Most Grand Slam Titles in Tennis History

The sport of tennis changed in 1968 with the introduction of the Open Era and has evolved into the modern game we know today.

What we sometimes overlook is the competition before then. From the late 1800s to now, the best tennis players in the world have been chasing the same four titles — Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. 

Win just one of those majors, and your name is etched into tennis history. Win all four, and you become a legend. These are the men’s tennis players with the most Grand Slam singles titles of all time.

Born: Aug. 16, 1930 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Died:  Feb. 3, 2021 (age 90, Ponte Vedra, Florida)

Years: 1945-63

Australian Open: 0 

French Open: 2 (1954, 1955)

Wimbledon: 1 (1955)

U.S. Open: 2 (1953, 1955)

Cincinnati native Tony Trabert was a renaissance man in the 1950s — a standout basketball player and NCAA tennis champion at the University of Cincinnati who became one of the world’s finest tennis players. 

What’s amazing about Trabert’s five Grand Slam singles titles is they all came in the first three years of his career — he missed the Career Grand Slam by never winning the Australian Open, where the closest he came was losing in the 1955 semifinals. 

After Trabert won the French Open in 1955, another American wouldn’t win a singles title at Roland Garros until Michael Chang in 1989.

Born: Oct. 29, 1927 (Mont Albert, Australia)

Years: 1945-76

Australian Open: 2 (1949, 1950)

French Open: 0

Wimbledon: 1 (1952)

U.S. Open: 2 (1951, 1952)

Frank Sedgman won all five of his Grand Slam singles titles between 1949 and 1952 but came up just short of winning a career Grand Slam when he lost in the French Open finals in 1952. 

Sedgman’s true legacy came on the doubles side, where he won nine Grand Slam titles and pulled off a calendar Grand Slam by sweeping all four tournaments in 1951. 

Sedgman’s game was built around the serve-and-volley approach, and he was known for his quickness at the net above anything else.