It has always been the dream of all tennis players, but even for older tennis players it has often remained just a dream: we are talking about a Grand Slam, the highest point of the hike, the summit of a mountain that is extremely difficult to climb. It only happens if the player wins all four titles in the same season, namely the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows (US Open), the tournaments organized by the four major countries capable of winning the Davis Cup until 1974 (Australia, France, UK United States and the United States).
The origin of the term Grand Slam
According to the most adopted reconstructions, the first to use the term in 1933 was a journalist The New York Times John Kieran, who wrote: “If Australian Jack Crawford after winning in Australia, France and England also wins the American Championship, it will be like scoring in the Grand Slam in the bridge,” referring to the maximum points that can be obtained in the game card that the journalist was An expert and passionate about it.
According to others, the expression was first used in golf, after Bobby Jones won all the championships. Pioneer from the ring, and applied it to world tennis sports columnist Alan Gould in July 1933, two months earlier than his teammate Kieran.
Wimbledon Championships for men and women
AELTC / Thomas Lovelock / IPAMade by Grand Slam
Definition has been around for about 90 years, but has given only five tennis players, two men’s and three women’s. Only Don Budge (who won as an amateur in 1938), Rod Laver (the only one to have done so twice, as an amateur in 1962 and as a professional in 1969), Maureen Connolly (as an amateur in 1953), Margaret Smith Court (1970) and Steffi Graf ( 1988).
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