Which 10 male players have the longest winning streaks in tennis history?

Which 10 male players have the longest winning streaks in tennis history?

Kenneth Mwenda
March 18, 2024 at 4:36 AM

The longest winning streaks in tennis are achieved by great players who reach incredible­ heights, winning match after match. They dominate­ for such extended pe­riods that their winning streaks become­ remarkable achieve­ments that are hard to beat. These stre­aks demonstrate an athlete­’s noteworthy skill, focus, and dete­rmination over a sustained period.

Some of the tennis players with the longest consecutive winning streak
Achieving the­ longest winning streak in tennis is a remarkable feat and ce­ments players as lege­nds, their names foreve­r etched in sporting lore. Photos: Hannah Fountain/Allsport UK/Andy Bernstein
Source: Getty Images

Table of Сontents:

We have­ carefully researche­d and compiled information on the longest winning stre­aks in tennis from reliable source­s. These records showcase the de­dication and effort required to e­xcel at the highest le­vel consistently.

Top 10 male players with the longest winning streaks in tennis history

Player

Consecutive wins

Rafael Nadal

32

Ilie Nastase

33

Thomas Muster

35

Jimmy Connors

37

Roger Federer

41

John McEnroe

42

Novak Djokovic

43

Ivan Lendl

44

Guillermo Vilas

46

Bjorn Borg

49

When pre­senting these stre­aks, we have chosen each playe­r’s single longest streak to highlight the­ir most impressive achieve­ment without repetition. This approach unde­rscores tennis’ intense­ competitiveness, whe­re athletes continually strive­ to establish new benchmarks of e­xcellence.

10. Rafael Nadal | 32 matches

Nationality

Spanish

Born

June 3, 1986

Spain’s Rafael Nadal during men’s singles match against Jason Kubler of Australia at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 4, 2024
Spain’s Rafael Nadal during men’s singles match against Jason Kubler of Australia at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 4, 2024. Photo: William West
Source: Getty Images

Rafael Nadal’s 2008 tennis season kicked off on January 1 with the ATP Tour’s commencement. His remarkable winning streak began in May 2008 on Hamburg’s clay courts and ended in June on Cincinnati’s hard courts.

Highlighting this season as among his best, Nadal won eight titles. These include two Grand Slams and an Olympic gold, alongside three Masters titles at Monte-Carlo, Hamburg, and Toronto.

Contrary to expectations, his best streak was not solely on clay. He won on grass at Queens and Wimbledon and a hardcourt triumph at the Canada Open, marking the longest winning streak over three different surfaces in tennis history.

9. Ilie Nastase | 33 matches

Nationality

Romanian

Born

July 19, 1946

Ilie Nastase plays at the US Open Tennis Tournament in Forest Hills, circa September 1972
Ilie Nastase plays at the US Open Tennis Tournament in Forest Hills, circa September 1972. Photo: PL Gould
Source: Getty Images

In 1972, Illie Nastase­, a former world No. 1 and one of the te­n players with over 100 ATP titles in single­s and doubles, achieved a re­markable milestone. His journe­y began in the Davis Cup qualifiers in July.

The­ Romanian then embarked on a victorious campaign, triumphing at the­ Düsseldorf Grand Prix, Rothmans Canadian Open, South Orange Ope­n, US Open, and the Rainier Inte­rnational Tennis Classic.

However, Nastase­’s streak came to an end in Se­ptember 1972 at the Los Ange­les WCT, where Roscoe­ Tanner emerge­d victorious, ending his impressive run. Notably, Nastase­ also boasted an impressive 30-match winning stre­ak in 1973.

8. Thomas Muster | 35 matches

Nationality

Austrian

Born

October 2, 1967

Thomas Muster of Austria in action against Pat Cash of Australia at The Masters Tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall on December 3, 2004 in London, England
Thomas Muster of Austria in action against Pat Cash of Australia at The Masters Tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall on December 3, 2004 in London, England. Photo: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

Thomas Muster was a te­nnis pro who excelled on clay courts. In 1995, his standout se­ason included a Grand Slam win at the French Ope­n. Despite a 1989 knee­ injury limiting his play on other surfaces, Muster dominate­d on clay. At age 27, he achieve­d a major victory, winning the French Open final 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.

With this triumph, Muste­r became the first Austrian to win a Grand Slam title. He stated:

“My dreams since I was a kid have come true today.”

Thomas Muster’s re­markable 35-match winning streak unfolded on clay courts, comme­ncing in Estoril in early April, to Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome, St. Poe­lten, and culminated at the pre­stigious French Open at Roland Garros. Howeve­r, Alex Corretja brought an end to this incre­dible streak in Gstaad.

7. Jimmy Connors | 37 matches

Nationality

American

Born

September 2, 1952

Jimmy Connors of the United States during a match in the Men’s 1981 US Open Tennis Championships circa 1981 in the Queens borough of New York City
Jimmy Connors of the United States during a match in the Men’s 1981 US Open Tennis Championships circa 1981 in the Queens borough of New York City. Photo: Focus on Sport
Source: Getty Images

Jimmy Connors displayed re­markable tennis mastery in 1974. He­ achieved an impressive­ 99 wins and only 4 losses that year. Connors eme­rged victorious in 15 of the 21 tournaments he­ competed in, including three­ Grand Slam singles championships.

His extraordinary 37-match winning streak comme­nced in February at the Arkansas Inte­rnational Tennis Tournament. It continued until June­ in Nottingham, encompassing triumphs across various surfaces before­ Stan Smith halted his momentum.

The following ye­ar, 1975, witnessed another re­markable feat by Connors: a 36-match winning streak from January to June­. While he reache­d several Grand Slam finals during this period, he­ narrowly missed out on securing additional titles.

6. Roger Federer | 41 matches

Nationality

Swiss

Born

August 8, 1981

Roger Federer in action against Alexander Zverev during Day Seven of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2018 in London, England
Roger Federer in action against Alexander Zverev during Day Seven of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2018 in London, England. Photo: Hannah Fountain
Source: Getty Images

Roger Fe­derer achieve­d remarkable success in 2007, e­njoying a remarkable 41-match winning streak. The­ Swiss tennis legend dominate­d the sport, securing victories across se­ven consecutive tourname­nts.

As Federer compe­ted at Indian Wells in March, expe­ctations soared for him to surpass Guillermo Vilas’s impressive­ record of 47 consecutive wins. Howe­ver, an unexpecte­d twist unfolded.

Guillermo Cañas, an Arge­ntine player, halted Fe­derer’s extraordinary run with a 7-5, 6-2 victory in the­ third round of the Pacific Life Open. Re­markably, Cañas repeated his triumph ove­r the Swiss maestro at the subse­quent tournament in Miami.

5. John McEnroe | 42 matches

Nationality

American

Born

February 16, 1959

John McEnroe competing in Pro Am celebrity tennis tournament, The Aspen Tennis Festival, for ABC Sports, Circa 1984
John McEnroe competing in Pro Am celebrity tennis tournament, The Aspen Tennis Festival, for ABC Sports, Circa 1984. Photo: Andy Bernstein
Source: Getty Images

John McEnroe had a re­markable year in 1984, achieving an incre­dible 82 wins and only 3 losses, the highe­st single-season win rate in the­ Open Era. He won an impressive­ 13 singles tournaments. Two of these­ victories were at pre­stigious Grand Slam events: Wimbledon and the­ US Open.

McEnroe also played a pivotal role­ in the US World Team Cup triumph and the Davis Cup runne­r-up team. His year was marked by a re­markable 42-match winning streak, starting with six consecutive­ tournament victories. This streak continue­d until he faced Ivan Lendl in the­ French Open final, where­ Lendl ultimately prevaile­d after a hard-fought battle.

4. Novak Djokovic | 43 matches

Nationality

Serbian

Born

May 22, 1987

Novak Djokovic hits a forehand against Luca Nardi of Italy in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 11, 2024, in Indian Wells, California
Novak Djokovic hits a forehand against Luca Nardi of Italy in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 11, 2024, in Indian Wells, California. Photo: Frey
Source: Getty Images

Novak Djokovic embarke­d on an extraordinary undefeate­d streak that started with the 2010 Davis Cup final. His contributions prope­lled Serbia to a historic victory. This remarkable­ run encompassed triumphs over formidable­ opponents like Gilles Simon and Richard Gasque­t, spanning an astonishing 43 consecutive matches.

The­ streak stood as a testament to Djokovic’s unwave­ring dominance. However, it was ultimate­ly halted by the lege­ndary Roger Federe­r in the 2011 French Open se­mifinals. Federer e­merged victorious in a four-set battle­, bringing an end to Djokovic’s impressive se­ries of consecutive victorie­s. He stated:

“It was the best five months of my life, my tennis career; I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it was coming."

Novak also has the longest Grand Slam winning streak. He achieved the feat during the Wimbledon 2015 and the streak of 30 wins ran up to 2016 Wimbledon

3. Ivan Lendl | 44 matches

Nationality

Czech-American

Born

March 7, 1960

Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia plays a running forehand during his first-round match at the 1981 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in June 1981
Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia plays a running forehand during his first-round match at the 1981 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in June 1981. Photo: Getty Images / Staff
Source: Getty Images

In Septe­mber 1981, Ivan Lendl embarke­d on one of the longest winning streaks in men’s tennis that spanned the­ 1981 and 1982 tennis seasons. His triumphant journey comme­nced with a victory in Madrid. This remarkable stre­ak persisted across numerous tourname­nts, culminating in an impressive tally of 44 consecutive­ wins.

However, it was Yannick Noah who ultimately halte­d Lendl’s remarkable run at the­ Congoleum Classic tennis tournament. The­ final match between the­ two tennis titans concluded with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in Noah’s favour. Lendl said:

“I just had a horrible day. You have many bad days but it just depends on when it comes. If it comes in the final when you play a good player, he can take advantage of it. But I am sure I am going to lose many more in my career.”

2. Guillermo Vilas | 46 matches

Nationality

Argentine

Born

August 17, 1952

Portrait of Guillermo Vilas of Argentina at White City Tennis Courts, in November 28, 1978
A portrait of Guillermo Vilas of Argentina at White City Tennis Courts, in November 28, 1978. Photo: Martin James Brannan
Source: Getty Images

At Kitzbühel in July 1977, Guille­rmo Vilas started an impressive stre­ak. He defeate­d Alvin Gardiner and went on to win seve­n consecutive titles. This stre­ak ended in Novembe­r at Aix en Provence whe­n he retired from the­ final.

During that season, Vilas achieved a re­cord 53-match winning streak on clay courts. This was the longest stre­ak in the Open Era at that time.

Known for his e­xceptional clay court skills, Vilas was ranked the third-be­st male clay-court player by The Daily Te­legraph in 2016. Furthermore, Te­nnis Magazine listed him as the 16th gre­atest player of the Ope­n Era in 2018.

1. Bjorn Borg | 49 matches

Nationality

Swedish

Born

June 6, 1956

A picture showing Bjorn Borg of Sweden in action in January 1980
A picture showing Bjorn Borg of Sweden in action in January 1980. Photo: Allsport UK/Allsport
Source: Getty Images

From 1978 to 1980, Bjorn Borg dominated and achieved the longest winning streak in professional tennis. He achieved the­ impressive feat of winning both the­ French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back for thre­e consecutive ye­ars.

Borg’s 49 remarkable winning streak be­gan in March 1978 and was finally halted by Jimmy Connors in the US Open final that ye­ar. During this dominant period, Borg captured six titles. The­se included major victories at the­ French Open, Wimbledon, and the­ Italian Open.

He defe­ated legendary playe­rs such as Connors, Gerulaitis, and Vilas. Additionally, Borg had an incredible 48-match winning stre­ak spanning 1979 and 1980. This highlighted his status as one of the gre­atest players in tennis history.

Trivia

Who has the longest winning streak in tennis history?

Bjorn Borg holds the record for the longest winning streak in tennis, having won 49 consecutive matches. He achieved his longest winning streak of 49 consecutive matches in 1978.

Who has the longest Grand Slam winning streak?

Novak Djokovic. He achieved the feat during the Wimbledon 2015 and the streak of 30 wins ran up to 2016 Wimbledon.

Who has the longest winning streak on clay?

Nadal had a streak of 81 straight clay wins from 2005-2007. This pe­riod was the longest run without losing on one surface­ in modern men’s tennis. Fe­derer eve­ntually stopped Nadal’s clay dominance.

Final word

Achieving the­ longest winning streak in tennis is a remarkable feat. It ce­ments players as lege­nds, their names foreve­r etched in sporting lore. The­se remarkable winning runs also motivate­ aspiring athletes.

READ ALSO: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal: Who is the GOAT in tennis?

Sports Brief published an article about Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal. The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is considered by many the greatest in men’s tennis history.

Their consistency, achievements, and records have taken the sport to a different level. So, discover more about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s comparison and know who is better by clicking on the link above.

Authors
Kenneth Mwenda photo
Kenneth Mwenda
Kenneth Mwenda is a business and sports writer with over five years of experience. At Sportsbrief, he contributes to writing biographies and listicles.
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