Roger Federer
Chris Evert
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Roger Federer leads 2 of 3 categories. Our all-time ranking places Roger Federer at #3 and Chris Evert at #9.
Head-to-head FAQ
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The case for Roger Federer
Federer's statistical case rests on a peak no one has matched: between 2004 and 2008 he held the No.1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks, reached 18 of 19 Grand Slam finals from 2005-2010, and made 23 consecutive Slam semifinals — a streak of durable excellence that may be the safest record in tennis. He finished with 20 majors, 310 total weeks at No.1, 103 tour titles (second in the Open Era only to Connors), a record 8 Wimbledons, and 6 ATP Finals crowns. The aesthetic argument — the effortless movement, the all-court shotmaking that drew Wallace's 'religious experience' essays — is inseparable from his impact: he globalised the sport's audience in the 2000s like no player before him. The counterargument is equally clear: losing head-to-heads against both Nadal (16-24) and Djokovic (23-27), and a 2004-07 stretch inflated by a weaker field than his rivals faced. His 2017 Australian Open, won at 35 off a six-month injury layoff by beating Nadal in five sets, remains the most romantic single result of the era.
The case for Chris Evert
Evert set standards of consistency that still look unreal. Her career winning percentage of roughly 90 percent — about 1,309 wins against 146 losses — is the highest of the Open Era for either sex, and on clay she won 125 consecutive matches between 1973 and 1979, the longest single-surface streak in the sport's history alongside Nadal's. She reached the semifinals or better at 34 consecutive Grand Slams she entered, and won at least one major every year for 13 straight seasons, from 1974 to 1986, finishing with 18. A pioneer of the two-handed backhand and the ice-cool baseline precision that earned her the nickname the Ice Maiden, she spent 260 weeks at No.1 and captured a then-record seven Roland Garros titles. Her 80-match rivalry with Martina Navratilova, which she trailed 37-43, dragged both women to greater heights and defined the women's game for over a decade. Peak dominance and unmatched reliability place her comfortably inside the all-time top ten.