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As glorious as the game of tennis can be, it can be just as heart-wrenching for those who fall short of the game’s biggest achievements. On that note, few have felt this on quite the same level as the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam. That’s because they were good enough, tough enough, and talented enough to lift the game’s biggest trophies.
But for the players I’m about to discuss, Grand Slam glory remained elusive, despite their best efforts. There’s a good chance you’ll remember watching some of the players I’m about to highlight too, as I’ve kept things reasonably recent. And as the following information confirms, these individuals deserved at least one Grand Slam in their respective careers.
However, they never quite managed to get over the line and lift one of the four Grand Slams held during the ATP/WTA Tours.
My list of the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam
Contents
It goes without saying that winning a Grand Slam is the holy grail for professional tennis players. These are the titles that all players dream about, but winning them is obviously one of the toughest feats in the sport. And as mentioned above, the struggle of doing so was all too real for the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam – as discussed below.
David Nalbandian
In my humble opinion, David Nalbandian was one of the most underrated tennis players ever. This Argentinian was a true powerhouse of men’s tennis in the early 2000s, as proven by his results against the greats of the sport. Nalbandian made the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in his career, and he competed for the Wimbledon title in 2002 – losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final.
This shows he was there or thereabouts during the peak of his career, but he never managed to win a Grand Slam trophy. However, he did win the ATP Finals in 2005, beating Roger Federer in the finals in a five-set thriller.
David Ferrer
David Ferrer is one of my all-time favourite players. I loved how determined he was on the court, and I admired his incredible effort levels along with his style of play. He won 27 titles in his career, too, although none of these were Grand Slams – making him one of the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam, in my opinion.
Ferrer was ranked as high as 3 in the world back in 2013. And concerning his Grand Slam results, he made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2012 and 2013. He also made the semis or better at all of the three other slams, yet his career best came by making the finals of Roland Garros in 2013.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
When we think of great entertainers in the sport of tennis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is right up there with the best. This guy had some serious power at his disposal, and he was one of the most likeable characters on tour. With big serves, huge groundstrokes, and an enormous heart, Tsonga managed to blast his way to number 5 in the ATP rankings at the peak of his career.
As for his performances in Grand Slams, he reached the quarters of the US Open on three separate occasions. Yet, he reached the semis of Wimbledon and Roland Garros twice, and he made the finals of the Australian Open in 2008 too.
His loss to Djokovic in that match actually marked the first Grand Slam title for the Serbian legend, so he’s always got that place in history!
Dinara Safina
Sister to the legendary Marat Safin, Dinara Safina had big boots to fill when she played professionally. Both managed to make it to world number 1 in their time, which is a pretty amazing achievement for the family! However, she has to go down as one of the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam in the women’s game.
She reached three Grand Slam finals in her career, but she lost all of them. These included the 2008 French Open, as well as the 2009 Australian Open and French Open finals. Safina made the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open too, showing how consistent and close she was to Grand Slam glory – on multiple occasions.
Vera Zvonareva
Zvonareva was just as close to Dinara Safina concerning Grand Slam titles in her career. She reached the finals of two Grand Slams in her time, which included back to back finals in 2010 at Wimbledon and the US Open. In that same season, Zvonareva made it to number 2 in the WTA rankings, which is the region at which you’d expect a player to be winning Grand Slam titles.
However, she never did win one of the biggest tournaments in tennis, despite making the semis of the Australian Open twice and the quarter-finals of Roland Garros once. Then again, she did win 12 WTA titles in her career, one of which was the 2009 Indian Wells title, which many call the ‘5th Grand Slam in tennis’.
Agnieszka Radwanska
The third and final female who I believe was one of the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam is Agnieszka Radwanska. She was one of the feistiest players out there on her day, and her overall results showed just how good she was. For example, Radwanska won the WTA Tour Finals in 2015, and she won 20 WTA titles in total, which is quite spectacular.
But just like the other players in this list, Radwanska never managed to win a Grand Slam. In fact, she had just one shot at Grand Slam glory in the 2012 Wimbledon finals, but she fell short of victory in that game. Other than that, Radwanska made the semi-finals in the Australian Open twice, and she reached the quarter-finals of Roland Garros once.
She also made it as high as number 2 in the WTA rankings, which is a huge career achievement. However, she will always be remembered as one of the best tennis players who never won a Grand Slam.
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