Jannik Sinner came close to becoming only the third man to win three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments in the Open Era, but for now it remains a five-man club with all-time greats featuring on the list.
The Italian arrived at the French Open on the back of winning the 2024 US Open and 2025 Australian Open and he took his unbeaten match run at the majors to 20 and was then one point away from winning the title as he had three match points against Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
But Alcaraz produced a miraculous recovery as he saved all three match points and went on to win 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-2) in five hours and 31 minutes in the second-longest Grand Slam final in history.
It means only five men – including Rod Laver and Novak Djokovic – have won three majors in a row since tennis turned professional in 1968.
The 5 men to win three consecutive Grand Slams in the Open Era:
Rod Laver – 1969
The Australian remains the only man to win a Calendar Grand Slam as he achieved the feat in 1969 and, unsurprisingly, that was the year when he secured the three Grand Slams in a row achievement.
Of course, he won three in a row “twice” during his feat as you can say he won the first three majors of the year – the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – or the final three of the season – the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Pete Sampras – 1993-1994
It would take another 24 years before another man achieved that particular record with Sampras making it a two-man club during the height of his career.
His run started at Wimbledon in 1993 and he then went on to win the US Open before completing the hat-trick at the 1994 Australian Open.
Roger Federer – 2005-2006/2006-2007
A two-man club turned into a three-man club in 2006 as Federer joined the list, but the Swiss then went on to go solo the following year as he became the first to win three Grand Slams in a row twice.
Federer first achieved the milestone when he won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2005 before securing the three-peat at the 2006 Australian Open.
After missing out on the French Open after losing the 2006 final against Rafael Nadal, he returned to complete the hat-trick again by winning the same three tournaments with the 2007 Australian Open earning him the milestone.
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Rafael Nadal – 2010
Nadal followed in his great rival’s footsteps three years later as he became the fourth man to win three majors in a row.
The Spaniard’s run started when he won the 2010 French Open – his seventh title at Roland Garros – and followed it up with a second Wimbledon trophy before beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the US Open for the hat-trick.
Novak Djokovic – 2011-12/2015-2016/2018-2019/2021
Anything Federer and Nadal could, Djokovic did better as he achieved this particular feat four (4!) times.
The first time he won three Grand Slams in a row was during the 2011 and 2012 season with the run starting at Wimbledon in 2011 before he went on to win the US Open and the 2012 Australian Open.
Djokovic then won four Grand Slams in a row, but it wasn’t during a calendar year as he won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2014, and followed it up with the 2016 Australian Open to complete the hat-trick. For good measure, he won four consecutive majors as he lifted the French Open trophy as well.
In 2019, he moved ahead of Federer as he became the first to win three Slams in a row three times as he won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and then added the Australian Open at the start of 2019.
And most recently he came close to emulating Laver as the only man to win the Calendar Grand Slam as he won the 2021 Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon to complete the hat-trick, but then came up short in the US Open final as he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev in the final.
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