One of the hardest parts of being a pro athlete is accepting the fact that you will only enjoy a small and select amount of time on top before Old Father Time begins to catch up with you.
While many people in their 30s don’t even know what they want to do as a career, professional athletes are often getting ready to retire. Now, we know most everyday working folks would dream of retiring in their 30s or even their 40s, but for an athlete, it’s different.
It can be tough to accept that your body is slowing down, particularly if you were on the top of the mountain for so long, but sadly, it happens to us all. While most pro athletes are winding down their careers once they hit their early 30s, a select few have proved that age is just a number, especially in tennis.
Winning a Grand Slam in tennis at any age is hugely impressive, but winning one or more in your 30s and closing in on your 40s? That is something truly remarkable.
Here’s a look at 10 of the oldest tennis Grand Slam winners.
What is a Grand Slam in Tennis?
Before we can begin looking at the oldest Grand Slam winners in tennis, first we’ll make sure that you’re all up to speed with what a tennis Grand Slam is, and why winning one at any age is incredible, let alone winning one in your 30s.
The Grand Slams are the four major tennis tournaments of a competitive year, presided over by the International Tennis Federation. These are the very pinnacles of tennis, the equivalent of soccer World Cups, and they’re incredibly tough to win.
The four tennis Grand Slams are:
- Australian Open
- French Open
- Wimbledon
- US Open
These tournaments feature the best of the best that tennis has to offer. They’re viewed by millions upon millions of fans, and they offer the best prize money, as well as the highest ranking points.
The Oldest Tennis Grand Slam Winners
Now that we know what a Grand Slam tournament is in tennis, let’s take a trip back in time and learn about the oldest tennis players who have won a Grand Slam title over the years.
So, from youngest to oldest, here’s a look at the oldest Grand Slam winners in tennis as of this writing (2022).
Rod Laver
First on our list, we have Rod Laver.
Rod may be the youngest player on our list, but considering it was the early 1960s when he won the Grand Slam, that in itself is impressive, as times were different back then. Back then, we didn’t know as much about the importance of good nutrition, exercise, supplementation, etc. We also didn’t have the advanced fitness equipment and accessories we do now.
Rod Laver is a former Australian pro tennis player who was born on August 9, 1938. Both the Rod Laver Arena and the Laver Cup are named after him.
Rod was an amazing competitor and is one of three tennis players to have won all four Grand Slams twice, along with Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson. He is also the only male or female tennis player to achieve a calendar Grand Slam twice, winning in 1962 and then again in 1969. A calendar Grand Slam is when a player wins all four Grand Slams in a competitive year.
When Rod secured his final Grand Slam tournament, he was 31 years and 18 days of age.
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe actually made history by becoming the first African American to win the men’s singles titles at the US Open and Wimbledon. He was also the first African American to be ranked world No. 1 in tennis.
In 1975, Ashe found himself in the finals of Wimbledon, where he defeated Jimmy Conners, who was No. 1 at the time, to secure himself yet another Grand Slam title. He was 31 years, 11 months, and 13 days old when he achieved this feat.
Sadly, after an infected blood transfusion, Ashe contracted AIDS and passed away.
Andre Agassi
Up next, we have the man who had the hottest mullet in the history of tennis, Andre Agassi.
Agassi turned pro in 1992 when he was 16 years old. He would go on to win his very first Grand Slam two years later at Wimbledon, though he would enjoy so much more success over the next decade or so, even after a dry spell in the mid-90s.
In 2003, Agassi defied the odds and defeated Rainer Schuttler at the Australian Open to secure another major Grand Slam title and the last of his career. He was aged 32 years, 8 months, and 14 days old when he rolled back the years to win the tournament.
He would go on to play for another 3 years before hanging up his racket for good in 2006.
Flavia Pennetta
Here we have the first women’s tennis player to make the cut, though, spoiler alert, she won’t be the last.
Flavia Pennetta is a former pro Italian tennis player who made history by becoming the first Italian to be ranked No. 1 in doubles tennis back in 2011.
Flavia may have made a name for herself in doubles tennis, but she also proved to be an incredibly competent singles competitor, securing numerous Grand Slams. In 2015, she shocked the tennis world when she defeated childhood friend Roberta Vinci, in the final of the US Open, to become the oldest female Grand Slam winner in the history of tennis.
Flavia was 33 years and 199 days of age when she achieved this incredible feat. She would go on to retire while still ranked in the top 10.
Andres Gimeno
Now we’re heading back several decades to the 1970s to learn about how Spanish tennis pro Andres Gimeno became the oldest Spanish player to ever secure a Grand Slam title in tennis.
Andres Gimeno Tolaguera is considered one of the greatest Spanish athletes to ever live.
His greatest sporting achievement came in 1972, at the French Open, when, aged 34 years, 9 months, and 19 days of age, he became one of the oldest Grand Slam winners in tennis history.
Tennis was his life, and after he retired professionally, he joined the Legends Championship, which was a league specifically for retired players. He remains, to this day, one of the oldest tennis pros to ever win a Grand Slam.
Serena Williams
Both Venus and Serena Williams are considered to be two of the greatest players, male or female, in the history of tennis. They both have a list of achievements longer than both their arms combined, but it is Serena whom we will be looking at today.
Serena has won numerous Grand Slams over the years, and she is the oldest female tennis player to ever win a Major. This incredible feat was achieved back in 2017 at the Australian Open when she defeated, of all people, her sister Venus.
Serena picked up the win and secured her 23rd Grand Slam at the impressive age of 35 years and 125 days.
Both of the Williams sisters are considered tennis royalty and have been featured on the big screen multiple times, including in the 2021 award-winning ‘King Richard’, which featured Will Smith and documented their rise to the top of the tennis world, with the help of their father, Richard Williams.
Novak Djokovic
Whenever you talk about Grand Slams in tennis, you can’t help but talk about Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport, and by the time he retires, he might very well be the greatest of all time.
Djokovic is one of the most dominant male competitors in the history of tennis, and for more than a decade now, he has looked unstoppable at times.
He began playing tennis when he was just 4 years of age. By the time he had turned 16, he was ranked as the 40th best junior tennis player in the world, after picking up five ITF tournament wins.
Djokovic has won 21 Grand Slams so far, and at 35, he still looks incredible. His latest Grand Slam came just a few months ago, in July of 2022, when he defeated Nick Kyrgios in the final of Wimbledon. He was 35 years, 1 month, and 18 days old when he achieved this.
With the way Djokovic is still playing, he looks as if he could easily go another 5 years at the top, if not more. Will he retire as the greatest ever? Only time will tell.
Rafael Nadal
One of the few men to have ever defeated Djokovic in a final is Rafael Nadal. Nadal also happens to be one of the best tennis players to ever grace the courts.
The hugely gifted Spaniard began playing tennis when he was just 3 years of age, and by the time he was 15, he had turned pro.
Known as the ‘King of Clay, ‘ Nadal has won the French Open 14 times over the course of his career so far, and he isn’t done yet. In case you hadn’t guessed, the French Open is played on a clay surface rather than grass or a hard court.
Nadal holds France very close to his heart. His first win at the French Open came in 2005 when he was aged just 19. His latest Grand Slam win, which also happened to be at the French Open, came in 2022, just 2 days after his 36th birthday.
The Spaniard looked unstoppable, and providing he can stay injury-free, he looks set to enjoy many more years at the top.
Roger Federer
The penultimate name on our list needs no introduction, but we’re going to give him one anyways.
Roger Federer, who recently retired from professional tennis in late 2022, is an absolute legend of the sport of tennis. In fact, a legend is an understatement. Many consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport. Yes, he really was that good.
The Swiss tennis phenom has virtually done it all. He was ranked world No. 1 by the ATP for an astonishing 310 weeks. He has won 20 Grand Slams and was the first male tennis player to pick up more than 14 Grand Slams.
In 2003 he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, becoming the very first Swiss tennis player to ever secure such a title.
Federer won his last Grand Slam back in 2018, winning the Australian Open when he was 36 years, 5 months, and 7 days old. He would likely have won more, though sadly, injuries sidelined him on and off.
Federer officially retired from tennis in 2022, aged 41. He left behind a legacy that few players could ever dream of coming close to.
Ken Rosewall
And finally, last but by no means least, we have Ken Rosewall.
Rosewall was one of the most athletically gifted and successful Australian tennis players of all time. He won 8 Grand Slams in total and, to this day, is still the oldest tennis pro to ever win a Grand Slam.
Turning pro in 1956, Ken quickly climbed the rankings and won his first singles championship, the US Open, in his rookie year.
Rosewall continued to add to his tally, and in 1972, he became the oldest tennis player to ever win a Grand Slam title when he defeated Malcolm Henderson at the Australian Open. Ken was 37 years, 1 month, and 24 days old when he won his final Grand Slam.
Ken also holds the record for being the oldest tennis player to reach a Grand Slam final, which he achieved in 1974 at the US Open, just 2 months shy of his 40th birthday.
He wasn’t done playing, however, as he went on to enjoy one of the longest careers in pro tennis before being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
