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The three greatest seasons by a player in tennis history

By Brandon Daniels

Steffi Graf of Germany during the Women's Singles Final against Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship on 8 July 1989 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images)
Steffi Graf of Germany during the Women's Singles Final against Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship on 8 July 1989 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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SEOUL – SEPTEMBER 1988: Steffi Graf of West Germany plays in the Women’s Singles event of the Tennis competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics held during September 1988 at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul, South Korea. Graf was the gold medalist in the event. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)
SEOUL – SEPTEMBER 1988: Steffi Graf of West Germany plays in the Women’s Singles event of the Tennis competition of the 1988 Summer Olympics held during September 1988 at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul, South Korea. Graf was the gold medalist in the event. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) /

1. Steffi Graf – 1988

This season, coming only 5 years after Navratilova’s domination in 1983, is the single greatest season in tennis history. Graf, still only 18 years old,  finished with a 73-3 record and captured all 4 Grand Slams, as well as an Olympic gold medal in the same season. Statistically, this wasn’t even Graf’s best year.

In 1987, she finished 75-2, and in 1989, she finished 86-2. This means, from 1987-1989 she had an unimaginable record of 234-7, with 8 Grand Slam victories (1 in 1987, 3 in 1989). Graf went without a loss after her first in April until the last event of the season (a loss to Pam Shriver in November). She lost only 2(!) sets in a 46-match win streak from the French Open through the Olympics. That’s 92 set wins to two set losses!

The reason why this season is the greatest in history is because of the caliber of tournaments she was able to way and in the fashion she won them in. It’s a tight race between Navratilova’s 1983 season versus this one, however, Graf winning all four Grand Slams and winning the Olympic gold is the reason this trumps the former. To cap it off, Graf nearly did the same the following year with an 86-2 record and 3 Grand Slams, as well as a French Open finals appearance, where she was only one game from winning in the third set. That season also could be talked about as being better than Navratilova’s, however, it’s close enough to be a toss-up.

NOTE: There were no repeat players on this list, which is why Graf’s 1989 season did not make the list.

It’s tempting to put Martina’s season above this one due to the match record, however, Graf’s dominance in 1988, as well as her insane three year stretch from 1987-1989, is what puts her at the top of the list.

Next. The three greatest rivalries in tennis history. dark

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