List of Grand Slam singles champions since 2000 who never played a Junior Slam, ft. Jannik Sinner & Serena Williams
Jannik Sinner joined the Grand Slam winners club with his Australian Open title on Sunday. But there’s a less talked-about aspect of his victory that puts him in the fine company of Serena Williams and a couple of others.
The Italian has become just the fourth player since 2000 to win a Grand Slam title without having competed at any Major tournament as a junior.
Sinner, much like Serena Williams, made his Grand Slam debut directly in the seniors. He did not play a lot on the junior circuit in general, which is evident from his career-high ranking of 133.
The duo, however, is not alone in achieving the interesting feat. Here, we have listed the players who have won a Grand Slam title in the 21st century without ever playing one in the juniors:
#1 Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner made his junior debut at the ITF circuit in 2016, but achieved little success early and soon transitioned into the seniors.
After spending the back-end of 2017 and most of 2018 on the ITF and Challenger Tours, the youngster’s ATP debut came at the 2019 Hungarian Open. He entered the draw as a lucky loser, before notching up his first ever main-draw win over Mate Valkusz.
Sinner entered his first Grand Slam main draw at the 2019 US Open, but bowed out in the first round. His breakthrough came at the French Open the following year, where he reached his maiden quarterfinal.
The Italian continued to stack up big wins on the ATP tour — including his first and biggest titles at the 2020 Sofia and 2023 Canadian Masters, respectively — but Grand Slam glory eluded him.
That was until this year’s Australian Open, where Sinner finally had his big moment in the semifinals. He beat 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in four sets to progress to the final, where he a staged a stellar five-set comeback over Daniil Medvedev to end the wait for a Grand Slam title.
#2 Serena Williams
Serena Williams’ father Richard Williams was famously against having his daughters compete on the junior circuit, citing the need for the young girls to focus on their education instead.
This was when her elder sister Venus Williams had just begun to show promise on the tennis court. The two siblings were the top-ranked players in their respective age categories; Venus in Southern California and Serena in Florida.
The plan eventually paid dividends, even though Serena Williams herself admitted in a 2015 interview that it might not be fit for everyone.
The American made her senior debut as a 14-year-old wildcard entrant in the 1995 Bell Challenge in Quebec, but lost in the qualifying. She scored her first main-draw win at the 1997 Ameritech Cup Chicago, where she became the lowest-ranked player (No. 304) to beat two top-10 players in a single tournament.
Grand Slam success followed soon after. Serena Williams won her home event, the US Open, at the turn of the century in 1999, beating Martina Hingis in the final. The rest, as they say, is history.
#3 Venus Williams
Much like her sister, Venus Williams did not play on the junior circuit for very long. At 11, she had a 63-0 win loss record on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Junior tour, but subsequently took time away from the sport to focus on her studies.
The American made a famous debut at the 1994 Silicon Valley Classic, winning a match and leading World No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario by a set before going down fighting.
Venus Williams made her big-stage debut at the 1997 French Open and reached her maiden final in just her third Grand Slam event, that year’s US Open. She, however, had to wait a little for an upgrade in silverware.
The big breakthrough came at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships. She ousted countrywoman Lindsay Davenport to lay her hands on a trophy that she shares her name with — the Venus Rosewater dish — and one that she would lift on four more occasions over the course of her illustrious and still active career.
#4 Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka’s father Leonard Francois was inspired to have his daughters take up tennis after watching Venus and Serena Williams play at the 1999 French Open.
In a 2018 New York Times interview, right on the eve of Naomi's maiden Grand Slam triumph at the US Open, Francois said, “The blueprint was already there. I just had to follow it.”
He was referring to the roadmap laid by Richard Williams for his daughters. Osaka, much like the Williams sisters, did not play a single Major on the junior circuit.
She played her first senior match on her 14th birthday in 2011, but lost in the qualification rounds. Her first main-draw win came at the 2014 Stanford Classic, where she upset World No. 19 Samantha Stosur.
The Japanese player would go on to be named the Newcomer of the Year in 2016. Two years later, she tasted Grand Slam success at the US Open.