning gold in the men’s singles to add to his full collection of major tennis titles.
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Australian Open: 10 (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
French Open: 3 (2016, 2021, 2023)
Wimbledon: 7 (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
US Open: 4 (2011, 2015, 2018, 2023)
