Famous Tennis Players

The sport of tennis enjoys a viewership that spreads across all continents. The game has thrived on the support of loyal fans and due to the intensity with which professional tennis is played. Tennis is considered to be one of the most energy-sapping sports in the world with the recent match between John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France) setting a new benchmark; this was the longest tennis match ever (around 11 hours). Let us have a look at the profiles of famous tennis players in the world.

Most Famous Tennis Players of All Time

The famous tennis players presented in this article include sportsmen/women from the past as well as present.

Famous Male Tennis Players
Here is a list of famous male tennis players who have achieved great success in their field.

Bjorn Borg: Born on June 6, 1956 in Stockholm, Bjorn Borg is a Swedish player and former No. 1. He is known for the unique record of winning 5 Wimbledon and 4 French Open titles in consecutive years. Roger Federer has equaled Borg's record of winning the Wimbledon championships 5 times while the record at Roland Garros (French Open) is equaled by Rafael Nadal.

Rod Laver: An Australian tennis player, Rod Laver held the No. 1 rank from 1964 to 1970. He was born on August 9, 1938 in Rockhampton. Rod Laver has won all the four Grand Slam titles in a single year, twice (1962 and 1969). His playing style relied on the serve-and-volley game. The ground strokes were also quite strong.

Pete Sampras: He is a former No. 1 player from USA who started his professional career in 1988 and retired in the year 2003. Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 in Washington D.C. He has won 15 men's singles Grand Slam titles. Pete Sampras maintained his 1st rank for 6 consecutive years, starting from 1993 to 1998. The serve-and-volley technique was commonly used by Pete. He also preferred the chip-and-charge strategy. The running forehand played by Sampras is considered to be one of the best.

Roger Federer: Currently, Roger Federer is ranked 2nd in the world. However, he has a record of being at No. 1 position for a period of 285 weeks, which is only second to Pete Sampras (286 weeks). Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. He has won 16 Grand Slams in all, but managed to win the French Open only once.

Rafael Nadal: Born on June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Spain, Rafael Nadal is currently the No. 1 player. He was ranked 2nd for 160 weeks behind Roger Federer of Switzerland. Rafael Nadal has achieved great success on the clay court (winning the French Open 5 times) and therefore, is also known as 'The King of Clay'. He was ranked No. 1 for a short period from August 18, 2008 - July 5, 2009 after which he again regained the spot on June 7, 2010.

Famous Female Tennis Players
The famous female tennis players who have made an impression with their quality game and achievements are presented below.

Margaret Court: She is a retired world No. 1 player and hails from Australia. Born on July 16, 1942 in Albury, Australia, Margaret Court is the 2nd female tennis player to have won all the Grand Slam tournaments in a single year. The 24 singles Grand Slam titles won by Margaret Court is a record not yet broken. Margaret Court is one of the three players to win a Grand Slam title in all categories at all the tournaments. Martina Navratilova and Doris Hart are the other two.

Martina Navratilova: The former No.1 player, Martina Navratilova is a Czech American. Born on October 18, 1956, Martina's tennis career spanned for a long time in which she won 59 Grand Slam titles. These include 18 single titles, 31 doubles and 10 mix-double titles. Winning the Wimbledon tournament for 9 times is a record that she holds. She has also won 167 singles career titles and 177 doubles titles.

Steffi Graf: This German player is only second to have won record number of singles Grand Slam titles (22) after Margaret Court. Steffi Graf was born on June 14, 1969 in Mannheim, West Germany. She was a versatile player and won tournaments on different surfaces such as clay, grass and hard courts. Steffi Graf attained a rare feat in the year 1988 by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic gold medal.

Chris Evert: This tennis player from the United States has won 18 Grand Slam titles in all. In single matches played by Chris Evert, the win-loss record was 1309-146. She was born on December 21, 1954 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Chris Evert has won a total of 157 singles titles. In the book, The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century written by Steve Flink, Evert is rated as the 3rd best player of the century after Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.

Serena Williams: Ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles categories, Serena Williams has won 12 singles Grand Slam titles and 26 in all. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA. The prize money won by Serena is greater than any of the female athletes in the world.

Other Famous Tennis Players

Apart from the list of famous tennis players mentioned above, given below are the names of other players who have made a mark in the world of tennis.

Lleyton Hewitt	Andy Roddick
Maria Sharapova	Venus Williams
Andre Agassi	Monica Seles
Goran Ivanisevic	John McEnroe
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario	Mary Pierce
Anna Kournikova	Amelie Mauresmo
Marat Safin	Lindsay Davenport
Robin Soderling	Arthur Ashe
Boris Becker	Jean Borotra
John Bromwich	Norman Brookes
Sergi Bruguera	Don Budge
Oliver Campbell	Henri Cochet
Ashley Cooper	Jimmy Connors
Jim Courier	Jack Crawford
Jaroslav Drobny	Stefan Edberg
Roy Emerson	Juan Carlos Ferrero
Neale Fraser	Pancho Gonzales
John Hartley	Tim Henman
Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Jan Kodes
Rene Lacoste	Carlos Moya
Ivan Lendl	Carlos Moya
Thomas Muster	John Newcombe
Alejandro "Alex" Olmedo	Gerald Patterson
Leander Paes	Budge Patty
Fred Perry	Andy Murray
Patrick Rafter	Ernest Renshaw
William Renshaw	Bobby Riggs
Marcelo Rios	Tony Roche
Ken Rosewall	Manuel Santana
Jelena Dokic	Ted Schroeder
Frank Sedgman	Pancho Segura
Henry Slocum	Anastasia Myskina
Bill Tilden	Tony Trabert
Justine Henin-Hardenne	Ellsworth Vines
Gottfried von Cramm	Mats Wilander
Jennifer Capriati	Ana Ivanovic
Kim Clijsters	Elena Dementieva
Jelena Jankovic	Daniela Hantuchova
Martina Hingis	Marian Bartoli
Ana Ivanovic	Sania Mirza

To succeed in any field one requires sheer determination and hard work. The names of famous tennis players presented in the article are those with remarkable achievements in their career.