In the past century, America has produced some of the greatest tennis players to ever grace the sport. From icons like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi to contemporary greats like Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens, the United States has a long and proud history in tennis. But what about the men? In this blog post, we will be ranking the top 10 male tennis players from the United States in history. We’ll be taking into consideration their Grand Slam wins, Davis Cup wins, and general legacy in the sport. So without further ado, let’s get started!
Andre Agassi
There is no question that Andre Agassi is one of the greatest tennis players in history. He was the first player to win all four Grand Slams in a single calendar year, and he did it twice. He also won an Olympic gold medal. His career record is 870-274, and he won 60 titles, including eight Grand Slams.
Arthur Ashe
There can be little doubt that Arthur Ashe is one of the greatest tennis players in history. He was the first African American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, and he did so at a time when racial segregation was still prevalent in the United States. Ashe also won two more Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles, and he was ranked as high as number two in the world during his career. In addition to his on-court success, Ashe is also remembered for his work off the court. He was an outspoken advocate for social justice, and he worked tirelessly to promote equality in tennis and other sports.
Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors is a former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 for 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a record 268 weeks overall. He won eight Grand Slam singles titles, two Grand Slam doubles titles, and five major invitational tournaments, including Wimbledon twice. Connors is widely considered one of the greatest players in tennis history.
Connors was born in 1952 in East St. Louis, Illinois, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois. His parents were both professional tennis players: his father was ranked No. 17 in the U.S. while his mother was a three-time All-American at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Connors began playing tennis when he was five years old and soon developed his trademark aggressive style of play. He turned professional in 1972 at the age of 19 and won his first tournament that same year. By 1974, he had reached the top of the world rankings and would go on to win Wimbledon twice (1974 and 1982) as well as the U.S. Open five times (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983). In 1975, he set an all-time record by winning 98 out of 100 matches played during the season.
During his career, Connors won a total of 109 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. He retired from professional tennis in 1996 but still competes on the senior circuit today.
Andre Dawson
Andre Dawson is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world and won six Grand Slam titles during his career. He is considered one of the best American tennis players of all time.
Pete Sampras
There is no doubt that Pete Sampras is one of the greatest tennis players in history. He was born on August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C. and began playing tennis at the age of three. His family moved to California when he was seven years old, and it was there that he developed his game under the tutelage of coach Robert Lansdorp.
Sampras turned professional in 1988 and won his first ATP Tour event in February 1989. He went on to win 64 singles titles during his career, including a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles. He also won five ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournaments and was the year-end world No. 1 ranking singles player a record six times (1993-98).
Sampras retired from tennis in 2002 after winning his final match at the US Open against rival Andre Agassi. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.
John McEnroe
John McEnroe is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He was born on February 16, 1959, in Wiesbaden, West Germany. His parents were American citizens living in Germany at the time of his birth. McEnroe grew up in New York City and Douglaston, Queens.
He began playing tennis at an early age and soon developed into a top junior player. He won several junior tournaments before turning pro in 1978.
McEnroe had a successful professional career, winning seven Grand Slam singles titles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles. He also won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1981 and again in 1983. In 1984, he reached the pinnacle of his career by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles (the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open) in the same year. This achievement has only been matched by two other players in history: Don Budge and Rod Laver.
McEnroe retired from professional tennis in 1992 but has continued to compete in senior events. He currently resides in New York City with his wife and three children.
Michael Chang
Michael Chang is a retired tennis player who was born on February 22, 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is of Chinese descent. His parents, Joe and Betty, emigrated from Taiwan.
Chang began playing tennis at age four and quickly developed into a prodigy. He turned professional at age 15 and won his first top-level singles title later that year at the 1987 French Open, becoming the youngest Male player to win a Grand Slam singles title at that time. He went on to enjoy a successful career, winning 34 singles titles and 6 doubles titles. His biggest accomplishment came at the 1996 French Open when he defeated Pete Sampras in the final to become the first – and still only – Asian Male player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Chang retired from tennis in 2003 but has since remained active in the sport as a coach and commentator. In 2012, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Jim Courier
Jim Courier is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He was a world No. 1 ranked player in 1992 and won four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. Courier also helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995.
Todd Martin
Todd Martin is a name that often gets forgotten when people discuss the great American male tennis players in history. However, he was a very successful player in his own right. Todd won 20 ATP singles titles and reached the finals of the US Open in 1999 (losing to Andre Agassi). He also had a very successful doubles career, winning 11 ATP titles.
Todd’s best year on the tour was probably 1996, when he won 4 singles titles and made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon (losing to eventual champion Richard Krajicek). He also won 2 doubles titles that year. Todd was a consistent player throughout his career, and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world in 1999.
While Todd never won a Grand Slam singles title, he had a very successful career and was one of the top American players for many years.
Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He was born on December 2, 1981, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Fish turned professional in 2000 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2011. He won six Tour singles titles and one doubles title. His best Grand Slam results were semifinal appearances at the 2010 US Open and the 2011 Australian Open. He retired from tennis in September 2015.
Fish was coached by David Nainkin early in his career and later by Doug Spreen. As a junior player, he compiled a 41–5 win–loss record in singles and reached as high as No. 3 in the world junior rankings. Fish’s parents divorced when he was 11 years old, after which he and his sister were raised solely by their mother Shelley. When Fish was 13 years old, his grandfather moved in with them to help care for him while his mother worked long hours as an administrator at a local hospital During his teenage years, Fish began to struggle with anxiety disorder and depression; he did not receive a diagnosis or treatment until after he had turned professional. In 2006, Fish publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and started taking medication for it; this helped him improve both his on-court performance and quality of life off the court.
