The 10 most dominant seasons by a tennis player in the Open Era ft. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic

A single tennis season has much more competitiveness to offer than one can imagine. The professional tennis circuit currently has nine Masters events in the calendar of the ATP Tour and the eight best players of the season compete for the year-ending championships in the ATP Finals. On the other hand, there are five non-mandatory and four mandatory premier WTA 1000 events on the tour, with the eight best players also competing in the year-ending championships in the WTA finals.

Both tours hold events on six continents of different levels, with around five team events, four Grand Slams, three surfaces (four including indoor hardcourts) and one player who finishes as the year-end No.1.

Given the challenges that players are presented with, it becomes a steep challenge to remain dominant for a full year. The results in the four Majors, tour-level finals reached in a single season and the win rate of a player for that particular season, we decided to take a look at the top 10 most dominant tennis seasons in the Open Era.

#10 John McEnroe - 1984 - 82-3 (96.4%)

When John McEnroe entered the 1984 season, he had already won five Major singles titles, two tour finals and three WCT finals. The 1984 season was one that McEnore made his own. He began the year as the World No. 1 and kicked-off with a 42-match win-streak. He championed Wimbledon and the US Open and was a runner-up to Ivan Lendl at the French Open.

A winner of 77 singles titles, McEnroe won 13 of the 14 finals he reached in 1984. He had an impressive win-loss record of 11-1 against the then No. 2 and No. 3 players (Lendl and Connors) in 1984. McEnroe's win-rate of 96.4% is highest for a single season by a man in the Open Era.

#9 Jimmy Connors - 1974 - 93-4 (96.1%)

Jimmy Connors, a 21-year-old American, finished 1973 as the World No. 3 and won 11 titles that year. But it was the 1974 season that became synonymous with Connors. He won three Slams that year and a staggering 15 titles.

Due to a ban on his participation at the French Open, he could not enter the event. Yet, Connors amassed 93 wins that year and became the World No. 1. The American would hold on to the World No.1 spot for 268 weeks, winning a record 109 tour-level singles titles and winning eight Major singles titles. The French Open remains the only Slam that Connors has not won in his career.

#8 Novak Djokovic - 2011 - 70-6 (92.1%)

Novak Djokovic's reign of dominance began in 2011. Up until the French Open, he remained undefeated, winning 41 matches in a row. He won three Majors and five Masters that year out of the 10 titles he won. He was mighty impressive in his performances against top 10 players, losing only four of the 25 matches he played against them.

The Serb was 10-1 against his nemesis Federer and Nadal that year and won 70 of the 76 matches he played. He lost two of these matches owing to a mid-match retirement due to injuries. Djokovic took the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career in July that season and ended the season as the top-ranked player.

#7 Roger Federer - 2007 - 68-9 (88.3%)

Roger Federer at the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup

Roger Federer turned professional in 1998. By the time he announced his retirement in September 2022, he had 103 singles tour-level titles, 20 of which were Grand Slam titles. But the Swiss Maestro's period of dominance was between 2004 and 2007. Federer played 339 matches in this phase of his career, winning 315 of them.

In 2007, Federer made the finals of all four Majors, losing only at the French Open. It was a repeat of his 2006 results in the Majors. In addition to the three Slams, the Swiss also won Masters titles in Cincinnati, Hamburg, and the ATP 500 event in Dubai. He finished the year strongly by winning the year-ending championships for the fourth time in his career. It was the third consecutive season where Federer maintained his No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks.

#6 Novak Djokovic - 2015 - 82-6 (93.1%)

Come 2015 and Djokovic was now a seven-time singles Slam champion. He began the year as World No. 1 and held on to the spot for all 52 weeks. The two-time Career Slam winner reached the finals of every Major, losing only once against Stan Wawrinka at the French Open.

He won 11 titles in 2015, six of which were at the Masters level. The Serb went on to clinch his fifth year-ending championship title, which was also his fourth consecutive ATP Finals title win.

With 31 wins, he set an Open Era record for the most wins against top 10 opponents in a single tennis season. Djokovic was 15-4 against Murray, Federer and Nadal that season.

#5 Roger Federer - 2006 - 92-5 (94.84%)

By the end of the 2005 season, Federer had won six Major singles titles. He started 2006 as the World No. 1 and maintained the position throughout that season.

Roger Federer won three of the four Slams and four of the six Masters finals he reached that year. Federer's only loss in a Major that season came against Rafael Nadal in the finals of the French Open.

The Swiss reached the finals in 16 out of the 17 events he entered that season. Federer won a total of 12 titles that year, including three Majors, four Masters, the year-ending championships along with one ATP 500 title and three ATP 250 titles.

Roger Federer lost to only two men that year - Nadal (four times) and Murray (once).

#4 Steffi Graf - 1989 - 86-2 (97.7%)

Steffi Graf won three Slams in 1989, losing the final of the French Open to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Graf won the US Open and Wimbledon finals against Navratilova and the Australian Open final against Helena Sukova.

The four-time Career Slam winner won 14 of the 16 tournaments she entered in 1989. It was one of the eight seasons of the 107-time singles tour level title holder, where her win-rate would be above 90%. In terms of win-rate, this was the best season of Graf's career.

#3 Martina Navratilova - 1983 - 86-1 (98.8%)

Former World No.1 and winner of 18 Major singles titles, Martina Navratilova was a dominant force on the women's circuit in 1980s. Between 1982 to 1984, Navratilova lost only six matches. 1983 was the best year of her career, where she won every Slam except the French Open, where she lost in the fourth round.

The US Open win in 1983 meant that Navratilova was the seventh person to complete the Career Grand Slam and she won 16 titles that year. The Czech-born American finished her career with a double Career Grand Slam in singles and was the World No.1 in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks.

#2 Steffi Graf - 1988 - 72-3 (96%)

Steffi Graf became the first player ever to complete the Calendar Year Golden Slam in 1988. She won all four Majors and the Olympic gold medal and won 72 of the 75 matches she played that year. At the Australian Open, she did not drop a single set throughout the tournament. Among the Tier I events, she defended her Miami title successfully and also claimed the title in Berlin.

Graf's carnage in the French Open final was even more mesmerizing as she defeated Natasha Zvereva 6-0 6-0. It was the shortest ever Major final that lasted only 34 minutes. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated six-time defending champion Navratilova after being down 5-7 0-2.

Out of the 3 losses she suffered that season, two came against Gabriela Sabatini. The third loss came at the year-ending championships against Pam Shriver in the semifinals.

#1 Rod Laver - 1969 - 106-16 (86.8%)

Rod Laver with the Wimbledon 1969 trophy

The advent of the Open Era in 1968 saw professionals compete in Grand Slams yet again. Rod Laver, who had already won all four Majors in the same year in 1962, was now facing new challenges. He won six Major singles titles before the Open Era began.

In 1969, Laver produced the best season in tennis history, winning all four Majors and thus becoming the first and only man till date to win the Calendar Grand Slam in the Open Era.

He entered 32 tournaments that year, winning 18 of them. The Australian legend finished the year as the World No.1 and won 106 matches for 16 losses, 14 of them coming in finals.

Honorable mentions

Ivan Lendl - 1986 - 72-5 (92.5%)

French Open and US Open champion, Wimbledon runner-up

Guillermo Vilas - 1977 - 130-15 (89.6%)

French Open and US Open champion
Most matches played in a single season

Rafael Nadal - 2010 - 71-10 (87.7%)

French Open, Wimbledon, US Open champion (Calendar Surface Slam)
Youngest player to complete the Career Grand Slam

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Edited by Keshav Gopalan