What is the tennis Calendar Slam and has anyone won it before?
IT doesn’t get any bigger than completing a Calendar Slam in tennis – but so many have failed.
Novak Djokovic is the last person to come closest to securing the golden achievement.
And the Serbian star would have secured it had he kept his nerve against Danlil Medvedev in the US Open final in 2021.
But what is the tennis Calendar Slam and has anyone ever won it before?
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What is the Calendar Slam?
The Grand Slam, commonly known as the Calendar Slam is the prestigious achievement of winning ALL four major championships in the same calendar year.
This includes securing the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
There is also the non-Calendar year Grand Slam which is referred to winning a Grand Slam consecutively but NOT in the same year.
Has anyone won the Calendar Slam before?
German icon Steffi Graff was the last tennis player to be crowned with the Calendar Slam achievement back 1998.
Graff also went on to win the elusive Golden Slam by winning an Olympic Gold medal in the same year.
However, American idol John Budge became the official first player to win the Calendar Slam, setting the tone for the rest of the sport.
Maureen Conolly, Rod Laver and Margaret Court are the other three winners but Court had also won every single title possible – single’s, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Only three players have ever achieved that in their career and it is labelled as the ‘boxed set’ of Grand Slam titles.
What do you win for accomplishing the Calendar Slam?
There has been no official award for winning the Calendar Slam other than acknowledgement in the history books.
Who has been the closest to a Calendar Slam in the modern era?
Roger Federer (2006 & 2007) – The Swiss icon won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open but lost in the French Open final.
Serena Williams (2015) – Losing to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the US Open final spoiled the party for Williams’ Australian Open, Wimbledon and French Open win.
Novak Djokovic (2021) – Danlil Medvedev beat Djokovic in the US Open final after the Serbian had previously won in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and French Open.