View Full Version : Top 10 Tennis Players of All Time
On the radio the other day, Mad Dog was discussing a list of the Top 10 tennis players of all the open era and I thought it'd be fun to discuss our lists...
Here's mine (in no particular order):
Laver
Sampras
Bjorg
Lendl
Federer
McEnroe
Connors
Newcombe
Agassi
Edberg
Becker
Also in consideration:
Rosewall
Emerson
nhyankeefan
09-03-06, 07:23 PM
On the radio the other day, Mad Dog was discussing a list of the Top 10 tennis players of all the open era and I thought it'd be fun to discuss our lists...
Here's mine (in no particular order):
Laver
Sampras
Bjorg
Lendl
Federer
McEnroe
Connors
Newcombe
Agassi
Edberg
Becker
Also in consideration:
Rosewall
Emerson
You have 11 in your top 10 - I agree with everyone but I would drop Lendl. Hard to believe Federer belongs there at such a young age but he does.
You have 11 in your top 10 - I agree with everyone but I would drop Lendl. Hard to believe Federer belongs there at such a young age but he does.Yeah, I know ;) I sneaked an extra one in there. I'd keep Lendl over Edberg. As much as I dislike Lendl, he was a tremendous player.
nhyankeefan
09-03-06, 07:28 PM
Yeah, I know ;) I sneaked an extra one in there. I'd keep Lendl over Edberg. As much as I dislike Lendl, he was a tremendous player.
It's been a while since I've seen either one, but I always thought Edberg was more of an all around player so I picked him over Lendl. But it could be my dislike for Lendl clouding my judgement.
yankeebot
09-03-06, 07:32 PM
No love for the ladies? In no particular order:
Graf
Navraitilova
Evert
S. Williams
V. Williams
Seles
Hingis
Goolagong
Smith-Court
King
It's been a while since I've seen either one, but I always thought Edberg was more of an all around player so I picked him over Lendl. But it could be my dislike for Lendl clouding my judgement.You'd think so, but it's not really a contest...
Lendl:
8 GS titles
11 times runner up
94 career titles
Ranking Triumphs
270 weeks at number 1
Captured the number one spot 8 times
4 year ending number one ranking
4 time ITF champion
157 consecutive weeks at number one
Reached the number one ranking at 22 and held it for the last time at 30
1,072-238 Career record
Edberg:
6 GS wins
5 runner-up
42 titles
806-270 Career record
No love for the ladies? In no particular order:
Graf
Navraitilova
Evert
S. Williams
V. Williams
Seles
Hingis
Goolagong
Smith-Court
King
Ofcourse the women :D
Graf
Navratilova
BJK
Court
Seles
Hingis
Serena
Goolagong
Sanchez-Vicario
Davenport/Venus/Austin
Edit: I forgot Evert. Duh.
Ofcourse the women :D
Graf
Navratilova
BJK
Court
Seles
Hingis
Serena
Goolagong
Sanchez-Vicario
Davenport/Venus/Austin
I don't think you can leave Evert out.
I don't think you can leave Evert out.Oh crap. I totally spaced on that one. I thought I'd included her, but obviously not. Thanks for catching that.
SheffRocks11
09-04-06, 11:10 AM
On the radio the other day, Mad Dog was discussing a list of the Top 10 tennis players of all the open era and I thought it'd be fun to discuss our lists...
Here's mine (in no particular order):
Laver
Sampras
Bjorg
Lendl
Federer
McEnroe
Connors
Newcombe
Agassi
Edberg
Becker
Also in consideration:
Rosewall
Emerson
Yeah.. I pretty much agree with your list. Although I'd put Agassi above Newcombe.
JfromJersey
09-04-06, 11:21 AM
Can't really argue with your list. Federer's career is not even in full bloom yet and unless Nadal can raise the level of his game on grass and hard courts, Roger will probably win more majors than anyone else in history.
b_joseph
09-04-06, 12:45 PM
Sampras
Laver
Borg
Federer
McEnroe
Conners
Agassi
Becker
Perry
Rosewall
b_joseph
09-04-06, 12:46 PM
Ofcourse the women :D
Graf
Navratilova
BJK
Court
Seles
Hingis
Serena
Goolagong
Sanchez-Vicario
Davenport/Venus/Austin
Edit: I forgot Evert. Duh.
Serena is well better than Hingis.
Dont let her lack of commitment to the game fool, your judgement
Can't really argue with your list. Federer's career is not even in full bloom yet and unless Nadal can raise the level of his game on grass and hard courts, Roger will probably win more majors than anyone else in history.
It's more likely he'll burn out long before that.
Federer will burn out before what?
JfromJersey
09-05-06, 11:19 AM
It's more likely he'll burn out long before that.
He already has 8 Grand Slam singles titles and he just turned 25. The record is Sampras' 14 titles. You don't think he can win 6 more titles by the time he turns 30?
jimmyclark
09-05-06, 11:22 AM
Anna Kournikova will always be my top 10 tennis player. Winning is so overrated anyways. As they said on "You can't blame" Marilyn Monroe is the greatest Hollywood figure and she won zero Oscars.
mjdlight
09-05-06, 11:25 AM
He already has 8 Grand Slam singles titles and he just turned 25. The record is Sampras' 14 titles. You don't think he can win 6 more titles by the time he turns 30?
After seeing him live this week at the Open, barring injury, or some young player that is unlike anything we've ever seen, I can't imagine anything will stop the Fed-fed train from hitting 15 Slams, and beyond.
He has the touch and feel of a McEnroe, the baseline game of an Agassi, the court awareness and intelligence of a Hingis, and the service game of a Sampras. Absolutely amazing.
If you've never seen him live, and you're a tennis fan, I can't recommend it enough. The beauty of his game does not fully translate on TV.
dabomb2045
09-05-06, 12:07 PM
Federer will be the best of all-time when his career ends.
in2dust2002
09-05-06, 06:35 PM
Sampras
Laver
Borg
Federer
McEnroe
Conners
Agassi
Becker
Perry
Rosewall
You forgot Lendl. Lendl is definitly above Becker and McEnroe. Lendl's longevity is more impressive than both.
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:03 PM
I actually disagree with one thing. Although it is still early in his career, I think there is there is an argument for saying that Federer is the best to ever play the game. I don't think Federer has had the competition that the other players have had which is the argument against him being the best, but I do believe what he has been able to do the last 4 years is just remarkable and IMO it is safe to say he is or will be the best to ever play, and I think he would have beaten Sampras in his prime.
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:05 PM
As far as the ladies - I would not put Davenport in the top 10. Although Serena and Venus are great tennis players, when you are injured half your career you cannot say that they are the top 10 to ever play. Same goes with Seles. Had all three not been injured they could have finished 1-2-3. So on that note, I would not put those 4 on my list, otherwise you can put Hewitt, Kuerten, Chang, Safin and guys like that who were dominant for a year or two.
Btw, Martina finally retired. At the age of 50. There's no way she's not the top female tennis player of ALL TIME.
She reached 32 grand slam finals and has something like 174 career titles, by far the most for men OR women.
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:15 PM
I am excited to watch Martina play tonight with Bryan brother in Mixed. I don't know about the top player but she is definitely top 3 or 4 IMO.
I am excited to watch Martina play tonight with Bryan brother in Mixed. I don't know about the top player but she is definitely top 3 or 4 IMO.Who could you possibly rank over Martina as the best women's player of all time? There is simply no one. Her accomplishments outshine everyone else by far.
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:27 PM
Who could you possibly rank over Martina as the best women's player of all time? There is simply no one. Her accomplishments outshine everyone else by far.
Stefi? Evert?
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:28 PM
Who could you possibly rank over Martina as the best women's player of all time? There is simply no one. Her accomplishments outshine everyone else by far.
When you talk about all-around best tennis player I would give it to Martina with her accomplishments as a singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player. As far as singles go, I don't think I would rank Martina #1
When you talk about all-around best tennis player I would give it to Martina with her accomplishments as a singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player. As far as singles go, I don't think I would rank Martina #1Then who?
Bern baby Bern!
09-07-06, 02:37 PM
Then who?
I said Graf and Chris, I am not old enough to have fully enjoyed watching Martina and Evert, but I would put Graf, Chris, than Martina as my top 3.
All-around best tennis player - Martina hands down #1
Sillycon
10-24-06, 06:11 PM
After seeing him live this week at the Open, barring injury, or some young player that is unlike anything we've ever seen, I can't imagine anything will stop the Fed-fed train from hitting 15 Slams, and beyond.
He has the touch and feel of a McEnroe, the baseline game of an Agassi, the court awareness and intelligence of a Hingis, and the service game of a Sampras. Absolutely amazing.
If you've never seen him live, and you're a tennis fan, I can't recommend it enough. The beauty of his game does not fully translate on TV.
I'm just being nitpicky but while I agree with most of your points, Federer's serve does not compare to Sampras's (though it IS good)...
Time to bump this again. How much higher does Federer move on people's lists and does Nadal make an appearance?
CptCrunch
07-08-07, 02:01 PM
In a few years, Nadal will be in the discussion. I don't think he's there just yet.
I was just looking up stats for these players. It's so damn difficult to rank them. For example: Lendl won over 1000 matches in his career; Laver won 181 tournaments; Bjorg won almost 90% of his Grand Slam matches and won the French 6 times and reached 6 consecutive Wimbledon finals; Becker was the first unseeded player and the youngest player to win Wimbledon and reached the final there seven times; Sampras has the most grand slam wins and holds the record for most weeks at #1....I could go on.
26 and counting
07-08-07, 03:53 PM
In a few years, Nadal will be in the discussion. I don't think he's there just yet.
Nadal's so young. What is he, 23 or 24?
26 and counting
07-08-07, 03:53 PM
In a few years, Nadal will be in the discussion. I don't think he's there just yet.
Nadal's so young. What is he, 23 or 24?
CptCrunch
07-08-07, 09:37 PM
Nadal's so young. What is he, 23 or 24?
Even younger than that. I think he turned 21 this year.
jlw1980
07-08-07, 10:23 PM
Even younger than that. I think he turned 21 this year.Yup, he turned 21 on June 3...and all ready has 3 Grand Slam titles! :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadal
26 and counting
07-08-07, 11:25 PM
Yup, he turned 21 on June 3...and all ready has 3 Grand Slam titles! :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadal
Better than what you or I were doing at 21.
I finally got around to watching this match on my DVR tonight. For the first 4 sets and first few games of the 5th set, Nadal definitely looked like the better player today, and I thought that he was going to win. The whole key to the 5th set turning around was Federer saving four break points in two separate games. I forget which commentator said it, but he said "How many times can you leave the bases loaded before it comes back to bite you?" Suddenly, Federer broke Nadal, and it was over so quickly. What a great match!
I hope that Federer and Nadal are around for a long time to come. These two guys could be facing each other in the majority of the Grand Slam finals over the next few years. It would be great if Roddick's and Blake's games would suddenly improve too and join in on the fun.
26 and counting
07-08-07, 11:25 PM
Yup, he turned 21 on June 3...and all ready has 3 Grand Slam titles! :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadal
Better than what you or I were doing at 21.
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