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Grand Slam (tennis)

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In tennis, a singles player or doubles team is said to have achieved the True Grand Slam if they succeed in winning all four of the following championship titles in the same calendar year or just "Grand Slam" by owning all four at the same time:

These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments. They rank as the most important tennis tournaments of the year in the public mind, as well as in terms of world ranking points and prize-money awarded. The titles are known as Grand Slam titles.

Contents

History

The term Grand Slam was first used in 1933, by the American journalist John Kieran. In describing the attempt that year by Jack Crawford to win all four titles, he compared it with "a countered and vulnerable grand slam in bridge". Kieran singled out these four titles as being the biggest in tennis because, at the time, they were the main international championships held in the only four countries who had won the Davis Cup. Crawford failed to achieve the Grand Slam that year as he lost in the US Championships final to Fred Perry. It was not until 1938 that Donald Budge became the first person to achieve the Grand Slam.

The expression Grand Slam, initially used to describe the winning of the tennis major events, was later incorporated by other sports, notably golf, to describe a similar accomplishment.

Winners

True Grand Slam

Singles

Junior Singles

The only winner of the Grand Slam in Junior singles is:

Doubles

Additionally, three players won all four Doubles Grand Slam titles, but switched partners after the Australian Open: Margaret Smith also won one more Doubles Grand Slam, switching partners twice:

Four consecutive Grand Slam titles (Not True)

Though the term was originally restricted to the winning of all four tournaments in the same calendar year, the International Tennis Federation declared the official term as a player holding all four titles simultaneously, regardless of the calendar year.

After Martina Navrátilová won four consecutive major championships, holding all four at once, the International Tennis Federation awarded her the Grand Slam $1,000,000 bonus, as she held all four titles at once.

Two other players —Steffi Graf and Serena Williams— have also completed this Grand Slam (by ITF regulations).

Winners of all four Grand Slam tournaments consecutively, but not in a single calendar year:

Most Grand Slam Titles in a Row (non-Consecutive)

Between 1924 and 1933 Helen Wills had a streak of winning sixteen (16) straight Grand Slam singles events, the first fifteen without losing a set. During this period she won 5 Wimbledons, 4 French Opens, and 7 US Opens without losing. She also won the 1924 Summer Olympics during this streak. Wills never entered Australian Open which was in its infancy.

Career Grand Slam

Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments non-consecutively is described as a "Career Grand Slam."

Singles

Players who won all four Grand Slam tournaments but not in a row include (age between square brackets): Especially in the men's game, a number of players dominant in their eras have failed to achieve the Career Grand Slam because of their inability to win a particular tournament, often due to that tournament being ill-suited to the player's game. John Newcombe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras all failed to win the French Open, while Ken Rosewall, Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl, and Mats Wilander all failed to win Wimbledon.

Doubles

Teams that have won a Career Grand Slam: Players who won a Career Grand Slam in doubles:

Mixed doubles

Teams that have won a Career Grand Slam:

Players who won a Career Grand Slam in mixed doubles:

Serena and Venus Williams won what could be called "Williams family Slam" in mixed doubles in 1998 when they held all 4 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.

Golden Slam

The Golden Slam, or Golden Grand Slam, is winning all four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the Gold medal in tennis at the Summer Olympics, in the same calendar year. The opportunities to do so have been rare, not just because the Summer Olympics are held only once every four years, but also because in between the games of 1924 and 1988, tennis was not a medal sport at the Games.

True Golden Slam

So far this feat has been achieved only once:

Career Golden Slam

Winning all tournaments in a True Golden Slam, but not in the same calendar year:

Small Slam

Players who have won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year, are sometimes said to have achieved a small slam.

Men

Juniors:

Women

Juniors:

The career \"Boxed Set\"

Perhaps the greatest Grand Slam-related accomplishment imaginable is winning a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles – winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events. No male player has ever achieved this feat, but three women have completed the "boxed set" during their careers:

Serena Williams has come closer than any other currently active player to joining this elite group. She has yet to win the mixed doubles in the Australian and French Opens.

See also

 

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