Most Tennis Grand Slam winners of all-time: Who has won the most titles?
Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court are players with the joint highest number of career Grand Slam titles.
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Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal (via Imago)
A Grand Slam or Major tournament is the highest-tier event in tennis. It starts with the Australian Open in January, then the French Open in June, Wimbledon in July, and finally the US Open in September. While both the ATP and WTA Tour have events throughout the season, the ITF organizes the Majors.
The Grand Slam also has the highest number of players in the draw, 128 on both men’s and women’s sides. Also, to win a match in women’s singles, a player must win two of the possible three sets, while in men’s singles, a player must win three out of the possible five-set formats.
The Grand Slam tournaments for women began in 1884 with the Wimbledon Championship being the first-ever Major tournament. The US Open was created three years later, while the French Open (for women) was formed in 1897. The Australian Open was introduced after the World War 1 in 1922, marking the first year when all four Majors were hosted for women.
Due to World War 2, tournaments were suspended for two years, and in 1946, things returned to normalcy, which led to the creation of the Open Era beginning in 1967. Here are the top 10 players (men and women) who have won the highest Grand Slam titles.
Top 10 men and women with the highest Grand Slam titles
- Novak Djokovic (24 Slams)
- Margaret Court (24 Slams)
- Serena Williams (23 Slams)
- Rafael Nadal (22 Slams)
- Steffi Graf (22 Slams)
Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court are the players with joint highest number of major titles. Margaret Court was the first player to win 24 Slams in tennis which she did at the 1973 US Open. Djokovic reached the tally last year after winning the 2023 US Open.
Serena Williams won her 23rd Slam at the 2017 Australian Open when she was pregnant. However, after her return to the court after giving birth, she couldn’t add another to equal the all-time record. She came agonizingly close as she finished as runners-up in four major finals across 2018 and 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf won 22 Grand Slams. Graf hit the achievement at the 1999 Wimbledon but retired that same year at the age of 30. Nadal, on the other hand, won his 22nd Major title at the 2022 French Open. He retired recently at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
- Roger Federer (20 Slams)
- Helen Wills Moody (19 Slams)
- Chris Evert (18 Slams)
- Martina Navratilova (18 Slams)
- Pete Sampras (14 Slams)
Roger Federer was the first men’s player before he was overtaken by Nadal and Djokovic. The Swiss Maestro won his last Grand Slam at the 2018 Australian Open and made his final at a Grand Slam final at the 2019 Wimbledon. After Federer is Helen Wills Moody, who is the only player who competed before the Open Era that’s on.the list. She won 19 titles and retired at the age of 33 following an injury on her index finger after a dog attack.
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova each won 18 Grand Slams between 1974 and 1991. Being rivals, Evert was considered more dominant than Navratilova, as she spent 290 weeks at the WTA World No.1. Pete Sampras ends the list having won his final Slam at the 2002 US Open and after he retired from tennis.
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Victor Okechukwu
(640 Articles Published)