Tennis by the Numbers: The Ultimate Record Book

Tennis is a sport rich in history, filled with extraordinary achievements, and defined by numbers that showcase the greatest moments and players of all time. From Grand Slam triumphs to record-breaking feats of endurance, this collection of facts and statistics highlights the most remarkable milestones in the game’s history.

Tennis statistics can be slightly skewed as there was a large division between players prior to 1968 when only amateur players were allowed to compete at the grand slams. From 1968 the Open Era was created uniting all tennis players around the world to create one professional calendar circuit. 

A lot of tennis purists will not consider records before 1968 due to the division. You will see reference to the Open Era in some of the statistics and may find other sources that dispute our statistics due to records before 1968 being considered. For clarity we will only include records in the Open era and will make reference to notable records that span both eras. 

Grand Slam & Tournament Records

Who holds the record for the most Grand Slam titles?

• Men's Singles: As of February 2025, Novak Djokovic leads with 24 Grand Slam titles.
• Women's Singles: Margaret Court holds 24 Grand Slam titles, with 11 of those achieved during the Open Era. Serena Williams holds the Open Era record with 23 titles.

Who has won the most Wimbledon titles?

• Men's Singles: Roger Federer leads with 8 Wimbledon titles between 2003 - 2017 this includes winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon singles titles. The most by any male player.
• Women's Singles: Martina Navratilova holds the record with 9 titles between 1978 - 1990 including 6 titles in a row. The most by any player at Wimbledon.

Who has won the most Australian Open titles?

• Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic has 10 Australian Open titles.
• Women's Singles: Margaret Court won 11 titles, with 4 in the Open Era. Serena Williams holds the Open Era record with 7 titles.

Who has won the most French Open titles?

• Men's Singles: Rafael Nadal dominates with 14 French Open titles.
• Women's Singles: Chris Evert holds the record with 7 titles.

Who has won the most US Open titles?

• Men's Singles: Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer share the record with 5 titles each.
• Women's Singles: Chris Evert and Serena Williams have 6 titles each.

What is the longest Grand Slam final ever played?

• The 2012 Australian Open men's final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, with Djokovic taking the win.

Has anyone won a calendar-year Grand Slam?

• Men's Singles: Rod Laver achieved this feat in 1969, winning all four majors in a single year.
• Women's Singles: Steffi Graf completed the Golden Slam in 1988, winning all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold. She is the only player male or female to complete this feat in a calendar year.

Who was the youngest Grand Slam champion?

• Men's Singles: Michael Chang won the 1989 French Open at just 17 years and 3 months old. He beat swedish player Stefan Edberg and it was his first and last grand slam title of his career  
• Women's Singles: Martina Hingis claimed the 1997 Australian Open title at 16 years and 3 months; this was the first of 5 grand slam titles in her career.

Who was the oldest Grand Slam champion?

• Men's Singles: Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at 37 years and 2 months.
• Women's Singles: Serena Williams secured the 2017 Australian Open at 35 years and 4 months.

Which tennis tournament offers the highest prize money?

• As of 2025, the 2024 US Open offers the largest total prize pool among the Grand Slam events, where players compete to win a share of $75 million.

Which tennis tournament attracts the most fans annually?

• The US Open consistently has the highest annual attendance among the Grand Slam tournaments.

What is the highest attendance at a tennis match?

• In 2019, a Federer vs. Nadal exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, drew approximately 51,954 spectators, setting the record.

What is the longest winning streak in Grand Slam history?

• Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic holds the record with 30 consecutive Grand Slam match wins from 2015 to 2016.
• Women's Singles: Serena Williams achieved 34 consecutive Grand Slam match wins from 2014 to 2015.

What is the fastest Grand Slam final ever played?

• The 1988 US Open women's final, where Steffi Graf defeated Gabriela Sabatini in just 34 minutes, remains one of the shortest Grand Slam finals on record.

Match & Performance Records

What is the longest match in tennis history?

• The 2010 Wimbledon first-round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut lasted an astonishing 11 hours and 5 minutes, spanning three days, with Isner winning 70–68 in the final set.

What is the shortest match in professional tennis history?

• The shortest recorded match took place in 1981 when Susan Tutt defeated Marion Bandy in just 20 minutes during the Surrey Championships.

What is the largest winning margin in professional tennis?

• Stefan Edberg defeated Stefan Eriksson 6–0, 6–0, 6–0 in the 1988 Wimbledon first round, marking one of the most dominant victories in Grand Slam history.

What is the longest tiebreak in tennis history?

• The longest tiebreak took place at the 2013 Sarasota Open, where Benjamin Balleret defeated Guillaume Couillard 7–6(36–34).

What is the highest-scoring set ever played?

• The highest-scoring set was 70-68 in a 2010 Wimbledon first-round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.

What is the most aces served in a single match?

• John Isner holds the record with 113 aces served during his 2010 Wimbledon match against Nicolas Mahut.

What is the record for the fastest tennis match?

• Francisco Clavet's 25-minute victory over Jiang Shan at the 2001 Shanghai Open is the shortest men's professional match.

What is the biggest upset in tennis history?

• One of the most notable upsets occurred at the 2013 Wimbledon when world No. 135 Steve Darcis defeated reigning champion Rafael Nadal in the first round.

What is the longest rally in professional tennis?

• The longest rally, lasting 29 minutes, consisted of 643 shots between Vicki Nelson-Dunbar and Jean Hepner at the 1984 Virginia Slims Championships.

What is the most consecutive points won in a match?

• Yaroslava Shvedova achieved a "Golden Set" in 2012 at Wimbledon, winning 24 consecutive points against Sara Errani.

What is the most double faults in a single match?

• Anna Kournikova committed 31 double faults in a 1999 Australian Open match against Miho Saeki.

Who hit the most winners in a match?

• Leonardo Mayer set the record with 138 winners during his 6-hour, 43-minute match against João Souza in the 2015 Davis Cup.

Player Career Records

Who has the most ATP/WTA titles of all time?

• Men's Singles: Jimmy Connors holds the record with 109 ATP titles.
• Women's Singles: Martina Navratilova leads with 167 WTA titles.

Who has won the most matches in tennis history?

• Men's Singles: Jimmy Connors has 1,274 match wins.
• Women's Singles: Martina Navratilova holds the record with 1,442 match wins.

Which player has spent the most weeks as world No. 1?

• Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic has spent 428 weeks at world No. 1.
• Women's Singles: Steffi Graf spent 377 weeks at No. 1.

Who has won the most men's singles matches on clay/grass/hard court?

• Clay: Rafael Nadal leads with 484 wins.
• Grass: Roger Federer has 192 wins.
• Hard: Federer also leads with 783 wins.

Who has the longest career in professional tennis?

• Ken Rosewall’s career spanned 25 years, from 1956 to 1980.

Who was the oldest player to play in a professional match?

• Pancho Segura played a doubles match at 61 years old during the 1977 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships.

Who holds the best win percentage in tennis history?

• Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic's win percentage stands at about 83.5%.
• Women's Singles: Margaret Court boasts a win percentage of approximately 91.7%.

Who has won the most five-set matches in history?

• Novak Djokovic holds the record with 38 five-set wins, the most in men's tennis.

Who has the best head-to-head record against world No.1 players?

• Novak Djokovic maintains a positive head-to-head record against all world No.1 players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.

What is the biggest comeback in a tennis match?

• Andre Agassi made an unbelievable comeback to win the 1999 French Open against Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev. Agassi lost the first two sets 1-6, 2-6 to eventually win in a 5 set thriller. 

What is the longest winning streak in ATP/WTA history?

• ATP: Novak Djokovic holds the record with 43 consecutive wins from 2015 to 2016.
• WTA: Martina Navratilova holds the longest winning streak in WTA history with 74 wins in 1984.

Speed & Power Records

What is the fastest serve ever recorded in tennis?

• Men's Singles: Sam Groth's serve of 263.4 km/h (163.7 mph), hit at a 2012 Challenger event, holds the record.
• Women's Singles: Georgina García Pérez hit a serve at 220 km/h (136.7 mph) in 2018.

Who has the fastest recorded serve in a Grand Slam match?

• Men's Singles: John Isner served at 253 km/h (157.2 mph) during the 2016 Australian Open.
• Women's Singles: Venus Williams hit a serve at 207.6 km/h (129 mph) at the 2007 US Open.

Who has the fastest-recorded return winner?

• Nick Kyrgios is believed to have hit a return winner at 163 km/h (101 mph).

Who has hit the most aces in a career?

• Men's Singles: John Isner has hit over 14,400 aces in his career.
• Women's Singles: Serena Williams holds the record for the most aces in WTA history.

Who has the hardest forehand in tennis history?

• Fernando González and Juan Martín del Potro both reached speeds of 190 km/h (118 mph) with their forehands. But it is Frenchman Gael Monfis who tops the records with a sizzling forehand clocked at 124 mph at Indian Wells in 2022.

Who has the hardest backhand in tennis history?

• Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem are both known for their powerful one-handed backhands, hitting speeds over 160 km/h (99 mph). But its David Nalbandian who tops the records with a backhand clocked at 110 mph.

Miscellaneous & Unique Records

Which country has produced the most Grand Slam champions?

• The United States has produced 21 different Grand Slam singles champions in the Open Era.

What is the highest-altitude professional tennis tournament?

• The Copa Colsanitas WTA tournament is played in Bogata, Columbia at an altitude of 2,640m (8,660 ft) above sea level. At this altitude air pressure is only 75% of that at sea level. 

What is the lowest-altitude professional tennis tournament?

• The Qatar Open in Doha is played at sea level. Altitude plays a huge part in how travels through the air. Lower altitude equates to a higher air density meaning there is more resistance on the ball as it travels through the air.

Who has participated in the most Grand Slam matches?

• Roger Federer holds the record with over 400 Grand Slam matches.

What is the largest prize money ever earned by a tennis player over their career?

• Novak Djokovic has earned over $180 million in career prize money. If that's not high enough Djokovic has earned almost double that in off court earnings through sponsorships and endorsements.

Who has won the most Davis Cup matches?

• Italy’s Nicola Pietrangeli holds the record for the most singles victories in the Davis Cup with 78 wins.

Who has won the most Olympic tennis gold medals?

• Venus and Serena Williams hold the record with four Olympic gold medals from a combination of singles and doubles. Venus also won a silver medal in the mixed doubles at Rio 2016.

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Statistics correct as of 25/02/2025