Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are currently involved in a gripping title race to determine which male tennis player will finish their career with the most Grand Slams of all time.
And on the women’s tour, Serena Williams has been vying with past greats such as Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova to finish the most majors in their career.
So, who currently has the most Grand Slams in history?
Here are all the important details.
Which player has won the most Grand Slams?
Rafael Nadal has won the most Grand Slams amongst male tennis players in history, with 22 majors tucked away safely in his trophy cabinet.
His collection of 22 Slams features 14 French Open titles, which is a record for the most Grand Slams won by a single player at the same competition.
Novak Djokovic is one behind on 21, while the Serbian himself is one ahead of great rival Federer on 20.
American Pete Sampras, who won seven Wimbledon titles in the run up to the new millennium, has 14 major titles to his name.
Here at the top 10 male players with the most Grand Slams won in history:
- Rafael Nadal (Spain) – 22
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 21
- Roger Federer (Switzerland) – 20
- Pete Sampras (USA) – 14
- Roy Emerson (Australia) – 12
- Bjorn Borg (Sweden) – 11
- Rod Laver (Australia) – 11
- Bill Tilden (USA) – 10
- Andre Agassi (USA) – 8
- Jimmy Connors (USA) – 8
Meanwhile, Margaret Court is the female player with the most Grand Slams in history with 24 titles.
However, Serena Williams is the player with the most Slams in the Open Era, male or female, with 23.
She moved ahead of Steffi Graf by winning the 2017 Australian Open, but since then has fallen agonisingly short of matching Court’s record for the most Grand Slams in history.
Williams has lost her last four Grand Slam finals, suffering defeat in the US Open and Wimbledon finals in 2018 and 2019.
So her hopes of earning a place at the top spot alongside Margaret Court all rest on how she preforms in the US Open 2022, as the tennis legend has announced she will be hanging up her racket and retiring after the competition.
Here at the top 10 female players with the most Grand Slams won in history:
- Margaret Court (Australia) – 24
- Serena Williams (USA) – 23
- Steffi Graf (Germany) – 22
- Helen Wills (USA) – 19
- Chris Evert (USA) – 18
- Martina Navratilova (Czech Republic/USA) – 18
- Billie Jean King (USA) – 12
- Maureen Connolly (USA) – 9
- Monica Seles (Serbia/USA) – 9
- Suzanne Lenglen (France) – 8
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To win a Grand Slam title is something every tennis player dreams of from the day they starting swinging their racquet.
Despite the difficulty of winning a Grand Slam tournament, a number of names have dominated on the biggest stage throughout the years.
The past two decades have in particular seen a number of names cement their place in history by winning a record number of Grand Slam titles.
What are the four Grand Slam tournaments?
In running order, the four Grand Slam events held each year are: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
The French Open is played on clay, Wimbledon on grass and remaining two are competed on hard courts.
Wimbledon is the oldest Grand Slam event, founded in 1877, followed by the US Open four years later, the French Open in 1891, and the Australian Open in 1905.
MORE: Who is the current men's world number one? | Who is the current women's world number one?
Who has won the most Grand Slam titles?
Rafael Nadal and Margaret Court currently hold the record for most Grand Slam titles in their respective singles fields.
Nadal only recently became the sole holder of the men's singles record after edging past Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic with his 2022 Australian Open triumph. He then extended his lead at the French Open, before Djokovic pulled back within one at Wimbledon.
Swiss icon Federer will not have the chance to add to his Grand Slam haul after announcing his retirement following the Laver Cup in September 2022.
Court, meanwhile, looked set to be caught by Serena Williams but the American has failed to win any of her past four Grand Slam finals
Most Grand Slam titles won by a player in men's singles
| Rafael Nadal | 22 |
| Novak Djokovic | 21 |
| Roger Federer | 20 |
| Pete Sampras | 14 |
| Roy Emerson | 12 |
| Rod Laver | 11 |
| Bjorn Borg | 11 |
| Bill Tilden | 10 |
| Jimmy Connors | 8 |
| Fred Perry | 8 |
| Andre Agassi | 8 |
| Ivan Lendl | 8 |
| Ken Rosewall | 8 |
Most Grand Slam titles won by a player in women's singles
| Margaret Court | 24 |
| Serena Williams | 23 |
| Steffi Graf | 22 |
| Helen Wills | 19 |
| Chris Evert | 18 |
| Martina Navratilova | 18 |
| Billie Jean King | 12 |
| Maureen Connolly | 9 |
| Monica Seles | 9 |
| Suzanne Lenglen | 8 |
| Molla Mallory | 8 |
Who has won all four Grand Slams in the same year?
The term 'Grand Slam' actually relates to the achievement of winning all four tournaments in the same year.
Winning one title is hard enough, but winning all four straight is extremely difficult.
American Don Budge was the first to achieve a Grand Slam in 1938, with Australian Rod Laver the only other men's singles player to repeat the feat.
Maureen Connolly was the first woman to pull it off in the women's singles when she did so in 1953. Margaret Court and Steffi Graf are the only other players to have done the same since.
Dylan Alcott was the last player to complete a Grand Slam in 2021 when he did so in the wheelchair quad singles.
What is a Golden Slam and who has completed it?
If a Grand Slam wasn't rare enough, a Golden Slam requires players to also win Olympic gold on top of the four Grand Slam events in the same year.
Steffi Graf was the first to complete a Golden Slam in 1988, with only wheelchair players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott managing to replicate the feat since.