What Are Tennis Grand Slams? (Easy Guide) - Tennis Den (2024)

In tennis, there are many different kinds of tournaments and championships. Each one is not on the same level as the other. Some are higher level, and some are lower. The Grand Slams are among the most prestigious and highest-level professional tennis players.

The Grand Slams are the four major tennis tournaments that happen every year. The grand slam tournaments are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open. These four are the official grand slams, but the tennis Summer Olympic Games is often referred to as the “fifth” grand slam.

This article discusses each grand slam in more detail, including professional players who won the most titles on each grand slam and interesting facts like who has won the grand slam without dropping a set. Read along to learn more!

What Are Tennis Grand Slams?

Australian Open

The Australian Open is held every end of January and lasts until mid-February. The tournament is played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. It is the first of the four yearly Grand Slam tournaments and is played in hard acrylic courts.

The Australian Open was first introduced into the world in 1905, with the venue alternating between New Zealand and Australia.

Novak Djokovic has won the most Australian Open men’s singles titles as of today, with 9 wins. Serena Williams leads the Australian Open with 7 titles for women’s singles.

The winner of men’s or women’s singles will receive a prize of 2.9 million Australian dollars (as of 2023).

Here are the winners of the men’s singles Australian Open for the past 5 years:

Here are the winners of the women’s singles Australian Open for the past 5 years:

French Open

The French Open takes place every end of May and lasts until mid of June. The tournament is played at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France. It is the second of the four yearly Grand Slam tournaments.

The origin of the French Open dates back to 1891 when it was called the French Championships and only open to French residents.

Then, in 1927, the Roland Garros stadium was built to officially host the French Open.

The French Open tournaments are famously played on red clay courts.

Rafael Nadal holds the most tiles in the French Open, with 14 total French Open men’s singles titles. The most French Open’s title holder for women’s singles is Chris Evert, with 7 titles.

The winner of men’s or women’s singles will receive a prize money of 2.2 million euros (as of 2023).

Here are the winners of the men’s singles French Open for the past 5 years:

Here are the winners of the women’s singles French Open for the past 5 years:

Wimbledon

The Wimbledon Championship takes place every end of June and lasts until mid of July. The tournament is played at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. It is the third of the four yearly Grand Slam tournaments.

Wimbledon was the first professional tennis tournament in the world, which was held in 1877. During that era, the concept of modern tennis was just introduced, and all tennis was played on grass (lawn).

Today, Wimbledon tournaments are still played on grass courts.

Roger Federer currently holds the most men’s singles titles at Wimbledon.

The winner of men’s or women’s singles will receive a prize of 2 million British pounds (as of 2023).

Here are the winners of the men’s singles Wimbledon for the past 5 years:

Here are the winners of the women’s singles Wimbledon for the past 5 years:

U.S Open

The U.S Open is held every end of August and lasted until mid of September. The tournament is played at the USTA Tennis Center in New York City, United States. It is the final yearly Grand Slam tournaments.

The origin of the U.S. Open dates back to 1881, when the first tournament was held in Newport, Rhode Island, open only to American male residents.

The U.S. Open tournaments are played in hard acrylic courts.

The winner of men’s or women’s singles will receive a prize of 2.6 million U.S. dollars (as of 2023).

Serena Willimas and Chris Evert are tied for most women’s singles titles at the U.S. Open, with 6 wins.

Here are the winners of the men’s singles U.S Open for the past 5 years:

Here are the winners of the women’s singles Wimbledon for the past 5 years:

The “Fifth” Grand Slam: Summer Olympic Games

There are officially only 4 annual grand slams tournaments, but the Summer Olympic games was often referred to as the “fifth” grand slam.

Tennis was a part of the Olympic games since 1896 but was dropped in 1924. The Olympics then re-registered tennis back in 1988 until today.

Since then, the Tennis Olympic Games has been held every four years. A player that wins all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in the same calendar year gets the Golden Grand Slam title.

The Golden Grand Slam title was only achieved by Steffi Graf in 1988 and from wheelchair tennis by Diede de Groot in 2021.

Why is it Called A Grand Slam in Tennis?

The term Grand Slam first originated from the card game, subsequently used in contract bridge, when it referred to winning all of the tricks which are rare and difficult to achieve.

The term was first used in golf, describing Bobby Jones’ achievement of winning all four major championships. Since 1930, the term has been significant in tennis.

The difference is that in tennis, the Grand Slam refers to an individual event, while in golf, it relates to an individual who wins all four major championships in the same calendar year.

So, for example, Roger Federer has won 20 grand slam titles means that he has won 20 individual tournaments, not 4 major tournaments 20 times.

All four tennis grand slams existed separately before 1925, when they were categorized as the four most prestigious events. Then, in 1930, the term Grand Slam was called for these 4 tournaments.

Learn more about the history of tennis here.

Male Players With The Most Grand Slam Titles

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have the most men’s Grand Slam titles, each having 20 total titles.

These three players have almost near the end of their professional career, with Roger being 42 years old, and both Novak and Rafa at their late 30s. It will be interesting to see which of them can achieve the most grand slam titles after retiring.

Female Players With The Most Grand Slams Titles

Margaret Court currently holds the most grand slam titles amongst all female professionals, with 24 grand slam titles. Serena Williams is a close second, with 23 total grand slam titles.

Players Who Have Won All 4 Grand Slams

Here is a list of men’s professional players that have won all 4 grand slam singles titles:

• Fred Perry
• Don Budge
• Rod Laver
• Roy Emerson
• Andre Agassi
• Roger Federer
• Rafael Nadal
• Novak Djokovic

Here is a list of women’s professional players that has won all 4 grand slam singles titles:

• Maureen Connolly Brinker
• Doris Hart
• Shirley Fry Irvin
• Margaret Smith Court
• Billie Jean King
• Chris Evert
• Martina Navratilova
• Steffi Graf
• Serena Williams
• Maria Sharapova

Players Who Have Won All 4 Grand Slams in a Year

The 4 grand slams tournaments are happening annually in different months thorough out the year. Players will usually play all 4 every year when they are healthy.

Winning one grand slam itself is already an outstanding achievement. It is far more impressive to be able to win all four in a row during the same year.

Players Who Have Won Grand Slam Without Dropping A Set

Some players not only won the title, but they won with style by not dropping a single set! There were various events where players were able to win Grand Slam without dropping a set.

Some players like Illie Nastae and Ken Rosewall was able to achieve this once. Then there were also players who was able to win grand slam without dropping a set multiple times, such as Bjorn Borg (3x), Roger Federer (2x), and Rafael Nadal (4x).

Wrapping Up

Grand Slam is the most prestigious tournament in tennis. All 4 major tournaments, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open, and Australian Open, are high-level championships with the highest prize money, where all the top players in the world are competing.

In tennis, the player who has won the most grand slam titles is a huge factor in determining who is the greatest player of all time (GOAT). For instance, Roger Federer, considered as many people’s GOAT, has 20 grand slam titles.