5 active players with a Grand Slam on every surface
Ashleigh Barty's victory over Danielle Collins in the final of the 2022 Australian Open on Saturday meant two things: first, the 44-year wait for an Australian to win a singles Grand Slam on home soil came to an end. Second, another name was added to the list of active players who have won a Major on all three surfaces -- hard, clay and grass.
This is different from the Surface Slam, where a player wins three Majors on three different surfaces consecutively. Only three active players have managed to achieve the feat -- Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Active players with a Grand Slam on hard, clay, and grass:
Ashleigh Barty
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Serena Williams
-end list-
#5 Serena Williams
Serena Williams achieved the feat of winning a Grand Slam on every surface with her first three Major titles on the WTA Tour. Her first Major title came at the 1999 US Open, where she defeated Martina Hingis in straight sets in the final.
For the next two years, the American struggled in Majors, exiting at the quarterfinals four times and reaching only one final in two years. After missing the 2002 Australian Open with an injury, she came back strong to win the French Open and Wimbledon that year. She defeated her sister Venus Williams in both finals, winning a Major on every surface in the process.
July 6, 2002 馃搮
@SerenaWilliams wins first @Wimbledon title. The second title of the 'Serena Slam" https://t.co/FmtMcCVhe0
Serena Williams also won the following US Open and Australian Open (again defeating Venus Williams in both finals) to complete the Non-Calendar Grand Slam -- winning four Slams consecutively but not in the same year. It also meant she completed the Surface Slam, a feat she would go on to repeat again in 2015 along with her second Non-Calendar Grand Slam.
#4 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal completed the feat of winning a Grand Slam on every surface at the 2009 Australian Open. Before the tournament, Nadal had won the French Open for the previous four years.
He then pulled off an unbelievable upset win over five-time defending champion Roger Federer at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, leaving only the hardcourt surface without his stamp of authority. The very next year, the Spaniard registered a Major title at Melbourne Park, defeating Federer once again in the final.
A year later, the Spaniard won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open one after the other to complete the Surface Slam. The US Open title also meant that he completed his Career Slam in the process, having won all four Majors.
#3 Roger Federer
Roger Federer's first two Majors came at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and the 2004 Australian Open respectively. But in order to win a Grand Slam on every surface, the Swiss had to wait five more years.
By winning the 2009 French Open by defeating Robin Soderling in the final, Federer finally acquired a Major title on every surface. Prior to this, he had won 13 Majors -- the Australian Open thrice, Wimbledon and the US Open five times each.
On this date in 2009, Roger Federer completes a career Grand Slam, winning the French Open.
He has 20 Grand Slam singles titles- most in men's tennis history.
Federer recently earned the top spot on @Forbes Highest-Paid Athlete list ($106M)- the 1st tennis player to ever do so. https://t.co/yrM8LfbptU
With his win in Paris, the former World No. 1 also completed the Career Grand Slam and equalled Pete Sampras' then-record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
#2 Novak Djokovic
Like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic's quest of winning a Major on every surface was also delayed by the French Open. Having won the Australian Open for the first time in 2008, Djokovic had to wait eight more years and 10 more Majors before lifting the 2016 Roland Garros trophy.
RG
French Open moments.
When Djokovic beat Murray in 2016 to become the 1st man since Laver in 1969 to win four straight majors. He also completed his grand slam collection.
馃摲 RG https://t.co/GiaKL684q2
The Serb defeated Andy Murray in the finals to acquire a Grand Slam on all three surfaces. The victory also marked the completion of a Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam.
In 2021, the 20-time Grand Slam champion went on to complete the Surface Slam again, winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon trophies.
#1 Ashleigh Barty
Similar to Serena Williams, Ashleigh Barty's first three Major titles have all come on three different surfaces. Barty won the 2019 French Open with a victory over Marketa Vandrosouva in the finals for her first Major title.
Ashleigh Barty has now won a Grand Slam on hard surface, clay and grass 馃弳馃弳馃弳
#ausopen #bbctennis
Her second Grand Slam title came at 2021 Wimbledon, where she defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final. The 2022 Australian Open triumph ensured that the Australian became only the fifth active player to have won a Major on all three surfaces.