Tennis legend Ivan Lendl chooses the greatest male and female players of all time

Ivan Lendl is considered as one of the great players of the Open Era. The Czech-American won eight major titles, was a two-time finalist at Wimbledon, and was ranked world No. 1 for 270 weeks. If that wasn’t enough he also coached Andy Murray, helping him win his first and third major titles. With his extensive knowledge, Lendl has a great analysis when it comes to choosing who is the ‘greatest player of all time’ from both the men’s and women’s side.

In an interview with Craig Gabriel in 2020, Lendl gave his views on the GOAT debate. While he had his picks, he also clarified that you cannot choose only one GOAT, as tennis has evolved and changed a lot from era to era. “That’s why you have to judge it by results and not by times, not by performance. You have to judge it by major titles,” he said.

In that sense, he divided GOATS from before the Open Era and during the Open Era. “Definitely Laver, no doubt about it [from the pre-Open Era], and yeah, you have to go with Roger [Federer] right now but, but, I’m not closing the book on that, it’s far from finished,” he said. Of course, he was right. Djokovic now leads the Grand Slam race with 24 titles, two more than Nadal (22) and four more than Federer (20).

Rod Laver achieved two calendar Grand Slams in 1962 and 1969 (Getty Images)

“Laver winning two grand slams,” he said, referring to the achievement of winning the four major titles in one year, which Laver did in 1962 and 1969. “If someone was to win a grand slam these days, even if he had one or two major titles less than someone else, I may be willing to put him ahead,” he added. Djokovic was close to winning the calendar Grand Slam in 2021, but Daniil Medvedev defeated him at the US Open final, preventing him from doing so.

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Who is the GOAT on the women’s side, according to Lendl?

When it comes to the women’s side, Lendl follows the same reasoning. “You have to look at pre-Open, which is Margaret Court even though she won her Grand Slam and share of titles after the sport opened up, and then you look at the Open Era only in my mind and you look at Steffi [Graf], Martina [Navratilova] and Serena [Williams],” he says.

Williams leads the trio with 23 Grand Slam singles titles. However, Graf won 22 titles and won the 1988 calendar-year Golden Slam, winning the four majors and the Olympic gold medal. Meanwhile, Navratilova has 18 singles Grand Slam titles.

Steffi Graf is the only player (male or female) to have achieved a calendar Golden Slam in the Open Era (Getty Images)

The GOAT is not a ‘popularity’ contest

Despite the difficulties of choosing a GOAT between Eras, Lendl has one thing clear: the title doesn’t have anything to do with popularity. When Gabriel mentions that Djokovic “is never going to overtake Roger and Rafa in the affection of the public,” Lendl replies that “Affection of the public should not be in the equation.”

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While Nadal was one of the most appreciated guys on tour, Federer’s popularity was unquestionable. One record that seems to be unbreakable is his 19 consecutive ATP Fans’ Favorite Award, which he won from 2003 to 2021. He also won the ATP Sportsmanship Award 13 times.