The phrase "
Grand Slam" was originally coined by
New York Times columnist
John Kieran in 1933. Concerning Australian tennis player
Jack Crawford's chances of winning the
American Championships (now called the
US Open) after having already wrapped up Australia, France and Wimbledon, Kieran, a
bridge player, said "If Crawford wins, it would be something like scoring a grand slam on the courts, doubled and vulnerable."
Nowadays, the term "True Grand Slam" is used to describe the winning of all four
major tennis tournaments in a single
calendar year. The four tournaments - the
US, French, Australian and British (Wimbledon) Titles are known on their own as Grand Slam titles. A player who wins all four in their career is said to have achieved a
career grand slam.
People who have achieved a
True Grand Slam:
People who have achieved a
Career Grand Slam:
Women:
The reason this list is so short is because many players, particulary in the men's game, fail to win one particular tournament, perhaps due to the surface being
incongruent with their playing style. For example,
Ken Rosewall,
Guillermo Vilas,
Ivan Lendl, and
Mats Wilander all failed to capture the
Wimbledon title, while
John Newcombe,
Jimmy Connors,
Boris Becker,
Stefan Edberg and
Pete Sampras never could win the
French Open.
Roger Federer (world #1 2004-2008) is yet to win the
French Open. He won 3 out of 4 in 2006 (see
Rafael Nadal), and must win the
French Open at some point if he is to complete a "career grand slam".
" Source
www.wikipedia.org