Tennis

The Greatest Australian Open Winners

The annual arrival of the Australian Open at the start of a new year gets the Grand Slam season up and running. With players having little time to prepare competitively ahead of the action at Melbourne Park following a winter break, the Grand Slam can be a thrilling ride for fans.

With buoyant atmospheres, the Australian Open has delivered more than a century of top tennis action. Some of the most famous names in the history of the sport have reigned supreme at the tournament.

In 2022 Ashleigh Barty became the last Australian to win the Australian open. She’s not in attendance in 2023 for a title defence after retiring. On the men’s side, the 2023 title will be defended by Rafael Nadal. But will his crown be snatched back by the man who won the men’s Australian open more times than any other, Novak Djokovic?

But who are the Australian Open winners that stand out the most? Here we take a look at some of the biggest and best of the Australian Open victors.

The Men’s Record Holder

Novak Djokovic has easily written himself into the record books for most Australian Open wins. His victory in the 2021 Final over Daniil Medvedev saw the Serbian land his record-extending 9th Australian Open title. It was also his third in a row, an achievement he first made in his run to the 2011, 2012 and 2013 titles.

You can’t talk about the best Australian Open winners without mentioning Djokovic. There is still the potential for more to come. After not being allowed to take part in the 2022 Australian Open because of a Visa issue, Djokovic was quickly earmarked as the 2023 Australian Open favourite by bookmakers on his return to Melbourne.

Most tennis fans will rightly cite Rafael Nadal’s massive haul of French Open titles as being something spectacular. But Djokovic’s achievements at the Australian Open are right up there as well. It’s an amazing achievement and a record that’s just unlikely to be broken for a very, very long time.

The Women’s Record Holder

Margaret Court can’t be touched in the record books. Among all the great Australian Open winners, Court remains one of the most popular. The Australian player won her home event eleven times, albeit some of them before the Open Era.

Margaret Court

As a nod to her brilliance, she dominated the event Down Under by winning it for seven consecutive years in a span from 1960 to 1966. The modernisation of the game in 1969 didn’t slow her up either. Court won the first three Australian Open titles (1969 through 1971).

Her eleventh and final Australian Open title happened in 1973, a year after her winning streak had been broken by Britain’s Virginia Wade. Margaret Court Arena is a showcase court at the Australian Open.

Other Notable Multiple Australian Open Winners

Beyond the record holders from the men’s and women’s draws at the Australian Open, it’s easy to grade other multiple-title-winning champions at the event. Here are some of the names that stand out in that regard.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer was an Australian Open winner six times in his career. The fact that the Swiss great’s record at the event lags so far behind that of Djokovic, further highlights the astonishing achievements by the latter.

Federer’s first Grand Slam victory in Australia happened in 2004. His sixth and final one happened fourteen years later in 2018. Federer bid an emotional farewell to professional tennis in 2022 so won’t be adding to his title count.

Serena Williams

There is an obvious place on the list of Australian Open winners for Serena Williams. Williams will always be among the talk of being the GOAT of women’s tennis and her seven titles at the Australian Open, were her joint-most (Wimbledon) at a single Grand Slam.

Serena Williams AO

She lost only one of eight Final appearances at Melbourne Park, that being the 2015 edition when Angelique Kerber caused an upset against her, Williams missing a match point along the way. Williams moved away from tennis in 2022 after her Third Round exit at the US Open.

Steffi Graff

The German great won the Australian Open four times, the first of those in 1988. They were four of a total of 22 Grand Slam titles that she won in her long and brilliant career. Graf is one of the greatest players ever to grace courts around the world.

At one point in her glittering career, she went on a run of total dominance in the game, winning eight of nine Grand Slams. That run saw her win the Australian Open three years in a row. In 1988 Graf also produced a Golden Slam, winning all four majors that year along with the Olympic Gold. No other player has managed that feat.

Martina Navratilova

The legend Martina Navrialtova had it all. Her remarkable career spanned more than four decades and she racked up a phenomenal 59 major titles, 32 of them in the singles. A chunk of them did happen before the Open Era arrived. But she still swept her way to 18 Grand Slam titles when the new era was ushered in.

In Melbourne, Navratilova won the Australian Open three times but also won the Doubles eight times, plus a Mixed Doubles. That’s a massive lion’s share of her major titles happening in Australia.

In 2003 she won the Mixed doubles with India’s Leander Paes just shy of her 50th birthday. To put that into context, Navratilova’s first Grand Slam singles title was at Wimbledon 1978.

Women Who Won Australian Open Titles More Than Twice

Serena Williams 7
Margaret Court 4
Evonne Goolagong 4
Steffi Graff 4
Monica Seles 4
Martina Hingis 3
Martina Navratilova 3

Men Who Won Australian Open Titles More Than Twice

Novak Djokovic 9
Roger Federer 6
Andre Agassi 4
Mats Wilander 3

Some Who Defied The Odds

As with the history of any major sporting event, upsets happen. Underdogs can spring a surprise and race away to the title. Think Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open and Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon 2001.

Who are two of the most memorable underdogs to win the Australian Open?

Sofia Kenin came from nowhere in 2020 to storm the Australian Open field. She was little more than background noise in terms of the draw. But through sheer grit, and some of the boldest tennis ever produced at Melbourne Park, Kenin landed the title. The American knocked over Coco Gauff, Petra Kvitova, home favourite Ashleigh Barty and Garbine Muguruza to win the crown.

The first Grand Slam title for Swiss player Stan Warwikna came at the Australian Open in 2014. It’s worth remembering it was during the golden era of dominance of Roger Federer, Rafal Nadal and Novak Djokovic, with a fit Andy Murray making up the big four. So cracking that code was remarkably tough, but Wawrinka did. He did it the hard way too, beating Djokovic and Nadal along the way.


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About the author

Lee Jackson

Lee has been a freelance sports writer for over a decade and is a massive sports fan, following Chelsea in the Premier League and Gloucester in Premiership Rugby. Few sports events get him more excited than Ashes cricket, however.

Lee has followed darts since the good old days of Eric Bristow and John Lowe producing highlight moments at the World Championships on dark winter nights.