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.
28. Tony Trabert — 5 (Tie)
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)
Bottom Line: Tony Trabert
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.
28. Frank Sedgman — 5 (Tie)
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)
Bottom Line: Frank Sedgman
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.
22. Boris Becker — 6 (Tie)
Born: Nov. 22, 1967 (Leimen, West Germany)
Years: 1984-99
Australian Open: 2 (1991, 1996)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 3 (1985, 1986, 1989)
U.S. Open: 1 (1989)
Bottom Line: Boris Becker
Boris Becker became the youngest tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title in 1985, when he was just 17 years old, and he won four of his six Grand Slam titles before he was 21 years old.
Becker missed out on a career Grand Slam because he could never master the French Open, where he advanced to the semifinals and lost in 1987, 1989 and 1991.
Becker's life off the court began to overshadow his talent on the court at some point following a string of missteps in his personal life, including several paternity cases and a widely publicized bankruptcy.
22. Stefan Edberg — 6 (Tie)
Born: Jan. 19, 1966 (Vastervik, Sweden)
Years: 1983-96
Australian Open: 2 (1985, 1987)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 2 (1988, 1990)
U.S. Open: 2 (1991, 1992)
Bottom Line: Stefan Edberg
It took a little bit of history to deny Stefan Edberg a career Grand Slam. He made his only appearance in the French Open finals in 1989, when he lost to 17-year-old American Michael Chang, who broke Boris Becker's record as the youngest player to ever win a Grand Slam.
Edberg led two sets to one in the match and had break points in the fourth and fifth sets but couldn't close it out.
Edberg is one of the best serve-and-volley players of all time and is given a great deal of credit for helping Roger Federer adopt this approach in the mid-2010s, leading to a career resurgence for Federer.
22. Don Budge — 6 (Tie)
Born: June 13, 1915 (Oakland, California)
Died: Jan. 26, 2000 (age 84, Scranton, Pennsylvania)
Years: 1932-55
Australian Open: 1 (1938)
French Open: 1 (1938)
Wimbledon: 2 (1937, 1938)
U.S. Open: 2 (1937, 1938)
Bottom Line: Don Budge
Oakland native Don Budge was the son of a former professional soccer player, Jack Budge, and had a legendary tennis career. Don's greatest career achievement was becoming the first player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single year, which he did in 1938.
He set another record by becoming the only person to achieve a triple crown — winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the same tournament — at a Grand Slam event three times.
Budge's career was a shooting star. He won all six of his Grand Slam titles in 1937 and 1938.
22. Jack Crawford — 6 (Tie)
Born: March 22, 1908 (Urangeline, Australia)
Died: Sept. 10, 1991 (age 83, Sydney, Australia)
Years: 1926-51
Australian Open: 4 (1931, 1932, 1933, 1935)
French Open: 1 (1933)
Wimbledon: 1 (1933)
U.S. Open: 0
Bottom Line: Jack Crawford
Jack Crawford missed out on two major achievements when he lost to Fred Perry in five sets in the finals of the 1933 U.S. Open — winning all four Grand Slam singles titles in a single season and completing a career Grand Slam.
Crawford was known for playing his entire career with a flat-topped racket, an older style even for the era that Crawford played in.
He wasn't physically intimidating and didn't play with much power, but Crawford's technical skill overwhelmed opponents throughout his entire career.
22. Tony Wilding — 6 (Tie)
Born: Oct. 31, 1883 (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Died: May 9, 1915 (age 31, Aubers Ridge, France)
Years: 1900-14
Australian Open: 2 (1906, 1909)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 4 (1910, 1911, 1912, 1913)
U.S. Open: 0
Bottom Line: Tony Wilding
Considered the first global tennis superstar, Tony Wilding wasn't just a world-class tennis player but excelled in many different sports.
Wilding was also a world-class cricket player and raced motorcycles — and he never even played in the French Open or the Australian Open.
Wilding's skills as a motorcyclist led to him enlisting in the military to fight in World War I, where he quickly rose to the rank of captain. He was killed in the line of duty on May 9, 1915, at the Battle of Aubers Ridge in France. He was only 31 years old.
22. Laurence Doherty — 6 (Tie)
Born: Oct. 8, 1875 (Wimbledon, England)
Died: Aug. 21, 1919 (age 43, Broadstairs, England)
Years: 1897-1906
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 5 (1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906)
U.S. Open: 1 (1903)
Bottom Line: Laurence Doherty
British tennis player Laurence Doherty became the first non-American to win the U.S. Open in 1903, the only year he won a Grand Slam singles title outside of Wimbledon.
Doherty won five consecutive singles titles between 1902 and 1906 — one more Wimbledon title than his older brother, Reginald Doherty.
It was playing with Reginald where Laurence gained perhaps his greatest amount of fame in the tennis world. They won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including eight at Wimbledon.
14. William Renshaw — 7 (Tie)
Born: Jan. 3, 1861 (Warwickshire, England)
Died: Aug. 12, 1904 (age 43, Dorset, England)
Years: 1881-89
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 7 (1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889)
U.S. Open: 0
Bottom Line: William Renshaw
William Renshaw's six consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1881 to 1886 are still a record, and he held the record for most Wimbledon titles with Pete Sampras until Roger Federer won his eighth Wimbledon title in 2017.
Playing in an era where there were only two Grand Slam events, Renshaw beat his twin brother, Ernest Renshaw, three times in the singles finals. William and Ernest combined five times to win the Wimbledon doubles championship as well.
William Renshawn died in 1904, at just 43 years old, due to epileptic convulsions.
14. Mats Wilander — 7 (Tie)
Born: Aug. 22, 1964 (Vaxjo, Sweden)
Years: 1981-96
Australian Open: 3 (1983, 1984, 1988)
French Open: 3 (1982, 1985, 1988)
Wimbledon: 0
U.S. Open: 1 (1988)
Bottom Line: Mats Wilander
No one benefited more from Bjorn Borg's decision to retire early than fellow Swede Mats Wilander, who won all seven of his Grand Slam titles between 1982 and 1988.
Wilander's best year as a pro was in 1988, when he won three of the four Grand Slam events and rose to No. 1 in the world but fell short in Wimbledon, where he never advanced past the quarterfinals.
Wilander had his fourth Grand Slam title by the time he was 20 years old and is still the youngest player to accomplish that feat.
14. John McEnroe — 7 (Tie)
Born: Feb. 16, 1959 (Wiesbaden, West Germany)
Years: 1978-94
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 3 (1981, 1983, 1984)
U.S. Open: 4 (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984)
Bottom line: John McEnroe isn't just one of the most famous tennis players of all time. He's also one of the most famous professional athletes of all time.
McEnroe's fiery temper left a lasting impression on fans around the world, as did his talent. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles despite never winning a title at the Australian Open or French Open.
McEnroe's 155 combined singles and doubles titles are the most of any player in the Open Era, and he won nine Grand Slam doubles titles in his career as well.
Bottom Line: John McEnroe
John McEnroe isn't just one of the most famous tennis players of all time. He's also one of the most famous professional athletes of all time.
McEnroe's fiery temper left a lasting impression on fans around the world, as did his talent. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles despite never winning a title at the Australian Open or French Open.
McEnroe's 155 combined singles and doubles titles are the most of any player in the Open Era, and he won nine Grand Slam doubles titles in his career as well.
14. John Newcombe — 7 (Tie)
Born: May 23, 1944 (Sydney, Australia)
Years: 1967-81
Australian Open: 2 (1973, 1975)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 3 (1967, 1970, 1071)
U.S. Open: 2 (1967, 1973)
Bottom Line: John Newcombe
John Newcombe is one of a few players on this list whose career has been largely lost to history.
One big reason for that is many of his greatest accomplishments came in the Davis Cup — a tournament that was incredibly significant in the 1960s and 1970s but has lost much of its cache.
Another reason is that Newcombe came one title away from winning a career Grand Slam but could never overcome the French Open, where he advanced to the quarterfinals twice.
14. Henri Cochet — 7 (Tie)
Born: Dec. 14, 1901 (Villeurbanne, France)
Died: April 1, 1987 (age 85, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France)
Years: 1933-58
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 4 (1926, 1928, 1930, 1932)
Wimbledon: 2 (1927, 1929)
U.S. Open: 1 (1928)
Bottom Line: Henri Cochet
Henri Cochet and fellow Frenchman Rene Lacoste were part of "The Four Musketeers" alongside Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon — four French tennis players who dominated the sport in the late 1920s and 1930s.
Like many players of his era, Cochet did not make the trip south to play in the Australian Open. That's the only title keeping him from having a career Grand Slam.
Cochet added five Grand Slam doubles titles in his career and can make his case as one of the best all-around athletes in tennis history. He also was a semi-pro hockey player.
14. Rene Lacoste — 7 (Tie)
Born: July 2, 1904 (Paris, France)
Died: Oct. 12, 1996 (age 92, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France)
Years: 1922-32
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 3 (1925, 1927, 1929)
Wimbledon: 2 (1925, 1928)
U.S. Open: 2 (1926, 1927)
Bottom Line: Rene Lacoste
One of "The Four Musketeers" — French tennis players who dominated in the late 1920s and early 1930s — Rene Lacoste accomplished something outside of tennis that made his seven Grand Slam singles titles pale in comparison.
That's because Lacoste, who missed the career Grand Slam by never playing in the Australian Open, founded the French company Lacoste S.A. in 1933.
The fashion and sportswear industry staple sold for $1.3 billion in 2012.
14. William Larned — 7 (Tie)
Born: Dec. 30, 1872 (Summit, New Jersey)
Died: Dec. 16, 1926 (age 53, New York, New York)
Years: 1890-1911
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 0
U.S. Open: 7 (1901, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911)
Bottom Line: William Larned
Playing at the turn of the century, New Jersey native William Larned won all seven of his Grand Slam titles in the U.S. Open and never participated in the French Open or Australian Open.
Larned only played in Wimbledon twice, losing in 1896 and 1905 in the quarterfinals and is one of the more tragic tales in tennis history. He served in the Spanish-American War in 1898 under Teddy Roosevelt as part of the "Rough Riders" and caught rheumatism in Cuba. It deteriorated his health slowly for the rest of his life, rendering him partially paralyzed in his late 40s.
Depressed by his condition and inability to lead life how he wanted, Larned committed suicide in 1926, at 53 years old.
14. Richard Sears — 7 (Tie)
Born: Oct. 26, 1861 (Boston, Massachusetts)
Died: April 8, 1943 (age 81, Boston, Massachusetts)
Years: 1880-88
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 0
U.S. Open: 7 (1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887)
Bottom Line: Richard Sears
Richard Sears is one of two players on this list, along with William Larned, who was raised on the East Coast and won seven U.S. Open titles around the turn of the century.
Sears, a Boston native, won all seven of his U.S. Open titles in consecutive years, from 1881 to 1887, with the first coming while he was 19 years old and a student at Harvard.
One thing that needs to be pointed out is Sears only played a full tournament once, in 1881, because at that time the previous year's champion earned an automatic spot in the next year's finals.
9. Andre Agassi — 8 (Tie)
Born: April 29, 1970 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Years: 1986-2006
Australian Open: 4 (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003)
French Open: 1 (1999)
Wimbledon: 1 (1992)
U.S. Open: 2 (1994, 1999)
Bottom Line: Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi achieved a career Grand Slam in 1999 by winning his only French Open title and is one of just four tennis players to achieve a career Golden Slam — winning all four Grand Slam singles titles plus an Olympic gold medal. Rafael Nadal and women's tennis champions Steffi Graf and Serena Williams are the others.
Agassi is the last American to win the French Open, and his victory at the Australian Open in 2003 was the last time an American won a Grand Slam singles title.
Agassi has been married to Graf since 2001 and authored one of the greatest sports autobiographies of all time with "Open: An Autobiography" in 2009.
9. Ivan Lendl — 8 (Tie)
Born: March 7, 1960 (Ostrava, Czechoslovakia)
Years: 1978-94
Australian Open: 2 (1989, 1990)
French Open: 3 (1984, 1985, 1987)
Wimbledon: 0
U.S. Open: 3 (1985, 1986, 1987)
Bottom Line: Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl won all eight of his Grand Slam singles titles between 1984 and 1990, and won the French Open and U.S. Open in the same year twice.
Lendl set the record by losing in a Grand Slam singles final 11 times in his career, and his time as a professional is viewed through a much different lens than when he was playing.
Now, Lendl is looked at as one of the players that changed how tennis is played. He pioneered the smashing, baseline-to-baseline game we see nowadays.
9. Jimmy Connors — 8 (Tie)
Born: Sept. 2, 1952 (Belleville, Illinois)
Years: 1972-96
Australian Open: 1 (1974)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 2 (1974, 1982)
U.S. Open: 5 (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983)
Bottom Line: Jimmy Connors
One of the best-known tennis players of all time, Illinois native Jimmy Connors was never better than when he played in the U.S. Open, winning five of his eight Grand Slam singles titles there.
Connors missed a career Grand Slam by never winning the French Open, where he advanced to the semifinals on four occasions.
Perhaps the greatest moment of Connors' career occurred at a Grand Slam event he didn't win, when he made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Open at 39 years old.
9. Ken Rosewall — 8 (Tie)
Born: Nov. 2, 1934 (Sydney, Australia)
Years: 1956-80
Australian Open: 4 (1953, 1955, 1971, 1972)
French Open: 2 (1953, 1968)
Wimbledon: 0
U.S. Open: 2 (1956, 1970)
Bottom Line: Ken Rosewall
Ken Rosewall possessed one of the greatest backhands in tennis history and came close to winning a career Grand Slam.
Rosewall won half of his Grand Slam titles on his native soil at the Australian Open but could never master Wimbledon, where he lost in the finals four times (1954, 1956, 1970 and 1974) over the course of 20 years.
Rosewall did achieve a career Grand Slam in doubles, where he won nine Grand Slam titles, including twice at Wimbledon.
9. Fred Perry — 8 (Tie)
Born: May 18, 1909 (Portwood, England)
Died: Feb. 2, 1995 (age 85, Melbourne, Australia)
Years: 1936-56
Australian Open: 1 (1934)
French Open: 1 (1935)
Wimbledon: 3 (1934, 1935, 1936)
U.S. Open: 3 (1933, 1934, 1936)
Bottom Line: Fred Perry
Great Britain's Fred Perry achieved a career Grand Slam just three years into his career, when he won the French Open in 1935 after winning the Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 1934.
Perry was the first player in tennis history to achieve the career Grand Slam in singles and is still the only British player to do so.
Perry also was the world champion in table tennis in 1929, immigrated to the United States and fought for America in World War II.
8. Bill Tilden — 10
Born: Feb. 10, 1893 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Died: June 5, 1953 (age 60, Los Angeles, California)
Years: 1931-46
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 3 (1920, 1921, 1930)
U.S. Open: 7 (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929)
Bottom Line: Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden was the first American to win Wimbledon in 1920 — the first of his three Wimbledon titles.
Tilden held the record for the most Grand Slam finals appearances from 1929 until 2017, when Roger Federer made it to the Wimbledon finals for the 11th time. Tilden never won the French Open but made it to the finals there twice. He never competed in the Australian Open.
Tilden wrote, produced and financed many Broadway plays and was blacklisted in his later years for being homosexual.
6. Bjorn Borg — 11 (Tie)
Born: June, 6, 1956 (Stockholm, Sweden)
Years: 1973-84, 1991-93
Australian Open: 0
French Open: 6 (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Wimbledon: 5 (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
U.S. Open: 0
Bottom line: There's no career full of more "what ifs?" than Swedish superstar Bjorn Borg, who won 11 career Grand Slam singles titles but retired at the height of his talent and fame in 1984 to become a fashion designer.
What's even more shocking about Borg's 11 Grand Slam titles is that he never won at the Australian Open or at the U.S. Open, despite making it to the finals at the U.S. Open four times.
Borg, desperate for money, returned to tennis as a pro from 1991 to 1993 but was sorely overmatched and nothing close to what he once was.
Bottom Line: Bjorn Borg
There's no career full of more "what ifs?" than Swedish superstar Bjorn Borg, who won 11 career Grand Slam singles titles but retired at the height of his talent and fame in 1984 to become a fashion designer.
What's even more shocking about Borg's 11 Grand Slam titles is that he never won at the Australian Open or at the U.S. Open, despite making it to the finals at the U.S. Open four times.
Borg, desperate for money, returned to tennis as a pro from 1991 to 1993 but was sorely overmatched and nothing close to what he once was.
6. Rod Laver — 11 (Tie)
Born: Aug. 9, 1938 (Rockhampton, Australia)
Years: 1963-79
Australian Open: 3 (1960, 1962, 1969)
French Open: 2 (1962, 1969)
Wimbledon: 4 (1961, 1962, 1968, 1969)
U.S. Open: 2 (1962, 1969)
Bottom Line: Rod Laver
Standing only 5-foot-8, Rod Laver dominated the world of tennis for almost two decades and is one of only two male players, alongside Roy Emerson, to complete a double career Grand Slam.
Laver still holds several of the most hallowed records in tennis, including 200 career singles titles, and is the only player, male or female, to achieve two Grand Slams in a single season, which he did in 1962 and 1969.
Laver's Grand Slam in 1969 is the only time a man has done so in the Open Era.
5. Roy Emerson — 12
Born: Nov. 3, 1936 (Blackbutt, Australia)
Years: 1953-83
Australian Open: 6 (1961, 1963-67)
French Open: 2 (1963, 1967)
Wimbledon: 2 (1964, 1965)
U.S. Open: 2 (1961, 1964)
Bottom Line: Roy Emerson
Roy Emerson was the first player to complete a double career Grand Slam in singles and the only male player to complete a career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles, with 16 Grand Slam doubles titles to his name.
Emerson held the career Grand Slam singles titles record for 30 years, until it was broken by Pete Sampras in 2000.
He still holds the record for consecutive Australian Open singles titles, winning five consecutive from 1963 to 1967, and held the record for most Australian Open titles for 42 years until Novak Djokovic broke it by winning his seventh title in 2019.
4. Pete Sampras — 14
Born: Aug. 12, 1971 (Washington, D.C.)
Years: 1988-2002
Australian Open: 2 (1994, 1997)
French Open: 0
Wimbledon: 7 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
U.S. Open: 5 (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)
Bottom Line: Pete Sampras
No one dominated the 1990s like Pete Sampras, who can lay claim to being the greatest American tennis player of all time.
Sampras won 12 of his 14 Grand Slam titles in the 1990s and missed out on winning eight consecutive Wimbledon titles with his loss to Richard Krajicek in the 1996 quarterfinals.
The only thing missing on Sampras' resume is a French Open title, and he never even really came close. The farthest he made it was the French Open semifinals in 1996.
3. Roger Federer — 20
Born: Aug. 8, 1981 (Basel, Switzerland)
Years: 1998-2022
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)
French Open: 1 (2009)
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)
U.S. Open: 5 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Bottom Line: Roger Federer
Roger Federer shared the record for career Grand Slam singles titles with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but nto for long.
Federer won his last Grand Slam singles title since 2018 and retired in 2022, although he came as close as humanly possible to winning another Wimbledon title in an epic tiebreaker loss to Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final.
Federer, who has $130 million in career earnings, completed the career Grand Slam with his only French Open title in 2009.
Related:Greatest Men's Tennis Players
2. Rafael Nadal — 22
Born: June 3, 1986 (Mallorca, Spain)
Years: 2001-present
Australian Open: 2 (2009, 2022)
French Open: 14 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 2010)
U.S. Open: 4 (2010, 2013, 2017, 2018)
Bottom Line: Rafael Nadal
The most stunning part of Rafael Nadal's 22 Grand Slam titles is that 14 have come at the French Open — more Grand Slam titles at a single tournament than all but three other players have total in their entire careers.
It's not hard to see Nadal, who is just 36 years old, grabbing a few more Grand Slam titles before his career is over — most notably at the French Open.
He completed the career Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2010 with a win over Roger Federer, and Nadal and Andre Agassi are the only two men's players in history to complete the career Golden Slam with an Olympic gold medal win.
1. Novak Djokovic — 23
Born: May 22, 1987 (Belgrade, Serbia)
Years: 2003-present
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)
U.S. Open: 3 (2011, 2015, 2018)
Bottom Line: Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic has been the best tennis player in the world for the last decade and seems to be getting better with age.
Djokovic completed his career Grand Slam with a win at the French Open in 2016 and has won three of the four Grand Slam titles three in a single year, in 2011, 2015 and 2021. He passed Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam titles in tennis history in 2023 with wins at the Australian Open and French Open.