Top 10 Male Tennis Players of All Time

Tennis may have started out as a gentleman’s game, but it is has evolved into a full-blown competitive sport where opponents grunt, slam, sprint and smash with everything they have in an effort to out-duel their opponent. Tennis has evolved not only as a sport, but as a business as well. Gone are the days of conservative, “proper” tennis attire. Nike, Reebok, and other athletic giants have turned the courts into a fashion show for the world, paying top players millions of dollars to showcase their attire. Equipment has also undergone several upgrades over the years. Gone are the heavy wooden rackets with catgut strings. Now Air Carbon Titanium Mesh and other equally “space age” technologies rule the day. The size, strength and athleticism of the players has increased in step with the technical advancements, and the pace at which the game is played nowadays is truly breathtaking.

No doubt the greats of yesteryear would be quickly dispatched by even the average professional these days. Such is life and the evolution of sport. Still, when compiling the list of the top 10 male tennis players of all time I had to look at the dominance of players in the era they played in. To take a player from the 50s and suddenly drop him into a match in 2008 would hardly be fair. With that in mind, here is my list of the best male tennis players to ever pick up a racket:

10 – Bill Tilden

Though this list will be heavily concentrated with contemporary players, when I said I would include some of the greats of yesteryear I meant it. You have to go way back in the annals of the game of tennis to find information on Bill Tilden. He was the number one star in tennis in the 20s and 30s, and was the #1 ranked player for a total of 7 years through his career. He won 10 grand slam tournaments as a singles player, and an additional 7 in doubles.

9 – Boris Becker

Fast-forwarding from the 30s to the 80s, this hulking German is one of the most athletic, entertaining athletes to grace a tennis court. With speed, power and agility Becker burst onto the scene in 1985, capturing the coveted Wimbledon title at the tender age of 17. He would go on to win the Wimbledon title twice more during his career, and was a runner-up an additional 4 times. He added a U.S. Open title and a pair of Australian Open crowns to earn his spot as one of the top 10 male tennis players of all time.

8 – John McEnroe

This brash, often boorish American tennis star is one of the most recognizable figures in any sport. Known more for his violent temper and his emotional outbursts on the court, this left-handed serve and volley specialist was one of the most dominant players in the sport in the early 80s. He racked up 7 major singles titles and 11 doubles titles throughout his career, winning an impressive two-thirds of the finals he appeared in.

7 – Jimmy Connors

As flamboyant and excitable as McEnroe, but with a more diplomatic personality, Jimmy Connors defined the hard-working tennis player. Sure he was skilled, but this hustling court-scrambling specialist never gave up on a ball, delighting the crowd by pumping a fist in the air triumphantly after winning a rally that he had no business winning. This crowd favorite was a force in the 70s and early 80s, capturing 8 grand slam singles titles during that time.

6 – Ivan Lendl

Though Wimbledon is the holy grail of the tennis world and winning it should be a prerequisite for inclusion on the list of the top 10 male tennis players, I will make an exception in Lendl’s case. This brooding, mechanical Czech was simply the best player in tennis in the 80s, spending 270 consecutive weeks during that time at the number 1 spot in the rankings (a record at the time). Lendl’s power and determination took him to grand slam finals an amazing 19 times in his career. He won 8 of those matches, though Wimbledon, the title he coveted most, would always elude him.

5 – Bjorn Borg

This Swedish star would likely have been ranked higher if he could have added a U.S. Open and/or Australian Open title to his impressive resume. Still, his 6 French Open, and 5 Wimbledon crowns are nothing to sneeze at, and surely are enough by themselves to put him in the top half of the 10 best tennis players of all time. Connors and McEnroe combined to deny him the prize in the U.S. Open final on 4 separate occasions, but he enjoyed wins over both of them at Wimbledon, so it all evens out in the end I guess.

4 – Rod Laver

Yes, there was tennis being played between Bill Tilden’s and Bjorn Borg’s time, and Rod Laver was one of two men on this list who really dominated the sport in the 60s. Though short, this technically flawless Australian dazzled on the court, and his left-handed play gave players fits. Laver won a total of 11 grand slams during his career, but even more impressively, he twice won all 4 grand slams in the same year.

3 – Roy Emerson

Above I mentioned that Laver was one of two dominating the sport of tennis in the 60s. Emerson, his fellow Australian, was the other one, destroying opponents in singles with his serve and volley style, winning 12 grand slam titles. He was even more successful as a doubles player, where he won 16 grand slam titles. His 28 combined grand slam titles are more than any other male player in the history of tennis.

2 – Pete Sampras

Up until very recently “Pistol Pete” would have been at the head of the list of the top 10 male tennis players of all time. But, fortunately for sports fans, there is always somebody better coming along, and Pete couldn’t stay on top forever. Still, he did everything humanly possible during his playing days to remain so. At the time of this writing he has won more single grand slam titles (14) than any other player, including a record tying 7 Wimbledon titles, and a record-tying 5 U.S. Open titles. His inability to win the French open is the only black mark on this otherwise brilliant career.

1 – Roger Federer

Like the watch his countrymen are so famous for making, this Swiss star has impeccable timing. He seems to anticipate his opponent’s every move, arriving in time to smash a forehand winner down the line with pinpoint accuracy. Speed, grace, power, accuracy, and intelligence are all weapons in this players arsenal, and he can play any style of game you care to engage him in. He is as close to unbeatable as any player in sports history, and over the past 5 years has filled his trophy case with 12 grand slam titles. Like Sampras before him, he has been unable, so far, to win the French Open. If not for the arrival of Rafael Nadal on the scene, who has never lost a match at Roland Garros, Federer may have already shaken that monkey from his back. Even if he never wins it though, he will still be remembered as the best ever.