Grand Slam (tennis)

A Grand Slam is a term in tennis used to denote winning all four of the following tournaments in the same year:

• Australian Open
• French Open
• Wimbledon
• U.S. Open

These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments, and rank as the most important tennis tournaments of the year in the public mind as well as in terms of the ranking points and prizemoney awarded for performances in them.

In 1938, Don Budge defeated John Bromwich in the Australian Open final, Roderick Menzel in the French Open, Henry Austin at the Wimbledon championships and Gene Mako in the U.S. Open to complete his Grand Slam.

In 1962, Rod Laver defeated Roy Emerson in the Australian and French Open finals, Marty Mulligan at the Wimbledon championships and Roy Emerson again in the U.S. Open to complete his Grand Slam.

In 1969, Rod Laver defeated Andres Gimeno in the Australian Open final, Ken Rosewall in the French Open, John Newcombe at the Wimbledon championships and Tony Roche in the U.S. Open to complete his second Grand Slam, the only person to ever do so.

In 1953, Maureen Connolly defeated Julia Sampson in the Australian Open final and Doris Hart three times in the finals of the French Open, the Wimbledon championships, and the U.S. Open to complete her Grand Slam.

In 1970, Margaret Smith Court defeated Kerry Melville in the Australian Open final, Helga Niessen in the French Open, Billie Jean King at the Wimbledon championships and Rosie Casals at the U.S. Open to complete her Grand Slam.

In 1988, Steffi Graf defeated Chris Evert in the Australian Open final, Natalia Zvereva in the French Open, Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon championships and Gabriela Sabatini at the U.S. Open to complete her Grand Slam. Graf also defeated Sabatini to win the gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea and complete the "golden" slam.