Blog Archives
Longest Winning Streaks in Tennis History (Open Era, Men and Women)
Martina Navratilova Won 74 Matches in a Row in 1984
Serena Williams‘ 19-match winning streak came to an end today at the hands of Angelique Kerber.
It’s not Serena’s longest streak. She won 21 in a row for her best back in 2002.
But neither make the top 10 winning streaks in women’s tennis history. Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf completely dominate that list, with Chris Evert squeaking in at No. 4.
Navratilova won an astonishing 74 matches in a row at her peak. That’s nearly 30 more in a row than the tops in men’s tennis, 46, the record streak held by Argentina’s Guillermo Vilas.
Eight different men populate the ATP’s top 10 winning streaks, with Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer appearing twice. The most recent ranking streak was Novak Djokovic‘s third all-time 43 that was snapped just last year (2011).
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WOMEN (WTA)
| 1. | Martina Navratilova | 74 | 1984 |
| 2. | Steffi Graf | 66 | 1989-1990 |
| 3. | Martina Navratilova | 58 | 1986-1987 |
| 4. | Chris Evert | 55 | 1974 |
| 5. | Martina Navratilova | 54 | 1983-1984 |
| 6. | Steffi Graf | 46 | 1988 |
| 7. | Steffi Graf | 45 | 1987 |
| 8. | Martina Navratilova | 41 | 1982 |
| 9. | Martina Navratilova | 39 | 1982-1983 |
| 10. | Martina Navratilova | 38 | 1977-1978 |
MEN (ATP)
| 1. | Guillermo Vilas | 46 | 1977 |
| 2. | Ivan Lendl | 44 | 1981-1982 |
| 3. | Björn Borg | 43 | 1978 |
| 3. | Novak Djokovic | 43 | 2010-2011 |
| 5. | John McEnroe | 42 | 1984 |
| 6. | Roger Federer | 41 | 2006-2007 |
| 7. | Björn Borg | 35 | 1979-1980 |
| 7. | Thomas Muster | 35 | 1995 |
| 7. | Roger Federer | 35 | 2005 |
| 10. | Jimmy Connors | 33 | 1974 |
Photo: bleacherreport.com
Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and All the No. 1 Women’s Tennis Players, by Number of Weeks
Steffi Graf, Greatest Women’s Tennis Player of All Time
Steffi Graf is probabaly, at least by the numbers, the greatest female tennis player of all time. She just edges out Martina Navratilova, and then Chris Evert, a trailing third, to claim such a title.
Graf has the most major wins of the Open Era (22), and that’s regardless of gender (Roger Federer has 17 on the men’s side). She also held the No. 1 ranking for the longest number of weeks total: 377 (Federer is at 291 and counting).
Twenty-two ladies have held the top spot since the ranking system was introduced in late 1975. Here’s a list of all of them, ranked by number of weeks at No. 1.
What about the men? Sports List of the Day has you covered: Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and All the No. 1 Tennis Players, by Number of Weeks.
Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TOTAL CAREER WEEKS AT NO. 1 | |
| 1. | Steffi Graf | Germany | 377 |
| 2. | Martina Navratilova | USA | 332 |
| 3. | Chris Evert | USA | 260 |
| 4. | Martina Hingis | Switzerland | 209 |
| 5. | Monica Seles | USA | 178 |
| 6. | Serena Williams | USA | 123 |
| 7. | Justine Henin | Belgium | 117 |
| 8. | Lindsay Davenport | USA | 98 |
| 9. | Caroline Wozniacki | Denmark | 67 |
| 10. | Amélie Mauresmo | France | 39 |
| 11. | Dinara Safina | Russia | 26 |
| 12. | Victoria Azarenka | Belarus | 25 (Current No. 1) |
| 13. | Tracy Austin | USA | 21 |
| 13. | Maria Sharapova | Russia | 21 |
| 15. | Kim Clijsters | Belarus | 20 |
| 16. | Victoria Azarenka | Belarus | 19 |
| 17. | Jelena Jankovic | Serbia | 18 |
| 18. | Jennifer Capriati | USA | 17 |
| 19. | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Spain | 12 |
| 19. | Ana Ivanovic | Serbia | 12 |
| 21. | Venus Williams | USA | 11 |
| 22. | Evonne Goolagong Cawley | Australia | 2 |
Photo: blog.seniorennet.be
Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and All the No. 1 Tennis Players, by Number of Weeks
Roger Federer, No. 1 Tennis Player in the World, Again
Twenty-six different ATP tennis players have held the No. 1 ranking since the Open Era began in 1968.
Current No. 1 player in the world, Roger Federer, recently passed Pete Sampras as the longest reigning No. 1 player over the course of a career, 291 weeks and counting.
Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the active men on the list who can each still add to their accumulated week totals as the best player in the world.
Tomorrow, we’ll check out the ladies.
Follow me on Twitter @VinGetz.
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TOTAL CAREER WEEKS AT NO. 1 | |
| 1. | Roger Federer | Switzerland | 291 (Current No. 1) |
| 2. | Pete Sampras | USA | 286 |
| 3. | Ivan Lendl | Czechoslovakia | 270 |
| 4. | Jimmy Connors | USA | 268 |
| 5. | John McEnroe | USA | 170 |
| 6. | Björn Borg | Sweden | 109 |
| 7. | Rafael Nadal | Spain | 102 |
| 8. | Andre Agassi | USA | 101 |
| 9. | Lleyton Hewitt | Australia | 80 |
| 10. | Stefan Edberg | Sweden | 72 |
| 11. | Jim Courier | USA | 58 |
| 12. | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 53 |
| 13. | Gustavo Kuerten | Brazil | 43 |
| 14. | Ilie Nastase | Romania | 40 |
| 15. | Mats Wilander | Sweden | 20 |
| 16. | Andy Roddick | USA | 13 |
| 17. | Boris Becker | Germany | 12 |
| 18. | Marat Safin | Russia | 9 |
| 19. | John Newcombe | Australia | 8 |
| 19. | Juan Carlos Ferrero | Spain | 8 |
| 21. | Thomas Muster | Austria | 6 |
| 21. | Marcelo Ríos | Chile | 6 |
| 21. | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | Russia | 6 |
| 21. | Marat Safin | Russia | 6 |
| 25. | Carlos Moyà | Spain | 2 |
| 26. | Patrick Rafter | Australia | 1 |
Photo: telegraph.co.uk
