Ranked: The 25 greatest tennis players of the 20th century

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, with Grand Slams attracting millions of spectators worldwide. The sport has a long and storied history, with the first Grand Slam taking place in 1877. Since then, the sport has produced some great athletes, but who were the best players to play in the 20th century?

Kramer is known as much for his impact on the professionalization of tennis than his on-court performances. His two Grand Slam titles are, of course, nothing to be sniffed at, but it was his revolutionary serve-and-volley technique that cements his legacy as a tennis great.

Lew Hoad was one of a series of Australians who dominated tennis during the 50s and 60s. His four Grand Slam titles solidified his legacy as a legend of the sport, but it's his incredible record in the Davis Cup, winning the title four times between 1952 and 1956 with Australia that show just how good he was.

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Arguably the greatest British player of all time, Perry was a force to be reckoned with during the 1930s, winning eight Grand Slams, and multiple Pro Slam tournaments during his career.

Bill 'Big Bill' Tilden was the first American to win at Wimbledon in 1920. During his career, Tilden won 10 Grand Slam titles and had one of the most impressive win ratios of all time, claiming victory in 138 out of 192 amateur tournaments.

Despite a brief career, ended prematurely due to a horseback riding accident, Connolly was a dominant figure during the early 1950s. Per the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she was the first woman to complete a calendar year Grand Slam in 1953, despite being just 18 at the time.

Another woman whose career was cut short, Seles could well have been even more dominant had it not been for an infamous on-court stabbing by a spectator. Still, she achieved greatness by winning nine Grand Slams during her career.

Known by many in the tennis world as the 'Father of Modern Tennis' Lendl's style forged a new path for the game with the big Czech using his powerful baseline play to win eight Slams.

The BBC described Lenglen as, “The world's first global sporting celebrity,” earlier this year, a fitting description for an icon of the game. Lenglen won eight Grand Slams and many other trophies, but it was her style and fashion that made her a global sensation.

Don Budge was famous for his unique backhand which he used to devastating effect en route to winning all four Grand Slam titles in one year in 1938, becoming the first man to achieve what many thought was impossible, per the International Hall of Fame.

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Ashe remains the only black man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. His legacy is one of defiance and inspiration, as he broke multiple color barriers en route to becoming a legend of the game.

Agassi is one of the few men to have completed the career Slam by winning all four major titles. The American was a force during the 90s, which is when he won most of his Grand Slams, so despite sneaking into the 21st century too, we feel OK including him here.

Per The Daily Telegraph, Bueno was ranked in the top ten in world for the best of part of a decade from 1958 to 1968, falling briefly outside the top ten in 1960-62. The Brazilian won 19 Grand Slams, with 12 coming in doubles (11 women’s, one mixed) becoming the first woman to achieve a career doubles Grand Slam.

At one point during his career, Connors held the top spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings for 160 consecutive weeks, despite his fierce battles with the likes of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Connors won eight slams during his career and finished second four times at the French Open.

McEnro captivated audiences with his on-court antics, as his fierce competitiveness often spilled over into fury. What is sometimes forgotten when speaking about McEnroe, is how good a player he was, with the American winning seven single, and nine doubles Grand Slams.

Before Arthur Ashe had broken the color barrier in the men’s game, Althea Gibson had forged her own path in the women’s, becoming the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam event, the 1956 French Open, per the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Borg is considered the first man in the modern era of tennis to achieve ten Grand Slam titles. All 11 of his titles came at either Wimbledon or Roland Garros, with his final title at the All England club coming in 1981 after a brutal, five-set marathon against John McEnroe, which GQ describes as, “one of the greatest tennis matches in history”.

Per the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Evonne Goolagong Cawley has, “perhaps the most humble origins in tennis history.” As an Indigenous Australian, Cawley faced discrimination at every stage of her career, yet overcame every obstacle in her path to win 14 Grand Slams, seven single, and seven doubles.

Rod Laver is considered one of the greatest players of all time, leaving alone just of the 20th century, with the Australian completing two annual Grand Slams, in 1962 and 1969, sandwiching a Pro Slam in 1967 in between. He was also part of five Davis Cup wins for Australia, winning his last in 1973, by the Association of Tennis Professionals.

There is, and will continue to be, a debate between Laver and Emerson about whom the greatest Australian men's player is. For us, Emerson just shades it due to his then-record 12 Grand Slam singles, a record bolstered by 16 titles in doubles. He was also a key part in eight Davis Cup triumphs for his country.

Willis won a then-record 19 Grand Slams from 1928 to 1938. She was thought of as one of America's early global sporting superstars, having won two gold medals at the 1924 Olympics. Per GQ, she won every set in every singles match she played between 1926 and 1932, utter dominance.

Per GQ, Chris Evert had a winning percentage over 90 in singles matches during his career, which would be impressive enough, without the 18 Grand Slam titles to his name.

Billie Jean King won a staggering 39 Grand Slams across her career, 12 singles titles, 16 women's doubles titles, and 11 mixed doubles titles, with 32 coming between 1966 and 1975, per her official website. Her 'Battle of the Sexes' against Bobby Riggs will live long in tennis infamy.

Until the recent golden era of Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic, Pete Sampras was widely considered the greatest male player of all time, finishing his career with 14 Grand Slams. The one knock on his storied career is his lack of a French Open title to complete the Career Slam.

Martina Navratilova's career spanned 32 years, from 1974 to 2006. During that time, she won 59 Grand Slam titles, 18 singles, 31 doubles, and 10 mixed doubles. She was also ranked number one in the world for 332 weeks of her career, by the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Graf's greatest achievement came in 1988 when she became the first, and only player, to complete the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold in the same year. Her 22 major singles titles are second-most in women's tennis and third most all-time.

Court won 64 Grand Slam titles in her career, 24 singles, 19 doubles, 21 mixed doubles, holding the record for most single, and mixed doubles titles. The International Tennis Hall of Fame states, “For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match (her).”

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