Khel Now logo
HomeSportsChampions TrophyLive Score
Advertisement

Tennis

Top five players with most Grand Slam final appearances without title in Open Era

Published at :January 27, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Modified at :January 27, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Post Featured

Ajay Gandhar


The Grail of Grand Slam victory remains out of their reach for these players.

In tennis, a Grand Slam victory is the hallmark of greatness. Some players, Andy Murray among others, had heartbreak before tasting glory—two Australian Open final defeats in 2010 and 2011 left fans questioning whether Murray would ever overcome the hurdle.

But it was resilience that defined his journey: Murray silenced doubters with the US Open title in 2012, proving once and for all that perseverance pays off. But for some players, despite amazing runs to the final, the Grail of Grand Slam victory remains out of their reach. Here are those five players who have made the most finals without clinching a title.

*This list includes players from Open Era only

Players with most Grand Slam final appearances with winning title

5. Robin Söderling (2 finals)

Robin Söderling might not have won a title, but Swede’s aggressive style earned him two consecutive finals at the French Open in 2009 and 2010; His run in 2009 was legendary, weighted by his victory over Rafael Nadal, ending the Spaniard’s 31-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros.

In his maiden final, Swedish faced Roger Federer, losing in straight sets but a year later, he reversed the score against Federer en route to yet another final, in which, again, he fell but this time another member of Big three- Nadal.

Also Read: Top five players with longest gap between two Grand Slam final appearances

4: Jasmine Paolini (2 finals)

fourth on our list is Jasmine Paolini, whose inspiring run in 2024 saw her reach back-to-back Grand Slam finals. The Italian first outplayed Elena Rybakina and Bianca Andreescu to become the first Italian woman in decades to reach the Roland Garros final at the French Open; and had her moment at Wimbledon as well, overcoming four Grand Slam champions along the way but in the finals.

3. Alexander Zverev (3 finals)

Alexander Zverev suffered heartbreak yet again, falling short at the Australian Open final, his third Grand Slam final defeat. Having made the title clash at Melbourne Park, Zverev was up against the defending champion Jannik Sinner, leading the head-to-head record 4-2 against the Italian. But what ensued was one of the most lopsided title matches with Sinner blowing away Zverev in just two hours and 42 minutes—6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3.

For Zverev, this may have been a chance to get that Murray touch of breaking heartbreak since this journey began at the 2020 US Open, where he lost in the final-set tiebreaker after holding a two-set lead over Dominic Thiem.

And in 2024, German showed crazy clay show on his road to the first French Open final, defeating Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud along the way. Unfortunately, a controversial call in the final against Carlos Alcaraz took away his momentum, leading to a heartbreaking loss.

Also Read: Top five fastest serves in Grand Slam history on the ATP Tour

2. Ons Jabeur (3 finals)

Ons Jabeur has put Arab and North African tennis on Grand Slam map, becoming the first Arab and North African female player to compete in a Grand Slam final. The 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finals showed how Jabeur was all class competing against the mightiest opponents of the sport.

Jabeur was runner-up truly but never forgot about last-women-standing journeys while she fell to Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiątek in those finals. The following year, her brilliance took her back to the Wimbledon final, where she defeated top seeds like Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, but her dream was crushed again by Markéta Vondrousova.

1: Dinara Safina (3 finals)

For Dinara Safina, not winning a grand slam might be hard pill to swallow whose immense talent earned her three Grand Slam finals across two seasons. She announced herself as a major contender at the 2008 French Open, upsetting top-seeded Maria Sharapova en route to her maiden final, only to lose to Ana Ivanovic.

In 2009, Safina reached both the Australian Open and French Open finals but faced dominant foes in Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova; powerful baseliner rose to world No. 1 but could never taste Grand Slam glory!

For more updates, follow Khel Now on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram

Advertisement