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Tennis · Interesting Facts

Chapter 8: Players & Legends

10 parts · 10 tests · 100 facts · updated 15 October 2026 · markdown

The people behind the records: two-sport stars, firsts for Asia, comebacks, coaches, rivalries, the Australians, second careers, farewells, unusual strokes and Olympic heroes.

8.81Two-Sport Stars

Champions who shone in other games too: cricket, table tennis, golf, archery and football.

Test 1More than one sportTake a test

  1. She took a break from tennis, then returned to become world No. 1.

    Source: Cricket Australia (cricket.com.au); WTA · recall

  2. He then turned to lawn tennis and won eight majors.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Fred Perry · recall

  3. She had won five major titles in tennis in the 1950s.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Althea Gibson · recall

  4. He reached the semi-finals of the PGA Championship in 1951.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Ellsworth Vines · recall

  5. She also played hockey for England.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lottie Dod · recall

  6. He also won the Wimbledon men's doubles in 1921.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  7. She is one of the most versatile sportswomen of any era.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lottie Dod · recall

  8. 1908, 1920, 1929, 1964 and 2015.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  9. 1871, 1892, 1909, 1911 and 1927.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  10. She played in the Women's Big Bash League before going back to tennis.

    Source: Cricket Australia (cricket.com.au) · recall

8.82Firsts for Asia

Pioneers from India, Thailand, Korea, Japan and a Taiwanese-American family.

Test 1Breakthroughs in AsiaTake a test

  1. He lost the US Open final to Marin Cilic.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Kei Nishikori · recall

  2. He reached a high of No. 9.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Paradorn Srichaphan · recall

  3. He was the first Indian to go so far there.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); Wimbledon.com · recall

  4. He played an agent called Vijay in the 1983 film.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Vijay Amritraj · recall

  5. He beat Novak Djokovic on the way.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Hyeon Chung · recall

  6. His parents had moved to the United States from Taiwan.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Michael Chang · recall

  7. He beat Fernando Meligeni of Brazil for bronze in Atlanta.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org), Leander Paes · recall

  8. 1960, 1989, 1996, 2003 and 2014.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); Olympedia (olympedia.org); Wimbledon.com · recall

  9. Paes and Krishnan, Srichaphan, Chung, Nishikori.

    Source: Atlas · recall

  10. He later won many doubles majors as well.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org), Leander Paes · recall

8.83Comebacks

Back from a car crash, a fall to No. 141, a metal hip and long injury breaks.

Test 1Coming backTake a test

  1. A drunk driver hit him in a car park; his knee was badly hurt.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Thomas Muster · recall

  2. He won the French Open in 1995 and became No. 1 in 1996.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Thomas Muster · recall

  3. He played Challenger events to climb back.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andre Agassi · recall

  4. It completed his career Grand Slam; he was No. 1 again by the end of the year.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andre Agassi · recall

  5. He had a metal hip; that autumn he also won a singles title in Antwerp.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Murray · recall

  6. He beat Rafael Nadal in a five-set final.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Roger Federer · recall

  7. He lost the final to Andy Murray.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  8. 1989, 1997, 2017 and 2019.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. 1989 to 1996.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Thomas Muster · recall

  10. The Austrian came back to win the French Open in 1995.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Thomas Muster · recall

8.84Coaches and Mentors

The people in the players' box: Lendl, Gilbert, Annacone, Becker, Mauresmo, Ferrero and Cahill.

Test 1Behind the championsTake a test

  1. Lendl had lost his first four major finals before he won.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Murray · recall

  2. It explains how to beat better players with tactics and nerve.

    Source: Brad Gilbert, 'Winning Ugly' (1993); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  3. He worked with Sampras in the 1990s and Federer from 2010.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  4. Djokovic won six majors with him.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Novak Djokovic · recall

  5. Mauresmo had won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Murray · recall

  6. Ferrero won the French Open in 2003 and was briefly No. 1.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Carlos Alcaraz · recall

  7. He took Lleyton Hewitt to No. 1 as a teenager.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); WTA · recall

  8. 1994, 2011, 2013 and 2018.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. 1984, 1985, 2003 and 2006.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  10. Andre Agassi hired him the next year.

    Source: Brad Gilbert, 'Winning Ugly' (1993) · recall

8.85Great Rivalries

The head-to-heads that defined eras: Evert and Navratilova, Borg and McEnroe, Sampras and Agassi, and the Big Three.

Test 1RivalsTake a test

  1. Navratilova won 43 and Evert 37.

    Source: WTA, head-to-head; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  2. Nadal led mostly thanks to their clay matches.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  3. Djokovic won 31 and Nadal 29.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  4. Their last match was the 2002 US Open final.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  5. Their last match was the 2020 Australian Open semi-final.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  6. Nadal won six, Federer three.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  7. Seles won three of them, Graf three.

    Source: WTA, head-to-head; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  8. 14, 34, 40, 50 and 60.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

  9. 1973, 1978, 1989, 2004 and 2006.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); WTA · recall

  10. They played 14 times; their last match was the 1981 US Open final.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head · recall

8.86Australia's Golden Age

Emerson's record, Hoad's near-Slam, Fraser's long captaincy, Cash's climb and Hewitt's youth.

Test 1The AustraliansTake a test

  1. Pete Sampras passed it with his seventh Wimbledon title.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Roy Emerson · recall

  2. Ken Rosewall beat him in the final at Forest Hills.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lew Hoad · recall

  3. He led the team from 1970 to 1993 and won the cup four times.

    Source: Tennis Australia; daviscup.com · recall

  4. Many champions have climbed to their box since.

    Source: Wimbledon.com; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Pat Cash · recall

  5. He won the US Open that year and Wimbledon in 2002.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Lleyton Hewitt · recall

  6. He won in 1967, 1970 and 1971.

    Source: Wimbledon.com; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), John Newcombe · recall

  7. They grew up as rivals and Davis Cup team-mates.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  8. 1956, 1961, 1967, 1987 and 2001.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. One, two, three and four.

    Source: Wimbledon.com · recall

  10. He beat the holder, John Newcombe, in the final.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ausopen.com · recall

8.87Second Careers

A mayoral race, a pop career, a seat in parliament, a school, a tournament and a microphone.

Test 1Life after tennisTake a test

  1. He lost; he later served in the Romanian Senate.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Ilie Nastase · recall

  2. His song 'Saga Africa' was a big hit in 1991.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Yannick Noah · recall

  3. He became a member of the State Duma.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Marat Safin · recall

  4. The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy served children from a poor area of the city.

    Source: Andre Agassi Foundation for Education (agassi.net) · recall

  5. He ran the event while still playing a few matches.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Tommy Haas · recall

  6. He has commentated on Wimbledon and the US Open for decades.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), John McEnroe · recall

  7. Banca Tiriac was one of the first private banks in Romania; he later owned the Madrid Open.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com) · recall

  8. 1991, 1996, 2001, 2011 and 2016.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. 1946, 1953, 1960, 1970 and 1980.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  10. Safin won the US Open in 2000 and the Australian Open in 2005.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Marat Safin · recall

8.88Farewells

How the greats said goodbye: Borg at 26, Sampras with a title, Federer beside Nadal, Nadal in Malaga, Murray in Paris.

Test 1Last matchesTake a test

  1. He had won 11 major titles and stunned the sport by stopping so young.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Bjorn Borg · recall

  2. The two rivals cried together on the bench afterwards.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); lavercup.com · recall

  3. He lost a singles to Botic van de Zandschulp.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); daviscup.com · recall

  4. He and Dan Evans lost in the doubles quarter-finals.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com); Olympics.com · recall

  5. He won the 2002 US Open and retired the next year without playing again.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Pete Sampras · recall

  6. The German qualifier won in four sets; Agassi gave an emotional speech.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andre Agassi · recall

  7. He made the announcement during the US Open.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Roddick · recall

  8. 1983, 2002, 2006, 2012 and 2022.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. About 26, 30, 36 and 41.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  10. The Laver Cup is played on a black hard court.

    Source: lavercup.com · recall

8.89Styles and Strokes

Underarm serves, two hands on both sides, a two-handed forehand, the slam dunk and the first tweener.

Test 1Unusual strokesTake a test

  1. The surprise helped him win in five sets; he went on to win the title.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Michael Chang · recall

  2. His touch earned him the nickname 'The Magician'.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Fabrice Santoro · recall

  3. It was very rare at the time; he later coached Jimmy Connors.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Pancho Segura · recall

  4. He leapt high and hit down on short lobs, like a basketball player.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Pete Sampras · recall

  5. Many players have copied it since, Federer among them.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Guillermo Vilas · recall

  6. The closed stance helped his left-handed slice swing away wide.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), John McEnroe · recall

  7. The rules allow it, as long as the ball is struck before it bounces.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Nick Kyrgios · recall

  8. 1921, 1952, 1959, 1972 and 1995.

    Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com) · recall

  9. He went on to win the title against Stefan Edberg.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Michael Chang · recall

  10. He won the French Open a week later.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Michael Chang · recall

8.90Olympic Heroes

Men's champions since tennis returned to the Games: Mecir, Rosset, Kafelnikov, Federer's doubles gold and del Potro's medals.

Test 1The Olympic tournamentTake a test

  1. The Czechoslovak beat Tim Mayotte in the final in Seoul.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  2. He beat Jordi Arrese in a five-set final in Barcelona.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  3. He beat Tommy Haas in the final.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  4. His partner was Stan Wawrinka; Federer never won the singles gold.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  5. Both played for Switzerland; he finished fourth in the singles.

    Source: ATP Tour (atptour.com), Roger Federer · recall

  6. He beat Djokovic for bronze in London.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  7. He had already won the singles gold in 2008.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  8. 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2016.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

  9. Nadal and Lopez, Rosset, Mecir, Kafelnikov.

    Source: Atlas · recall

  10. They beat Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the final.

    Source: Olympedia (olympedia.org) · recall

Sources

Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: the ATP and WTA, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Olympedia, Wimbledon.com, the Laver Cup, Cricket Australia. Career totals of active players are left out; the women's game has its own chapter (10).

  • Olympedia (olympedia.org)8
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour (atptour.com)7
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), head-to-head7
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Thomas Muster4
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andre Agassi3
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Murray3
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com)3
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Michael Chang3
  • Olympedia (olympedia.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com)2
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com)2
  • Olympedia (olympedia.org), Leander Paes2
  • Atlas2
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Roger Federer2
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); WTA2
  • WTA, head-to-head; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com)2
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Marat Safin2
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), John McEnroe2
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Pete Sampras2
  • Cricket Australia (cricket.com.au); WTA1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Fred Perry1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Althea Gibson1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Ellsworth Vines1
  • Olympedia (olympedia.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lottie Dod1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lottie Dod1
  • Cricket Australia (cricket.com.au)1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Kei Nishikori1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Paradorn Srichaphan1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); Wimbledon.com1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Vijay Amritraj1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Hyeon Chung1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Michael Chang1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); Olympedia (olympedia.org); Wimbledon.com1
  • Olympedia (olympedia.org); ATP Tour (atptour.com)1
  • Brad Gilbert, 'Winning Ugly' (1993); ATP Tour (atptour.com)1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Novak Djokovic1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Carlos Alcaraz1
  • Brad Gilbert, 'Winning Ugly' (1993)1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Roy Emerson1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Lew Hoad1
  • Tennis Australia; daviscup.com1
  • Wimbledon.com; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Pat Cash1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Lleyton Hewitt1
  • Wimbledon.com; International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), John Newcombe1
  • Wimbledon.com1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com); ausopen.com1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Ilie Nastase1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Yannick Noah1
  • Andre Agassi Foundation for Education (agassi.net)1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Tommy Haas1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com)1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Bjorn Borg1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); lavercup.com1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); daviscup.com1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com); Olympics.com1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Andy Roddick1
  • lavercup.com1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Fabrice Santoro1
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame (tennisfame.com), Pancho Segura1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Guillermo Vilas1
  • ATP Tour (atptour.com), Nick Kyrgios1