Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Grand Slam tournaments are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, and public attention. They are:

A singles player or doubles team that wins all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year is said to have achieved the Grand Slam or a Calendar Year Grand Slam. If the player or team wins all four consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, it is called a Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam. If a player wins all four at some point in his or her career, even if not consecutively, it is called a Career Grand Slam. Winning three of the four tournaments is called a Small Slam.

Contents

History

The term Grand Slam, as applied to tennis, was first used by New York Times columnist John Kieran according to Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia by Bud Collins. In the chapter about 1933, Collins writes that after the Australian player Jack Crawford had won the Australian, French, and Wimbledon Championships, speculation arose about his chances in the U.S. Championships. Kieran, who was a bridge player, wrote: "If Crawford wins, it would be something like scoring a grand slam on the courts, doubled and vulnerable." Crawford, an asthmatic, won two of the first three sets of his finals match against Fred Perry, then tired in the heat and lost the last two sets and the match.

The expression Grand Slam, initially used to describe the winning of the tennis major events in one calendar year, was later incorporated by other sports, notably golf, to describe a similar accomplishment.

Calendar Year Grand Slam (four majors in one calendar year)

Men's Singles

Women's Singles

Men's Doubles

Women's Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Boys' Singles

Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam (four consecutive majors regardless of year)

Though the term was originally defined as winning all four tournaments in the same calendar year, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) declared the official term as a player holding all four titles simultaneously, regardless of the calendar year. After Martina Navratilova won four consecutive major championships, holding all four at once, the ITF awarded her the Grand Slam US$1 million bonus, as she held all four titles at once. Bud Collins sarcastically called her accomplishment the "Grand Snap" because Playtex was the sponsor of the bonus.

In doubles:

Most Grand Slam singles titles in a row (consecutive)

Men

Women

Most Grand Slam singles finals in a row (consecutive)

Men

Women

Most Grand Slam singles titles in a row (non-consecutive)

Helen Wills Moody won all 16 of the Grand Slam singles tournaments she played beginning with the 1924 U.S. Championships and extending through the 1933 Wimbledon Championships (not counting her defaults in the 1926 French and Wimbledon Championships). The first 15 of those were won without losing a set. During this period, she won 6 Wimbledons, 4 French Championships, and 6 U.S. Championships. She also won the 1924 Summer Olympics during this period. Moody never entered the Australian Championships.

Career Grand Slam

Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments during a career is termed a Career Grand Slam. (The players who won all four Grand Slam tournaments during a single calendar year are also listed elsewhere in this article.) Five men and nine women have achieved a Career Grand Slam in singles. But only two men (Rod Laver and Andre Agassi) and four women (Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams) have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments at least once since the beginning of the open era. A number of players have failed to achieve the Career Grand Slam because they did not have long careers or because particular tournaments were ill-suited to the players' game. Bjorn Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open. John McEnroe never won the Australian Open or the French Open. Ken Rosewall, Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, and Mats Wilander failed to win Wimbledon. John Newcombe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis and (thus far) Roger Federer, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova failed to win the French Open. Venus Williams thus far has failed to win the Australian Open and the French Open. Rafael Nadal has yet to win the US Open or the Australian Open.

The following lists the players who won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments during their careers. The year in which they won their first Grand Slam singles tournament is listed first. The years in which the tournaments needed to complete their first Career Grand Slam were won are then listed. The ages of the players when their first Career Grand Slam was completed are listed between the square brackets.

Men's Singles

Women's Singles

Men's Doubles

In the following, the teams and individual players who won all four Grand Slam doubles tournaments during their careers are listed. The year in which they won their first Grand Slam doubles tournament is listed first. The years in which the tournaments needed to complete the Career Grand Slam were won are then listed.

Male doubles players who won a Career Grand Slam (21):

Women's Doubles

Female doubles players who won a Career Grand Slam (19):

Mixed doubles

In the following, the players who won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles tournaments during their careers are listed. (The year in which they won their first Grand Slam mixed doubles tournament is listed first. The years in which the tournaments needed to complete the Career Grand Slam were won are then listed.)

Male doubles players who won a Career Grand Slam:

Female doubles players who won a Career Grand Slam:

Boys Singles

Boys Doubles

Calendar Year Golden Slam

The "Golden Slam" is a term created in 1988 when Steffi Graf won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments and the singles gold medal in tennis at the Summer Olympics in the same calendar year.

Tennis was not an Olympic sport from 1928 through 1984 (except as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984); therefore, many top tennis players from the past never had the chance to complete a Golden Slam.

Career Golden Slam

A player who wins all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medal during the player's career has achieved a Career Golden Slam.

Small Slam

Players who have won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year, are sometimes said to have achieved a Small Slam.

Men's Singles

Women's Singles

Men's Doubles

Women's Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Boys' Singles

Boys' Doubles

Girls' Singles

Girls' Doubles

The career "Boxed Set"

Another imaginable Grand Slam-related accomplishment is winning a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles – winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events.

The top men's singles players have played comparatively little doubles, and very little mixed doubles. Three women have completed the "boxed set" during their careers:

Serena Williams has come closer than any other currently active player to joining this elite group. She has yet to win the mixed doubles at the Australian and French opens (finishing as the runner-up at the 1999 Australian Open and 1998 French Open)

See also

External links

Official websites

Other links