With his latest Wimbledon victory, Carlos Alcaraz has rewritten multiple records in tennis history books. The Spaniard joined an elite group of players who have won their first four Grand Slam finals. Other than Alcaraz, only 4 other players in the Open Era have won their first four or more Grand Slam finals in their careers.
Let’s take a look at the list of players who have achieved this milestone:
Carlos Alcaraz: 4
Alcaraz won his first Slam title aged 19 at the 2022 US Open, defeating Casper Ruud in a four-set final at Flushing Meadows. He won his second grand slam title last year when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic at Wimbledon.
This year has been incredible for Alcaraz in terms of Grand Slam success. Alcaraz picked up a five-set win over Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros last month before downing Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. Alcaraz has won the first four Grand Slam finals of his professional career.
Naomi Osaka: 4
Much like Alcaraz, the rise of the Japanese tennis star was nothing short of phenomenal. Naomi Osaka has also won her first four Grand Slam finals. The former world No. 1 defeated Serena Williams in straight sets to win her first major at the 2018 US Open before edging past Petra Kvitova in a three-set thriller at the 2019 Australian Open.
Osaka won her third grand slam title by defeating Victoria Azarenka to reclaim her US Open title in 2020. She later defeated Jennifer Brady in the 2021 Australian Open final, taking her grand slam title tally to 4. She hasn’t played in any Grand Slam finals since then.
Iga Swiatek: 5
The current WTA No. 1, Iga Swiatek, holds an exceptional grand slam final record and has been unbeatable in her first five grand slam final appearances till now. At just 19 years of age, Swiatek, won her first major title at the 2020 French Open, defeating Sofia Kenin in straight sets.
Swiatek regained her French Open title in 2022 after defeating Coco Gauff and has been successfully defending it since then. She defeated Karolina Muchova in 2023 & Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 Roland Garros final. The Polish star also has one US Open title to her name, which she won after going past Ons Jabeur in straight sets in the 2022 US Open final.
Monica Seles: 6
The arrival of Monica Seles in professional tennis was unprecedented. Seles’ run to her tally career tally of nine Grand Slam titles got off to an astonishing start. At just 17 years of age, Seles overcame Steffi Graf to win her first major at the 1990 French Open, before beating Jana Novotna in the 1991 Australian Open final.
In 1991, Seles defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to defend her Roland Garros title, and after missing Wimbledon, she beat Martina Navratilova to win her first US Open title that summer.
The former world No. 1 then beat Mary Joe Fernandez and Steffi Graf, respectively, to defend her Australian Open and French Open titles in 1992. Her unbeaten streak in the finals ended when she lost to Graf at the 1992 Wimbledon final.
Roger Federer: 7
Roger Federer holds the record for being unbeaten in his first 7 Grand Slam final appearances. Federer won his first title at Wimbledon in 2003, beating Australia’s Mark Philippoussis in straight sets. He then won three of the four Slams in 2004, beating Marat Safin in the Australian Open final, Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, and Lleyton Hewitt at the US Open finals.
The Swiss maestro continued his dominance in 2005 when he again defeated Roddick at the Wimbledon final and beat Andre Agassi in the US Open final to take his tally to 6-0. Federer’s triumph over Marcos Baghdatis in the 2006 Australian Open final was his seventh win in as many finals. This streak was ultimately snapped by Rafael Nadal at the Roland Garros final in 2006.