In tennis, a career Grand Slam refers to a player winning all four Grand Slams — the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open — at some point in their life. It is one of the most prestigious and honourable events in a player’s career, and they look forward to giving their best and achieving it.
A few players in the history of the sport have managed to win this accolade at a young age, but those who have done so have managed to carve out stellar careers for themselves. It requires a lot of versatility, adaptability as well as hard work because all four Grand Slams are played across different surfaces, which require distinct skills.
While the US and Australian Open are played on a hard surface, Wimbledon is played on grass, whereas the French Open is played on clay. It is the player who manages to adapt well to all four surfaces who gets blessed with longevity. Such players can also make early claims for notching up career Grand Slams.
In this listicle, we take a look at the top five tennis players who completed a career Grand Slam before the age of 27.
#5 Martina Navratilova: 26 years, 328 days
The legendary Martina Navratilova — who is one of the best to have ever played the sport — comes fifth on this list thanks to her winning a career Grand Slam at the age of 26 years and 328 days. While she won her first Wimbledon in 1978, it was not until 1981 that she won the Australian Open.
In the following year, Navratilova won the French Open but preserved her best for 1983, in which she won the US Open and completed the prestigious move. The 67-year-old played under the Czech Republic banner till 1976 before moving to the USA.
#4 Maria Sharapova: 25 years, 52 days
The demure yet highly stylish Maria Sharapova is one of the biggest modern-day stars in women’s tennis. Although she retired from the sport in 2020, the Russian continues to inspire plenty of girls across the world to pick up the racquet.
She won her first Wimbledon title in 2004 and the US Open a couple of years later. The 6-foot-2-inch player then won the Australian Open in 2008 before turning her attention to Roland Garros, which she eventually won in 2012 at the age of 25.
#3 Rafael Nadal: 24 years, 102 days
Rafael Nadal, who is arguably one of the best tennis players the world has seen, is the only man on this list. Nadal completed the career Grand Slam at the age of 24 years and 102 days.
Interestingly, he won the French Open in 2005 in his first appearance there. Nadal’s maiden Wimbledon triumph came 3 years later, with victories in the Australian Open in 2009 and the US Open in 2010, handing him his career Grand Slam.
The Spaniard recently announced his retirement from the sport.
#2 Serena Williams: 21 years, 121 days
American tennis star Serena Williams, who is perhaps the best player the sport has seen in the women’s category, ended her career in 2022 with 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name.
Williams completed the career Grand Slam at the age of 21. She won her first US Open title in 1999 at the age of 18 and added the French Open and Wimbledon to her kitty by 2002. The 1981-born star then won the Australian Open in 2003 to complete the prestigious career grand slam.
#1 Steffi Graf: 19 years, 69 days
Former German tennis player Steffi Graf, known for her style, versatility, and elegance on the court during her playing days, is the youngest player ever to complete the famous career Grand Slam at the young age of 19 years and 61 days.
While she laid down the marker for others to follow by winning the 1987 French Open, the following year turned out to be even more special for her as she won all four Grand Slams, as well as the gold medal in the Olympic Games held in Seoul, South Korea. Along with the career Grand Slam, she completed the Golden Slam in the same year.
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