The greatest American tennis players
In the 80’s and 90’s Americans ruled the tennis world, they had by far the most dominant mens players and to this day no American player has come close to their greatness. Then a new generation of European players took over in the naughties, and since 2003 no US player has even won a grand slam! Below are 5 legends of the game including one who carried the GOAT title for many years
5. Jim Courier
Hailing from Florida, Courier like many juniors, attended the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He was a very promising junior and went on to win the Orange Bowl in 1986, 1987 and the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.
Courier turned pro in 1988 but it wasn’t until 1991 that he became a big name in world tennis. His big moment came at Roland Garros 91, when Courier defeated Stefan Edberg and Michael Stich on the way to the final, then dispatched Andre Agassi in five sets to win his first Grand Slam. The American reached number one in the world in 1992, and although he did not stay there for too long, Courier was always a solid reliable player, staying in the top 10 for a good amount of his career.
He reached the final of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but never took home the trophy. But still won four slams, 2 Australian Opens and 2 French Opens. Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000, but is still a regular commentator at the Australian and US Open.
The greatest tennis players of all time
4. Jimmy Connors
These were the days of pure tennis entertainment! The Connor, Bjorn Bog and McEnroe era was a spectacle not just in tennis but in world sport in general.
One of those stars was Jimmy Connors. To this day he holds the record of most tournament’s won – 109, and eight of those were grand slam titles. But he also holds another few interesting records, Connors is the only tennis player ever to win the U.S. Open title on grass, clay court, and hardcourt. And holds the record for matches played – 1,557 and match wins – 1,274.
Throughout his long career he won 8 slams and was he was the world’s top-ranked player for five straight years, from 1974-1978. The hugely popular and emotional character never managed to win a French Open.
3. John McEnroe
Definitely the biggest advertisement for tennis in the 80’s, McEnroe’s famous outburst weren’t only tennis headlines but main news headlines! His temper flared very regularly, but unlike most he could channel this energy and recover to play better during matches. His obvious skill and personality really help popularise tennis to the mainstream and even today he’s a very popular commentator and tv personality.
But let’s talk tennis – and in an era of very dominant players like Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors, McEnroe was able to win seven Grand Slam singles titles, four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon. A classic serve and volleyer, McEnroe also won nine doubles grand slams and one mixed doubles grand slam title!
As for records, McEnroe is the only male player in tennis history to hold the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles simultaneously. On top of that his singles win – loss record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single season win rate of the Open Era.
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McEnroe was the biggest advertisement for tennis in the 80,s, but then Agassi came along and took the throne of the biggest super star in tennis.
On the court “the punisher” had an amazing ability to adapt and win big tournaments on every surface. Born in Nevada, his father sent him too Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy to hone his skills. Such was Agassi’s talent as a junior that they decided he should drop out of school in the ninth grade to pursue a full-time tennis career.
Due to back troubles, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open.
Best new generation tennis players
1. Pete Sampras
In mens tennis in the USA, Pistol Pete is in a league of his own, 14 grand slams (seven Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens five US Opens) titles lay testament to that statement. Sampras blasted onto the tennis scene 1988 at 16 years old and an ATP ranking of 893, he would finish that year climbing to world number 97. His grand slam success started in 1990 with a US Open title and finishing that year at No. 5. Then in 1993 he climbed the eternal mountain and became world number 1, he would hold that position for a total of 286 weeks throughout his career.
He was a classic serve and volleyer and even though he never adapted or changed up his game, this play style brought him incredible success. He even used the same Wilson racket through out his career.
He had the dream career ending, retiring after defeating his arch rival Andre Agassi in the 2002 US Open final. It was his 64th singles title. He was so far ahead of any male player before him that many thought his record of 14 grand slams would never be beaten. But then along came Roger Federer!
The best current American tennis players
Notable mentions
The USA dominated tennis in the 80’s and 90’s but in recent years there is no US grand slam winner since Andy Roddick in 2003! Roddick reached four other major finals, losing to rival Roger Federer each time, if it wasn’t for Federer’s dominance during this period, Roddick could be in the top 5. We could given a berth to eight time grad slam winner Ivan Lendl on this list, instead of Jimmy Connors but he only became a US citizen in 1992. There were also some great early 20th century players who deserve a mention – Bill Tilden, Don Budge and Pancho Gonzales who won an incredible 13 slams before the open era.
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