24 Tennis rivalries

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are retired professional men's tennis players who were both ranked World No. 1 during the 1990s. Sampras held the world's top-rank spot for, a then-record, 286 weeks while Agassi held it for 101 weeks. With contrasting styles and temperaments, they played each other 34 times from 1989 through 2002, with Sampras winning 20 matches. It has been named as one of the greatest tennis rivalries of all time.

The tennis players Björn Borg and John McEnroe met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total, with their on-court rivalry highlighted by their contrasting temperaments and styles. Borg was known for his cool and emotionless demeanor on court, while McEnroe was famed for his court-side tantrums. Their rivalry extended between 1978 and 1981, with each player winning seven times against the other. Because of their contrasting personalities, their rivalry was described as "Fire and Ice".

This was a tennis rivalry played between French player Jean Borotra and the French player Henri Cochet, which in their respective careers the met 16 times from 1922 until 1949.

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are Belgian professional tennis players who engaged in a long-standing rivalry which spanned twenty-five meetings over a twelve-year period, with eight taking place in a Grand Slam tournament. Their final competitive meeting came at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships in the fourth round, with Clijsters winning in three sets, this brought their head to head record to 13–12 in Clijsters' favour. The Belgians have met eight times in Grand Slam tournaments, three of which were finals. Henin leads 5–3 in Grand Slam play including winning all their final match-ups.

This was a tennis rivalry played between the French player Henri Cochet, and the American player Bill Tilden. In their respective careers the met each other on the court 35 times from 1926 until 1939 it ended with Tilden leading in head to head matches 23-12. In Major championship matches their rivalry ended with Cochet leading Tilden 4-3.

The Connors–Lendl rivalry was a tennis rivalry played between American Jimmy Connors and Czech-American Ivan Lendl, who met 35 times. Connors, who is 7 and a half years older than Lendl, won the first 8 matches, while Lendl won the last 17 and ended up leading the rivalry 22–13.

The Connors–McEnroe rivalry was a series of competitive matches between American tennis players Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who played 34 times between 1977 and 1991.

The tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer comprises 50 matches between 2006 and 2020, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head 27–23. Djokovic leads 13–6 in all finals and 11–6 in Grand Slam matches. These 17 Grand Slam matches are the most ever contested between two players at tennis's major tournaments. Five of them were finals, plus a record 11 semifinals. To date Djokovic is the only man to have beaten Federer in all four majors, and likewise Federer is the only man to have beaten Djokovic in all four majors. Both players are considered to be among the greatest of all time. From 2006 to 2010 Federer held the lead in their rivalry, at one point 13–6, but by the end of the 2015 season, they were tied at 22–22. Since then Djokovic has been in control of the rivalry.

The Djokovic–Murray rivalry is a rivalry between two professional tennis players, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Andy Murray of the United Kingdom. They have met 36 times, and Djokovic leads 25–11. They have met in 19 tour finals, including seven at Grand Slam tournaments, where Djokovic leads 11–8. The seven Grand Slam tournament finals the two have met in are the 2011 Australian Open, in which Djokovic won in three sets; the 2012 US Open, where Murray defeated Djokovic in a record-equaling match almost five hours long to claim his maiden Grand Slam title; the 2013 Australian Open, with Djokovic prevailing in four sets; the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, where Murray won in straight sets; the 2015 Australian Open and 2016 Australian Open, with Djokovic again prevailing in four and three sets, respectively; and the 2016 French Open, where Djokovic completed his Career Grand Slam with a four-set victory. Djokovic leads 5–1 in their matches on clay, Murray has won both their matches on grass, and Djokovic leads on hard courts, 20–8. The rivalry began highly competitive and remained so for many years. However, since Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic has taken a commanding lead, winning 14 of their last 17 encounters.

The Djokovic–Nadal rivalry is a modern-day tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two of the greatest tennis players of all time. The rivalry is the most prolific in men's tennis in the Open Era. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history by players, coaches, and pundits, and was listed as the third greatest rivalry in the 2000s decade in 2009 by ATPworldtour.com despite only starting in 2006.

This was a tennis rivalry played between British player Laurence Doherty and the Irish player Harold Mahony, which in their respective careers met 18 times from 1896 until 1904.

The tennis players Stefan Edberg (Sweden) and Ivan Lendl met 27 times during their careers. Edberg leads the series 14–13. In an interview with the ATP in 2008 Edberg reflected on his classic rivalries.

Australian tennis player Rod Laver had a long rivalry with his fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson. They met first on the senior amateur tour in 1958 and dominated the amateur circuit until 1962, before Laver went pro. When open tennis arrived in 1968, Emerson went pro, and had many new battles with Laver.

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are retired American and American/Czechoslovak professional tennis players who engaged in an iconic rivalry for dominance in women's tennis in the 1970s and 1980s. It is considered to be one of the greatest in women's tennis history and sports in general.

The Federer–Nadal rivalry is between professional tennis players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, widely regarded as two of the greatest tennis players of all time.

The Federer–Roddick rivalry was a rivalry between two professional tennis players, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Andy Roddick of the United States. The two met 24 times in official Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) matches, and Federer led 21–3, making Roddick the player with the third-most tournament defeats to Federer in the ATP circuit. In terms of number of matches played, it ranks as the 14th largest rivalry in the Open Era.

This was a tennis rivalry played between British player Arthur Gore and the New Zealand player Anthony Wilding, which in their respective careers met 14 times from 1905 until 1912.

Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova met 18 times during their careers. Their overall head-to-head series is tied 9–9, with Graf having a 4–2 record in Grand Slam finals and Navratilova having a 5–4 record in Grand Slam matches winning the last Grand Slam match between the two of them despite being 34 at the time. Both appeared in 3 consecutive Wimbledon Singles finals (1987–89) and thrilled the fans with their enthralling tennis.

Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini are retired professional tennis players who played each other on 40 occasions between 1985 and 1995. Steffi Graf was the world No. 1, whilst Sabatini reached a career high of No. 3. They are both Grand Slam Champions, the German winning 22 titles whilst Sabatini won her only Grand Slam title against Graf. The pair also teamed up to reach three French Open finals and won the 1988 Wimbledon crown.

Steffi Graf and Monica Seles are retired professional tennis players who between 1989 and 1999 engaged in a rivalry for the best female tennis player. They competed in 15 matches. Seles, a left-handed player, demonstrated powerful and precise hitting from the baseline on both wings and an exceptional return of serve. Graf, in contrast, had a formidable forehand, in addition to her penetrating serve, first rate foot speed, and mostly sliced her backhand. Their head to head rivalry was especially notable for Graf being dominant on tour in Seles' first years and then Seles being dominant at the Grand Slams winning three of the four matches they played between the ages of 17 and 19. During the period where Seles first reached the No. 1 spot in 1991, the head-to-head between the two saw Graf leading 3-2, with all of their matches coming in tournament finals. In April 1993, the rivalry was temporarily halted when a fan of Graf stabbed Seles on-court, prompting her to take a hiatus after recovering. Graf won four of their five matches from 1995 onward.

Serbian tennis players Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Janković are both former world No. 1 and met 12 times. Their overall head-to-head series is 9–3, in Ivanovic's favor. Janković is two years older than Ivanovic. They are the first female players to achieve major successes for independent Serbia.

Australian tennis player Rod Laver had a long-running and friendly rivalry with countryman Ken Rosewall. In 1956 both players toured in the amateur circuit but never faced each other. Rosewall turned professional in January 1957 and the two players did not meet until January 1963 when Laver turned pro. They played many times until 1977 when both semi-retired from the main tour.

This was a tennis rivalry between Czech Ivan Lendl, and American John McEnroe, who met in their careers 36 times between 1980 and 1992. It is one of the most notable tennis rivalries of the open era. Their most memorable match was in Roland Garros in 1984, when Lendl came from two sets down to win the final.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams are professional tennis players and sisters who have faced off 31 times in professional tournaments, most recently at the 2020 Top Seed Open. Serena leads their head-to-head 19–12.