Grand Slam (tennis) facts for kids

The Grand Slam in tennis is a super special achievement! It means a player wins all four of the biggest tennis tournaments in the same calendar year. Imagine winning the top four championships in a row! Sometimes, players win all four but not in the same year; that's called a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam." If a player wins all four at any point in their career, it's a "Career Grand Slam."

The term Grand Slam also refers to these four major tournaments themselves. They are the most important yearly professional tennis events in the world. They give out the most ranking points, prize money, and get the most attention from fans and media. These tournaments are managed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The four Grand Slam tournaments are:

• The Australian Open in January, played on hard courts.
• The French Open (also known as Roland Garros) in late May to early June, played on clay courts.
• Wimbledon in late June to early July, played on grass courts. It's the oldest tournament, started in 1877!
• The US Open in late August to early September, also played on hard courts.

Each tournament lasts for two weeks.

The Exciting History of Grand Slams

How the Major Tournaments Began

Tennis became very popular a long time ago. To make sure everyone played by the same rules, different tennis groups from countries like Britain and France met in 1912. They formed the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) in 1913. This group wanted to organize tennis worldwide.

At first, they named three "World Championships":

• The World Grass Court Championships (played on grass).
• The World Hard Court Championships (played on clay).
• The World Covered Court Championships (played indoors).

Wimbledon was chosen to host the World Grass Court Championships.

The Birth of the "Grand Slam" Term

The United States tennis group didn't agree with everything the ILTF decided at first. But by the 1920s, they all worked together. In 1923, they decided to call the national championships of Britain (Wimbledon), France (French Open), Australia (Australian Open), and the US (US Open) "Official Championships." By the 1930s, these four tournaments were known as the most important in tennis.

The famous term "Grand Slam" was first used in 1933 by sports writers. They used it to describe a player, Jack Crawford, who had won three of the four major tournaments that year. They said if he won the last one, it would be "something like scoring a grand slam" in the card game contract bridge, where winning all possible "tricks" is a big deal. The first player to actually win all four majors in one calendar year was Don Budge in 1938.

Amateurs vs. Professionals: A Big Change

For many years, only amateur players could play in the Grand Slam tournaments. This meant they couldn't earn money from playing tennis. If a player became a professional (meaning they earned money), they were banned from these big tournaments.

However, many top players wanted to earn money from their sport. So, separate professional tours and tournaments started. By the 1950s, most of the best male players were leaving to become professionals. It was also a secret that some "amateur" players were getting money under the table from tournament organizers. This unfair system was sometimes called 'shamateurism'.

The Start of the Open Era

Things changed in 1967. A special tournament was held at Wimbledon where professional players were allowed to compete. It was a huge success! This showed everyone that it was time for a change.

In 1968, the tennis world decided to allow both amateur and professional players to compete in the same tournaments. This was a massive moment called the "Open Era" of tennis. The 1968 French Open was the first Grand Slam tournament in this new Open Era. This meant the best players in the world could finally compete against each other in all the major events!

Sometimes, players missed the Australian Open in the past because it was far away and close to the holidays. Also, during World War II, some tournaments were canceled. In 2020, Wimbledon was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Four Amazing Grand Slam Tournaments

The Grand Slam tournaments are the four biggest events in tennis: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. People sometimes just call them "Slams."

Australian Open

Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park.

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. It happens every year in late January and early February. The very first one was in 1905 in Melbourne, Australia, on grass courts.

This tournament has grown a lot and is now one of the biggest sports events in the Southern Hemisphere. More than a million people attended the 2024 event! It's known for being modern and innovative. It was the first Grand Slam to have indoor play and roofs that can open and close on its main courts. It also uses "Hawk-Eye Live" technology to help with line calls instead of human line judges.

The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia. The total prize money for the 2025 tournament was A$96,500,000.

French Open

Court Philippe Chatrier, Stade Roland Garros.

The French Open, also called Roland Garros, is the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. It takes place every year in late May and early June in Paris, France. It became a Grand Slam event in 1925.

This tournament is special because it's the only Grand Slam played on red clay courts. Many people think it's the most physically challenging tennis tournament in the world. The venue is named "Roland Garros" after a famous French pilot.

The French Open is organized by the Fédération française de tennis. The total prize money for the 2025 tournament was €56,352,000. In 2018, a record 480,575 fans watched the matches.

Wimbledon

Centre Court, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The Wimbledon Championships, or just Wimbledon, is the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It's played every year in late June and early July in London, England. It started in 1877 and is the oldest tennis event in the world.

Wimbledon is famous for its many traditions. It's the only Grand Slam still played on grass courts, which is where tennis originally began. Players must wear all-white clothes during their matches. Also, players are asked to bow or curtsy to the Royal Box when members of the Royal Family are watching.

The BBC has shown Wimbledon on TV in the United Kingdom since 1937. The total prize money for the 2025 tournament was £53,500,000. In 2019, over 500,000 people attended the tournament.

US Open

Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. It's played every year in late August and early September in New York, United States. It first started in 1881 on grass courts. In 1978, it moved to hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

This tournament is the only Grand Slam that has been played every single year since it began. In 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium opened, which is the biggest tennis stadium in the world! It's named after Arthur Ashe, who won the tournament in 1968.

The US Open has led the way with many changes in tennis. It was the first Grand Slam to use a tiebreak system in 1970. It was also the first to give equal prize money to men and women in 1975. They also added floodlights for night matches and instant replay for line calls using the Hawk-Eye system.

The total prize money for the 2020 tournament was US$53,400,000.

Winning a Grand Slam

A Grand Slam (sometimes called a Calendar-year Grand Slam) means winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open all in the same year. This is a very rare and difficult achievement!

Only a few amazing players have achieved this in singles:

• 

  Don Budge, men's singles in 1938.

• 

  Maureen Connolly, women's singles in 1953.

• 

  Rod Laver, men's singles in 1962 and 1969.

• 

  Margaret Court, women's singles in 1970.

• 

  Steffi Graf, women's singles in 1988.

Current Champions

Here are the champions from the most recent Grand Slam tournaments:

Event		Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open
		2026	2026	2026	2026
Singles	Men	Carlos Alcaraz	Alexander Zverev	To be determined	To be determined
	Women	Elena Rybakina	Mirra Andreeva	To be determined	To be determined
Doubles	Men	Christian Harrison Neal Skupski	Marcel Granollers Horacio Zeballos	To be determined	To be determined
	Women	Elise Mertens Zhang Shuai	Kateřina Siniaková Taylor Townsend	To be determined	To be determined
	Mixed	Olivia Gadecki John Peers	Sara Errani Andrea Vavassori	To be determined	To be determined
Wheelchair singles	Men	Tokito Oda	Tokito Oda	To be determined	To be determined
	Women	Li Xiaohui	Diede de Groot	To be determined	To be determined
	Quad	Niels Vink	Niels Vink	To be determined	To be determined
Wheelchair doubles	Men	Gustavo Fernández Tokito Oda	Alfie Hewett Gordon Reid	To be determined	To be determined
	Women	Li Xiaohui Wang Ziying	Yui Kamiji Zhu Zhenzhen	To be determined	To be determined
	Quad	Guy Sasson Niels Vink	Guy Sasson Niels Vink	To be determined	To be determined
Junior singles	Boys	Žiga Šeško	Luís Guto Miguel	To be determined	To be determined
	Girls	Ksenia Efremova	Alisa Oktiabreva	To be determined	To be determined
Junior doubles	Boys	Connor Doig Dimitar Kisimov	Jamie Mackenzie Vincent Reisach	To be determined	To be determined
	Girls	Alena Kovačková Jana Kovačková	Jana Kovačková Kateřina Zajíčková	To be determined	To be determined
Junior wheelchair singles	Boys	Alexander Lantermann	Matthew Knoesen	not held	To be determined
	Girls	Luna Gryp	Luna Gryp		To be determined
Junior wheelchair doubles	Boys	Lucas John De Gouveia Alexander Lantermann	Matthew Knoesen Alexander Lantermann		To be determined
	Girls	Lucy Foyster Seira Matsuoka	Luna Gryp Seira Matsuoka		To be determined

Former Champions

You can find lists of past champions for different categories here:

By Type of Competition

Singles Finals

• Men's finals
• Women's finals

Other Special Achievements in Tennis

Non-Calendar-Year Grand Slam

This is when a player wins all four major championships in a row, but it happens across two different calendar years. For example, winning the US Open in 2025, then the Australian, French, and Wimbledon in 2026.

Here are some players who achieved this:

• 

  Martina Navratilova in singles in 1984.

• 

  Steffi Graf in singles in 1994.

• 

  Serena Williams in singles in 2003 and 2015.

• 

  Novak Djokovic in singles in 2016.

Career Grand Slam

A "Career Grand Slam" means a player has won all four major championships at some point during their entire career. They don't have to win them all in the same year. Many famous players have achieved this!

Boxed Set

A "Boxed Set" is a very rare achievement. It means a player has won every possible major title in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles throughout their career. Only three women have ever done this: Doris Hart, Margaret Court, and Martina Navratilova.

Golden Slam

A "Golden Slam" is even more special! It means winning all four major tournaments and an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Steffi Graf was the first and only singles player to do this in 1988.

• Career Golden Slam: This means winning all four majors and an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal at any time during a player's career. Famous players like Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams have achieved this.

Super Slam

A "Super Slam" is the Golden Slam plus winning the year-end championship (like the ATP Finals or WTA Finals) in the same calendar year. Diede de Groot is the only player to achieve this in women's wheelchair singles in 2021.

• Career Super Slam: This means winning all four majors, an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, and the year-end championship at any point in a career.

Three-Quarter Slam

This happens when a player wins three out of the four major tournaments in a single calendar year, just missing out on the Grand Slam by one title.

Surface Slam

A "Surface Slam" means winning a major title on each of the three different court surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts) in one calendar year. This has been possible since 1978 when the US Open changed to hard courts.

• Career Surface Slam: This means winning a major title on each of the three surfaces at any point in a career.

Channel Slam

A "Channel Slam" is when a player wins both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year. These tournaments are played on very different surfaces (clay and grass) and are held close together, making it a tough challenge! The name comes from the English Channel between France and the UK.

Pro Slam (Before the Open Era)

Before 1968, only amateur players could compete in the Grand Slam tournaments. Many top male players became "professionals" to earn money. They played in their own major tournaments. If a player won the three biggest professional tournaments in a calendar year, it was called a "Professional Grand Slam" or "Pro Slam." Ken Rosewall in 1963 and Rod Laver in 1967 achieved this.

See also

In Spanish: Grand Slam (tenis) para niños

• List of Grand Slam–related tennis records
• Lists of tennis records and statistics
• Grand Slam (golf)