Here is my list of the Top 10 male tennis players who are no longer playing (but I also added Djokovic as I couldn’t leave him out!)
#1 Rod Laver (b 1938)
Career prize money: $1,565,413 | 200 career titles
11 Grand Slam singles titles: 3 Australian Opens, 2 French Opens, 2 US Opens, 4 Wimbledons
Also ranked 2nd all time in weeks at No 1 (452) and he was unable to enter for 5 years and won 9 Pro Slam singles titles: 3 US Pro, 4 Wembley Pro, 1 French Pro, 1 Wimbledon Pro
#2 Novak Djokovic (b 1987)
Career prize money: $159,041,453 | 98 career titles
21 Grand Slam singles titles: 9 Australian Open, 7 Wimbledon, 3 US Open, 2 French Open
Win % 83.5% and a record 492 weeks in the No. 1 rankings, it’s hard not to consider Djokovic the greatest of all time in open era! He would be around 4th all time in weeks at no 1.
#3 Roger Federer (b 1981)
Career Prize Money: $130,594,339 | 103 career titles
308 weeks at No1. Winner of 20 Grand Slam titles and 310 weeks as number one, at the age of forty he was still capable of competing at the highest level. From 2004 to 2008 Federer was 237 consecutive weeks at the number one spot in the world rankings.
#4 Rafa Nadal (b 1986)
Career Prize Money: $130,681,472 | 92 career titles
172 weeks at No1 . At 36, the Spaniard known as Rafa and “The King of Clay” has won 22 Grand Slam titles, eclipsing his closest rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Rafael is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player of all time, although Bjorn Borg fans might dispute that claim. His record 14th French Open title in 2022 makes it hard to imagine anyone being better on clay.
#5 Pete Sampras (b 1971)
Career prize money: $43,280,489 | 64 career titles
Pete’s place in tennis history is difficult to establish as he only won three of the four Grand Slam events during his career. When Pete retired in 2002 he was considered the greatest player of all time although some disagreed. World number one for six consecutive years and with 14 Grand Slam titles who can forget his epic battles with Andre Agassi? The 2002 US Open victory was his last Grand Slam tournament. It is difficult to establish his place in the rankings.
#6 Bjorn Borg (b 1956)
Career prize money: $3,655,751 | 101 career titles
11 Grand Slam singles titles: 6 French Open, 5 Wimbledon
How can you not love the long-haired blond Swede? Borg dominated tennis in the late 1970s, Despite his relatively short career retired in 1983 at the age of 26), he won 11 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the French Open and was the first player in the modern era to win more than 10 majors.
#7 Roy Emerson (b 1951)
Career Prizes: $1,399,431 | 68 career titles
7 Grand Slam singles titles: 4 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 2 Wimbledons
In the 1960s, when an endless array of Australian men’s tennis players dominated the major tournament circuit, winning 32 of 40 major singles championships, Roy Emerson was the ring-leader, winning 12 of them himself. His name was linked to a male record 28 major titles (16 won in doubles), during his ten-year stretch of near invincibility on all surfaces.
#8 Ivan Lendl (b 1973)
Career Prize Money: $21,262,417 | 144 career titles
8 Grand Slam singles titles: 2 Australian Opens, 3 French Opens, 3 US Opens
A dominant player of the 1980s, Lendl swept away opponents with his powerful groundstrokes, top-spin forehand, and supreme level of preparation. He was the world’s top-ranked athlete for four years and held the number one spot for 270 weeks.
#9 Jimmy Connors (b 1980)
Career prize money: $8,641,040 | 147 career titles
8 Grand Slam singles titles: 1 Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon, 5 US Open
No one dominated tennis more than Jimmy Connors during the mid-1970s. In 1974 alone he had an incredible 99-4 record and won all three Grand Slams. Still holds the record for ATP Tour titles with 109.
#10 John McEnroe (b 1980)
Career Prize Money: $12,547,797 | 105 career titles
7 Grand Slam singles titles: 3 Wimbledon, 4 US Open
His fiery attitude and bad boy behavior meant that for tennis fans there was no “half measure”. He was simply either loved or hated! A highly competitive athlete who definitely preferred not to lose and who sometimes let his emotions get the better of him. And no one will ever forget one of the greatest matches in the history of tennis vs Borg in the 1980 Wimbledon final.
Top 50 Players by Grand Slam Totals
| GRAND SLAMS | POPULARITY | NAME | GENDER | NATIONALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 8 | Novak Djokovic | ♂ | SCG/SRB |
| 24 | 11 | Margaret Court | ♀ | AUS |
| 23 | 14 | Serena Williams | ♀ | USA |
| 23 | 20 | Ken Rosewall | ♂ | AUS |
| 22 | 5 | Rafael Nadal | ♂ | ESP |
| 22 | 6 | Steffi Graf | ♀ | FRG/GER |
| 20 | 1 | Roger Federer | ♂ | SUI |
| 19 | 2 | Rod Laver | ♂ | AUS |
| 19 | 29 | Helen Wills | ♀ | USA |
| 18 | 7 | Martina Navratilova | ♀ | USA |
| 18 | 9 | Chris Evert | ♀ | USA |
| 15 | 16 | Bill Tilden | ♂ | USA |
| 14 | 4 | Pete Sampras | ♂ | USA |
| 14 | 35 | Pancho Gonzalez | ♂ | USA |
| 12 | 10 | Billie Jean King | ♀ | USA |
| 12 | 17 | Roy Emerson | ♂ | AUS |
| 12 | 24 | Suzanne Lenglen | ♀ | FRA |
| 11 | 3 | Björn Borg | ♂ | SWE |
| 11 | 46 | Henri Cochet | ♂ | FRA |
| 10 | 40 | Don Budge | ♂ | USA |
| 10 | 23 | Fred Perry | ♂ | GBR |
| 9 | 19 | Monica Seles | ♀ | YUG/USA |
| 9 | 27 | Maureen Connolly | ♀ | USA |
| 8 | 12 | Andre Agassi | ♂ | USA |
| 8 | 15 | Jimmy Connors | ♂ | USA |
| 8 | 18 | Ivan Lendl | ♂ | TCH/USA |
| 7 | 13 | John McEnroe | ♂ | USA |
| 7 | 22 | Venus Williams | ♀ | USA |
| 7 | 26 | Justine Henin | ♀ | BEL |
| 7 | 31 | John Newcombe | ♂ | AUS |
| 7 | 33 | Mats Wilander | ♂ | SWE |
| 7 | 36 | René Lacoste | ♂ | FRA |
| 7 | 37 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley | ♀ | AUS |
| 7 | 38 | Maria Bueno | ♀ | BRA |
| 7 | 48 | Frank Sedgman | ♂ | AUS |
| 7 | 50 | Tony Trabert | ♂ | USA |
| 6 | 21 | Boris Becker | ♂ | FRG/GER |
| 6 | 25 | Stefan Edberg | ♂ | SWE |
| 6 | 39 | Althea Gibson | ♀ | USA |
| 6 | 51 | Doris Hart | ♀ | USA |
| 6 | 52 | Jack Crawford | ♂ | AUS |
| 5 | 30 | Martina Hingis | ♀ | SUI |
| 5 | 32 | Lew Hoad | ♂ | AUS |
| 5 | 34 | Jack Kramer | ♂ | USA |
| 4 | 41 | Guillermo Vilas | ♂ | ARG |
| 4 | 42 | Jim Courier | ♂ | USA |
| 4 | 44 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | ♀ | ESP |
| 4 | 45 | Kim Clijsters | ♀ | BEL |
| 4 | 47 | Jean Borotra | ♂ | FRA |
| 4 | 54 | Manuel Santana | ♂ | ESP |
| 3 | 28 | Arthur Ashe | ♂ | USA |
| 3 | 43 | Lindsay Davenport | ♀ | USA |
| 3 | 55 | Gustavo Kuerten | ♂ | BRA |
| 2 | 49 | Ilie Năstase | ♂ | ROU |
| 2 | 53 | Tracy Austin | ♀ | USA |
| 2 | 56 | Stan Smith | ♂ | USA |