All-time tennis records – Men's singles

This article covers the period from 1877 to present. Before the beginning of the Open Era in April 1968, only amateurs were allowed to compete in established tennis tournaments, including the four Grand Slam tournaments (also known as the majors). Wimbledon, the oldest of the majors, was founded in 1877, followed by the US Open in 1881, the French Open in 1891 and the Australian Open in 1905. Beginning in 1905 and continuing to the present day, all four majors have been played yearly, with the exception of during the two World Wars, 1986 for the Australian Open, and 2020 for Wimbledon. The Australian Open is the first major of the year (January), followed by the French Open (May–June), Wimbledon (June–July) and the US Open (August–September). There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. A player who wins all four majors, in singles or as part of a doubles team, in the same calendar year is said to have achieved a "Grand Slam". If the player wins all four consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, it is called a "Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam". Winning all four at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Grand Slam". Winning the four majors and a gold medal in tennis at the Summer Olympics in the same calendar year has been called a "Golden Slam" since 1988.[1] Winning all four majors plus an Olympic gold at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Golden Slam". Winning the year-end championship while also having won a Golden Slam is referred to as a "Super Slam". Winning all four majors, an Olympic gold, and the year-end championships at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Super Slam".[2][3][4] Winning the four majors in all three disciplines a player is eligible for–singles, doubles and mixed doubles–is considered winning a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles.

Prior to 1924, the major tennis championships, governed by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), were the World Hard Court Championships, World Grass Court Championships (Wimbledon), and World Covered Court Championships.[5]

Many top tennis players turned professional before the Open Era to play legally for prize money. They played in separate professional events and were banned from competing any of the four Grand Slam tournaments. They mostly competed on pro tours involving head-to-head competition, but also in professional tournaments as the biggest events on the pro tour.[6] In addition to the head-to-head tours, there were the annual professional tournaments called "Championship tournaments" (known retrospectively as "professional majors"[7][8] or "professional Grand Slams"[9][10] where the world's top professional players usually played. These tournaments held a certain tradition and longevity.

The oldest of these three professional majors, was the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, played at a variety of different venues and on a variety of different surfaces, between 1925 and 1999, although it was no longer a major after 1967. Between 1954 and 1962, the U.S. Pro was played indoors in Cleveland and was billed as the World Professional Championships. The most prestigious of the three was generally the Wembley Championships. Played between 1934 and 1990, at the Wembley Arena in England, it was unofficially usually considered the world's championship until 1967. The third professional major was the French Pro Championship, played between 1934 and 1968, on the clay courts of Roland Garros, apart from 1963 to 1967, when it was played on the indoor wood courts of Stade Coubertin.

The Open Era of tennis began in 1968, when the Grand Slam tournaments agreed to allow professional players to compete with amateurs. A professional tennis tour was created for the entire year, where everyone could compete. This meant that the division that had existed for many years between these two groups had finally come to an end, which made the tennis world into one unified competition. The first tournament to go "Open" started on 22 April 1968 was the British Hard Court Championships at The West Hants Club in Bournemouth, England.[11] The first Grand Slam tournament to do so was the 1968 French Open, starting on 27 May.[12]