What Is Grand Slam In Tennis? (Jaw-Dropping Facts About This Term In Tennis!)

Last Updated on October 29, 2023 by Alex PT

In tennis, a Grand Slam refers to winning all four major tournaments in a calendar year: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. This rare achievement has only occurred a few times in tennis history, notably by Rod Laver and Steffi Graf.

This Table Consists Of The Men And Women Who Have Won The Grand Slam In Tennis.

Men Who Have Won The Grand Slam In Tennis	Women Who Have Won The Grand Slam In Tennis
Rafal Nadal	Serena Williams
Novak Djokovic	Maria Sharapova
Roger Federer	Margaret Court

The earliest championship was the Wimbledon, which was founded in 1877, the US was the second, and it was founded in 1881, followed by the French, founded in 1891, and lastly the Australian, which was founded in 1905. It was between 1924-25 that the French championships got its recognition as a Major when all the four Majors were designated as Grand Slam tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is organized and controls the Grand Slam tournaments even if many people thought it was governed by the WTA, Women’s Tennis Organization, or maybe the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Nevertheless, the WTA and ATP are the ones in charge of making award ranking points which is solely on the player’s overall performance in a Major.

The word Grand Slam, with no qualification, was initially described as the achievement of winning all four major championships inside an individual calendar year among the five events: male’s & female’s singles; male’s and female’s doubles, along with mixed doubles. In doubles, one particular team might achieve a Grand Slam playing together, or maybe a single participant might attain it with various partners. 

Winning the four majors in consecutive competitions, however, not in the exact same season is widely known as a non-calendar 12 months Grand Slam while a career Grand Slam is known to be winning all the four majors at any particular time in one’s professional career.

Furthermore, the Golden Grand Slam or Golden Slam is given to any player who has won a gold medal in the Olympic Games in the summer apart from the four majors in one calendar year.

Additionally, the Super Slam is another popular Tennis individual achievement given to any player that won the year-end championship (referred to as Double disciplines, with WTA Finals for the two Female fields and also ATP Finals for male singles) at a similar time.

Collectively, the “Boxed Set” of Grand Slam titles comprises of all four Majors in all three disciplines (mixed doubles, doubles, and singles). All the twelve events have never been won by any player, whether male or female in a single year, though three female players have already won the “career boxed set”.

What Is Grand Slam In Tennis?

1. Introduction to Grand Slam:
The term “Grand Slam” in Tennis refers to the four major international tennis tournaments. These tournaments have the highest prestige in the sport and offer the largest prize money. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

2. The Australian Open:
Held annually in January in Melbourne, the Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. It features hardcourt surfaces. It’s renowned for its extreme weather conditions, often resembling high summer heat.

3. The French Open:
Taking place in Paris from late May to early June, the French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay courts – a surface that slows down the ball and results in longer rallies. It’s also known as Roland-Garros.

4. Wimbledon:
Held at the All England Club in London, in late June and early July, Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. Acknowledged for its tradition and prestige, it’s played on grass courts. Players are required to wear white, and it’s the only major still using a final set tiebreak.

5. The US Open:
The US Open takes place in New York, from late August through early September. It’s the last Grand Slam of the year. Played on hard court, it is known for its night sessions and characterized by high-energy, lively crowds.

6. Achievement of a Grand Slam:
Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year is often regarded as the pinnacle of achievement in tennis. The feat has been named a Calendar Year Grand Slam.

7. The Career Grand Slam:
If a player wins all four Grand Slam titles during their career, but not in the same year, it is known as a Career Grand Slam.

Grand Slam Tournament	Month	Location	Surface
Australian Open	January	Melbourne, Australia	Hard Court
French Open	May – June	Paris, France	Clay
Wimbledon	June – July	London, England	Grass
US Open	August – September	New York, United States	Hard Court

The History Of The Grand Slam In Tennis 

It was between 1924-25 that the chance of becoming the dominating champion of all of the four Majors came to existence. It came to existence through the establishment of the Australasian by the ILTF, known as the International Lawn Tennis Federation. Before that moment, just three happenings: when in The World and Brussels) Covered Court Championships (played in numerous locations) and Wimbledon, the World Hard Court Championships (played in Paris) which the ILTF regarded as the premier global tennis. New Zealand’s Tony Wilding won all 3 of the earlier majors in a single year: 1913. 

 It was in 1925 that finishing Grand Slam in many disciplines and many years was made possible. The game of tennis faced a huge storm from 1940 to 1945 due to breaks at Wimbledon which was caused by the Second World War.

Phil Dent has stated that skipping majors – particularly the Australian Open – wasn’t uncommon next, prior to counting big titles evolved into the majority. Consequently, a lot of players had never had the wide open championships or even Austral(as)ian amateur: Maurice McLoughlin, William Larned, Beals Wright, Bill Tilden, the Doherty brothers, Rene Lacoste, Bobby Riggs, Bill Johnston, Jack Kramer, Henri Cochet, Ted Schroeder, Budge Patty, Pancho Gonzales, Manuel Santana, Jan Kodeš among others, Ellsworth Vines, while Brookes, Jaroslav Drobný, Ilie Năstase (at thirty-five years old), Manuel Orantes, and Björn Borg arrived just after.

It was in 1969 that the very first Australian Open was played at Brisbane on the Milton Courts, the competition was ready to accept other players, like professionals, who had been prohibited from participating in the standard circuit.  

Nevertheless, aside from the 1969 and 1971 competitions, a lot of the most significant players missed the tournament before 1982, due to the lower prize cash, the inconvenient dates (Christmas with the New Year’s Day), and remoteness. In 1970, the National Tennis League of George MacCall, which used Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Gonzales, Fred Stolle, and Andres Gimeno, kept its players from putting in the match since the promises were inadequate. Arthur Ashe received the competition.

As for the present four majors, Don Budge was the very first to succeed in almost all 4 in one season, who won the victory in 1938. To date, the Grand Slam has been won by seventeen players, with just six of them from the most prestigious singles titles. Out of those players, three have attained numerous majors: The feat of two times Male single was achieved by Rod Laver; Margaret Court achieved the feat on three occasions, in 2 various disciplines – one time in Female singles and two times in mixed doubles; and Esther Vergeer conducted a grand slam two times in Female’s wheelchair doubles.

The 4 Junior disciplines, girls’ and boys’ double and singles, provided insufficient chances to achieve a Grand Slam. 18-year-old players have an actual edge since all players are qualified from the of thirteen to tighten. Only one player has achieved the Grand Slam in a junior profession, who was Stefan Edberg.

Career Grand Slam

Eight males, as well as ten females, have won Career Grand Slams in singles play (rows one as well as 2); some of them two males, as well as five females, have no less than 2 Career Grand Slams in singles (column three). Since the start of the open era, five males (Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic), as well as six females (Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, and Maria Sharapova), have accomplished the.

Many singles players have won 3 major championships without getting the Career Grand Slam, grouped by the missing Grand Slam tournament:

1. Australian Open: Louise Brough Clapp, Althea Gibson, Henri Cochet, Helen Wills, Tony Trabert, Margaret Osborne DuPont, Rene Lacoste, and Manuel Santana 

2. French Open: Jimmy Connors, Frank Sedgman, Martina Hingis, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, John Newcombe, Pete Sampras, Arthur Ashe, Ashley Cooper, Virginia Wade, Lindsay Davenport, and Angelique Kerber.

3. Wimbledon: Ken Rosewall, Hana Mandlíková, Ivan Lendl, Monica Seles, Guillermo Vilas, Mats Wilander, Justine Henin, and Stan Wawrinka.

4. US Open: Jean Borotra, Lew Hoad, Jack Crawford, Angela Mortimer, and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Many doubles players have won 3 major championships without getting the Career Grand Slam, grouped by the missing Grand Slam tournament:

5. Australian Open: Helen Wills, Billie Jean King, Elizabeth Ryan, Lindsay Davenport, Darlene Hard, Betty Stöve, Robert Seguso, Mahesh Bhupathi, Ai Sugiyama, Margaret Osborne DuPont, Ekaterina Makarova, Elena Vesnina, and John Van Ryn. 

6. French Open: Sania Mirza, John Bromwich, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Nancy Richey, and Cara Black.

7. Wimbledon: Vic Seixas, Bethanie Mattek Sands, Ashley Cooper, Virginia Wade, Samantha Stosur, Paola Suárez, Lucie Šafářová, Virginia Ruano Pascual,

8. US Open: Jack Crawford, Rod Laver, Jacques Brugnon, Althea Gibson, and Jean Borotra. 

Only six players have finished a Career Grand Slam in each single and also doubles one male (Roy Emerson) and five females (Serena Williams, Shirley Fry Irvin, Margaret Court, Doris Hart, and Martina Navratilova). Court, Navratilova, and Hart will be the lone three players to have finished a “Career Boxed Set” winning all four titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, which has never ever been carried out by a male player. 

The rest of this particular field is an extensive list, by format, of all players that have received the Career Grand Slam. Through the conclusion of these players’ Career Grand Slam, they are ordered chronologically. The main tournament at the Career Grand Slam was attained is suggested in bold.

Final Words

We have come to the end of this article. We hope you’re now familiar with the Grand Slam in Tennis. If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)
https://www.itftennis.com/en/itf-tours/grand-slam-tournaments/