Although the Grand Slam remains one of the most recognizable achievements in tennis, there is a wide range of similar or related accomplishments that are noteworthy and impressive.
This section will touch on each and share the players that have achieved them throughout history.
Non-Calendar Grand Slam
Although arguably not as prestigious, a player achieves a non-calendar Grand Slam when they hold all four major titles simultaneously, but not in a single calendar year.
For example, suppose a player missed the Australian Open, the first major of the year, but won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open and returned the following year to win the Australian Open. In that case, they’d have completed a non-calendar Grand Slam.
Many argue the feat is equally as impressive as a Grand Slam, but it doesn’t hold quite as much weight. Here’s a list of players who have accomplished this feat in singles or doubles.
Player |
Period |
Country |
Discipline |
Novak Djokovic |
2015–2016 |
Serbia |
Men’s Singles |
Martina Navratilova |
1983–1984 |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Steffi Graf |
1993–1994 |
Germany |
Women’s Singles |
Serena Williams |
2002–2003/2014–2015 |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Bob Bryan |
2012–2013 |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Mike Bryan |
2012–2013 |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Louise Brough |
1949–1950 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Martina Navratilova |
1986–1987 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Pam Shriver |
1986–1987 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Gigi Fernández |
1992–1993 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Natasha Zvereva |
1992–1993/1996–1997 |
Belarus |
Women’s Doubles |
Serena Williams |
2009–2010 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Venus Williams |
2009–2010 |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Billie Jean King |
1967–1968 |
United States |
Mixed Doubles |
Career Grand Slam
Once introduced to the topic of a Grand Slam in tennis, you’ll likely stumble upon the Career Grand Slam, which refers to any player who won all four Grand Slam tournaments throughout their career.
Although it remains an impressive feat, the non-consecutive or time-boxed nature of a career Grand Slam makes it not quite as prestigious.
Only 18 players have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in singles, while 62 players have done it in doubles. To avoid table overload in this article, I’m only going to include the 18 players in singles.
Player |
Period |
Country |
Discipline |
Fred Perry |
Amateur Era |
Serbia |
Men’s Singles |
Don Budge |
Amateur Era |
United States |
Men’s Singles |
Rod Laver x2 |
Amateur Era |
Australia |
Men’s Singles |
Roy Emerson x2 |
Amateur Era |
Australia |
Men’s Singles |
Andre Agassi |
Open Era |
United States |
Men’s Singles |
Roger Federer |
Open Era |
Switzerland |
Men’s Singles |
Rafael Nadal |
Open Era |
Spain |
Men’s Singles |
Novak Djokovic x2 |
Open Era |
Serbia |
Men’s Singles |
Maureen Connolly |
Amateur Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Doris Hart |
Amateur Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Shirley Fry Irvin |
Amateur Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Margaret Court x3 |
Amateur Era |
Australia |
Women’s Singles |
Billie Jean King |
Mixed |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Chris Evert x2 |
Open Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Martina Navratilova x2 |
Open Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Steffi Graf x4 |
Open Era |
Germany |
Women’s Singles |
Serena Williams x3 |
Open Era |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Maria Sharapova |
Open Era |
Russia |
Women’s Singles |
Listed next to relevant player names, I’ve identified those who have achieved a career Grand Slam more than one time.
Golden Slam
A Golden Slam takes the notion of a Grand Slam and ups the ante. In addition to winning all four majors in a calendar year, the player who wins a Golden Slam must also win Olympic Gold that same year.
Considering the summer Olympics only happens every four years, this is a particularly unique accomplishment. It’s worth noting that tennis wasn’t an Olympic sport from 1924 to 1987, so many players throughout history never had the opportunity to compete for a Golden Slam during their careers.
Across the ATP and WTA tours, Steffi Graf is the only player to have achieved a Golden Slam in her career. However, it’s also worth noting that wheelchair tennis players Dylan Alcott and Diede de Groot also managed to accomplish the feat.
Steff Graf pulled it off in 1988, and Dylan Alcott and Diede de Groot accomplished it in 2021. The tennis community coined the term Golden Slam when Steffi Graf first pulled it off during her career.
As you might expect, the tennis world also keeps track of players who complete a career Golden Slam. That is, a player who wins all four majors and Olympic gold independent of time frame.
Player |
Country |
Discipline |
Andre Agassi |
United States |
Men’s Singles |
Rafael Nadal |
Spain |
Men’s Singles |
Steffi Graf |
Germany |
Women’s Singles |
Serena Williams |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Todd Woodbridge |
Australia |
Men’s Doubles |
Mark Woodforde |
Australia |
Men’s Doubles |
Daniel Nestor |
Canada |
Men’s Doubles |
Bob Bryan |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Mike Bryan |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Pam Shriver |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Gigi Fernández |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Serena Williams |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Venus Williams |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
During their 2012 and 2013 seasons, doubles players Bob and Mike Bryan became the first to achieve a non-calendar Golden Slam.
Super Slam
Although a Golden Slam feels like a near-impossible accomplishment for many, a Super Slam takes things one step further.
In addition to winning all four majors and Olympic gold, a player must also win the season-ending finals in a calendar year to achieve a Super Slam. In 2021, that would include winning the ATP or WTA finals for men’s and women’s tennis or the Wheelchair Tennis Masters for players with disabilities.
Until 2021, no player had accomplished the feat. However, Diede de Groot managed to become the first player ever to do so.
Furthermore, Steffi Graf achieved a non-calendar Super Slam when she won the season-ending championships in 1987, then followed it up with her impressive year in 1988, winning all majors and Olympic gold.
As you might expect, the notion of a career Super Slam does exist with three players in singles, seven players in doubles, two players in wheelchair singles, and ten players in wheelchair doubles. I’ve listed the players in singles and doubles below.
Player |
Country |
Discipline |
Andre Agassi |
United States |
Men’s Singles |
Steffi Graf |
Germany |
Women’s Singles |
Serena Williams |
United States |
Women’s Singles |
Todd Woodbridge |
Australia |
Men’s Doubles |
Mark Woodforde |
Australia |
Men’s Doubles |
Daniel Nestor |
Canada |
Men’s Doubles |
Bob Bryan |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Mike Bryan |
United States |
Men’s Doubles |
Pam Shriver |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Gigi Fernández |
United States |
Women’s Doubles |
Three-Quarter Slam
Players who miss winning a Grand Slam by one event are said to have achieved a Three-Quarter Slam. More specifically, a player must win three Grand Slam events in a calendar year.
There are quite a few players who have achieved this feat during their career, but only five were in a position to win the Grand Slam while competing at the final major of the year.
In total, the following number of players have achieved this feat:
- 19 singles
- 47 doubles
- 6 wheelchair singles
- 7 wheelchair doubles
- 5 junior singles
- 20 junior doubles
- 104 total
A handful of these players had the opportunity to achieve a Grand Slam during the year’s final major, including Jack Crawford, Lew Hoad, Novak Djokovic, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams.
Surface Slam
As it might sound, Surface Slam is a term that describes any player who wins a Grand Slam title on each of the three court surfaces, which include hard court, clay, and grass. Here are the tournaments and their respective surfaces.
- Australian Open: Hard
- French Open: Clay
- Wimbledon: Grass
- US Open: Hard
Therefore, a player can win either the Australian Open or US Open, plus the French Open and Wimbledon in a calendar year, to claim a Surface Slam.
Here’s the number of players to achieve a Surface Slam by discipline.
- 5 singles
- 16 doubles
- 3 wheelchair singles
- 13 wheelchair doubles
- 4 junior singles
- 13 junior doubles
- 108 total
Although less discussed, there’s also the notion of a non-calendar Surface Slam and career Surface Slam.
Channel Slam
Two of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, Wimbledon in London and the French Open in Paris, take place a few weeks apart.
As a point of reference, for 2022, the French Open will take place from May 16th to June 5th. At the same time, Wimbledon will begin on June 27th and end on July 10th. Only 22 days separate the end of the French Open and the beginning of Wimbledon.
This timeframe is unique mainly due to the difference in court surfaces, clay for the French Open, and grass for Wimbledon. Clay is the sport’s slowest surface, while grass is its fastest, making transitioning from one to the next tricky, especially with limited time.
Players who win these tournaments back to back have won a Channel Slam, arguably one of the most challenging accomplishments a player can achieve. The term comes from the English Channel, which geographically separates these two tournaments.
In total, the following number of players have achieved this feat:
- 22 singles
- 78 doubles
- 3 wheelchair singles
- 16 wheelchair doubles
- 17 junior singles
- 32 junior doubles
- 276 total
Professional Slam (Pro Slam)
Up until the Open Era, tennis players fell into one of two camps: amateur or professional. Amateur players didn’t compete for money, while the pros played tournaments to make a living.
As a result, these players didn’t compete against each other. Most notably, professionals weren’t allowed to play in the majors, i.e., the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Despite that, the men’s pro tour did have a set of tournaments that were rough equivalents to the majors played by amateurs, which included the Wembley Championships in London, the French Pro Championships in Paris, and the US Pro Championships, held at a variety of venues throughout the United States. It’s worth noting that these tournaments did not offer a women’s draw.
A player claimed a Professional Slam when they won all three of these events in a calendar year, which Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver achieved in 1963 and 1967, respectively.
Players who achieved a career Professional Slam include Americans Ellsworth Vines and Don Budge and German tennis player Hans Nüsslein.
Boxed Set
Perhaps one of the lesser-known accomplishments in tennis is the boxed set, a career achievement where a player wins at least one of every major title across each discipline in tennis: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
More specifically, a player needs to win a major title in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open for a total of 12 major titles.
Only three female players have achieved this feat, including Margaret Court, Doris Hart, and Martina Navratilova.
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