Top 10 best ATP win percentages of all time
Join Tennishead to see which players, past and present, boast the greatest win percentages of all time on the ATP tour.
10. Boris Becker (76.9%)
The six-time Grand Slam Champion has played a total of 927 matches throughout his career, recording 713 wins and 214 losses. During the German’s career he won 49 titles – 26 titles on carpet, 16 on hard court and seven titles on grass. Interestingly, this is reflected in the three-time Wimbledon Champion’s win percentage’s for each surface.
On the all time list, Becker ranks 22nd on grass for a win ratio of 82.3%, with a record of 116 wins and 25 losses. He just misses out on reaching the top ten for win ratios on hard court surfaces with a success rate of 77.4% – where he won two Australian Open’s and one US Open.
Comparatively, on carpet is where he excelled. He places fifth overall with a success rate of 80.1% winning over half his titles on this surface.
Furthermore, he is third on the all time list for a career win percentage against top ten opponents with a record of 121 wins and only 65 losses. Notably, he became the first ever male player to beat the top three ranked players in a row at the Stockholm Open in 1994. He beat World number three Michael Stitch, World number one Pete Samprass and World number two Goran Ivanisevic in the final to claim his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title and set a new record.
9. Pete Sampras (77.4%)
‘Pistol Pete’ racked up 984 matches throughout his career, winning an impressive 762 matches compared to only 222 losses. The American, who sits fourth on the all time list for Grand Slams won with 14, has a consistently high win percentage on all different court surfaces.
As you might expect, he has a high success rate of 84.2% in the Majors placing him 13th on the all time list. In addition, with over half of his 64 career titles and half of his Grand Slam titles coming from the hard court it will be no surprise to some to see Sampras sit at number seven with a win percentage of 80.6%.
Interestingly, Sampras who is widely acknowledged for his powerful and effective serve, has great numbers against top ten opponents and in tie-breaks. He lies seventh and sixth respectively with success rates of 63.6% and 62.8%.
However, despite being a seven-time Wimbledon Champion, he ranks outside of the top 15 in win percentage on grass – sitting at 83.5%.
8. Rod Laver (79.8%)
The Australian had a career spanning 722 matches, where he won 59 titles, 11 Majors and he even completed a calendar Grand Slam in 1962 and in 1969. Laver is the only player in the Open Era to have won the Calendar Grand Slam, and also the only player in history to have done it twice. He ended his career with 576 wins and 146 losses.
Rod Laver, has the greatest win percentage of all time after losing the first set – his success rate stands at 50%. He also has the fifth best success rate in deciding sets, with a win percentage of 70.1%.
As he won 5 of his 11 Grand Slams on hard court surface, it is no surprise he ranks in the top five for highest success rate on a hard court surface with a 82.6% success rate.
7. Ivan Lendl (81.5%)
The Czech American, who is third on the all time list of titles won with 94, has played a remarkable 1,310 matches throughout his career only losing 242.
‘Ivan the Terrible’s’ first ever Major win came at the French Open in 1984, claiming the title from the jaws of defeat against John McEnroe in the final. This historic win, coming from two sets and a break down, set a pattern through Lendl’s career which can be seen in his statistics.
The three-time Roland Garros Champion has the third highest success rate of all time on clay with a career win percentage of 81%. Furthermore, he also is in the top five for the greatest win percentage of all time after losing the first which stands at 43.4%.
The two-time and three-time Australian and US Open Champion also sits fourth on all the time list for his win percentage on the hard court surface. He has a win rate of 82.6% with 31 hard court career titles to his name.
Lendl who reached the final of Wimbledon twice in 1986 and 1987, only won two career titles on grass throughout his career. He finished his career with a 75% win percentage on grass which leaves him 64th on the all time list.
6. John McEnroe (81.7%)
The former World number one won 883 times in his 1,081 match career, winning seven Grand Slams along the way. McEnroe’s statistics are extremely consistent. He ranks in the top ten for greatest win percentage in the deciding set, against top ten opponents, in a tie-break, in outdoor matches and also on hard court surfaces where he ranks sixth overall.
He has the highest win rate of all time in indoor events (85.3%) and also on carpet, where he won 43 of his 77 career titles with a huge success rate of 84.3%.
However, he did finish outside the top ten on grass and clay surfaces. The three-time Wimbledon Champion places 11th on the all time list of win percentages on grass having won 121 matches out of a possible 141.
‘Johnny Mac’ never won the French Open and only won four titles on clay throughout his entire career – this is reflected in his success rate in matches on clay as he places 24th with a 72.1% win percentage.
5. Jimmy Connors (81.8%)
‘Johnny Mac’ is pipped to the fifth position on the list by long-time rival and fellow American Jimmy Connors. Connors has played the most matches in ATP tour history with 1,557, winning the an unrivaled 1274 matches – the most on this list. He also has the most career titles on this list too and in the history of the ATP with 109.
It is clear via Connors career stats that he dominated on both carpet and hard court surfaces. Of his 109 career titles, he won 88 titles combined on the two surfaces as he places second and third on the all time list for win percentages (Carpet 82.7% and Hard 83.1%).
Connors never won the French Open, making the semi-finals on four separate occasions. In addition, he did not compete in Paris from 1974-1978. Yet, his statistics on clay are good. He ranks 11th for greatest ever win percentage on clay with a success rate of 76.8%.
Surprisingly, the two-time Wimbledon Champion lies 20th on the list of the best win percentages on grass with a 83% win rate.
4. Roger Federer (82%)
The Grand Slam legend, who is 6 ATP titles shy of Connors record, has played 1526 matches in his career losing 275. The 20-time Major winner is first for the greatest win percentage ever in tie-breaks where he was a success rate of 65.4%. One notable tie-break came in the final of the 2009 French Open when he beat Robin Söderling to lift his one and only ever Roland Garros trophy.
In terms of his career win percentage on clay he places 13th on the all time list at 76.1% having won 10 additional titles to his one on Parisian soil.
He features in the top five for his success rate on hard-court and against top ten opponents sitting at 83.5% and 64.6% respectively.
Interestingly, the eight time Wimbledon Champion places outside the top five for his win percentage on grass with 86.9%. However, the Swiss maestro has the highest success rate on grass out of anybody on this top ten list.
3. Bjorn Borg (82.4%)
Borg, who has played the fewest matches in his career on this list with 794, has only ever been defeated in a Grand Slam final by two players – McEnroe and Connors. The stats show that he has the best record of all time against top ten opponents with a 71.3% success rate. He also places third for the greatest ever win rate at Grand Slams with a ridiculously high 89.2% success rate – the highest on this top ten list. In addition, his 71.7% success rate in finals is also exemplary taking up the number seven spot in the rankings.
‘The Ice man’ also lives up to his nickname as he holds the greatest ever fifth set record – keeping his cool in the most intense moments. He only lost six out of a possible 33 five set matches in his career. A great example was in the 1980 Wimbledon final against McEnroe when he won 19 consecutive points on serve in the fifth set – an Open Era record.
The 6-time French Open Champion is second for the greatest ever win percentage on clay with 86.1% and is fourth with a success rate of 81.2% on carpet.
However, the Swede who became the first man in 70 years to win five Wimbledon titles in a row, places outside of the top 20 on success rate for matches on grass (81.8%).
2. Novak Djokovic (83.2%)
The current World number one has played 1191 matches throughout his career, winning 991 and losing 200. He also holds second position in the greatest ever win percentage after losing the first set (44%), in the deciding set (72.9%) and also versus top ten opposition (68%). Djokovic became the first man since Becker to beat all top three seeds in the world in a row which he did back in Montreal in 2007.
62 of Djokovic’s 86 ATP titles and 12 of his 20 Grand Slams were on the hard court, so as expected the Serbian has the best ever win percentage on a hard court with 84.2%. In addition, he also ranks top five on clay (80.5%) and 13th on grass (85%) – which is the third highest on this list.
1. Rafael Nadal (83.3%)
Beating the Serbian to the number one spot on this top ten list is the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal. He certainly lives up to that nickname as he has a huge 91.5% success rate on clay – winning over two thirds of his titles on clay including a record breaking 13 French Open titles. A 91.5% win rate is more than 5% above second place Borg and more than 10% above third place Lendl – demonstrating how prolific Nadal is on clay.
He also places in the top six for the best ever success rate against top ten players, after losing the first set, in Grand Slams, in finals and in deciding sets.
The two-time Australian Open Champion and four-time US Open Champion places 10th on the all time list for win percentage on the hard court surface, with 511 wins and 141 losses.
However, despite being a two-time Wimbledon Champion, Nadal ranks 45th on the list for the greatest win percentages with a success rate of 78%.
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