ANALYSIS: Tennis players who achieved the career Golden Slam in singles and doubles

The career Golden Slam, a rare and prestigious achievement in tennis, is a topic that often escapes discussion. Yet, it stands as one of the most significant milestones in the sport. In this piece, we'll delve into the select few players who have managed to etch their names into this exclusive list.

The career Golden Slam is an achievement in tennis when a player wins all four Grand Slams and the gold medal on top of that over the course of his career. Now, you might think that it doesn't sound that impressive, but actually, it is. It's pretty impressive when you think about it. There is also something called the Golden Slam, which is even harder to do for obvious reasons, as you need to win all four and the medal in the same calendar year.

So, let's dissect the sheer difficulty of this feat. Winning all four Grand Slams is a monumental task in itself. Now, add the golden medal into the equation, and the challenge becomes even more daunting. The scarcity of the Olympic Games, occurring only once every four years, further amplifies the difficulty. Most tennis players get a chance to compete in 3 to 4 Olympics, and that's if they're exceptionally skilled. The vast majority would consider themselves fortunate to feature in at least one or two.

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So that's one of the main reasons why this is pretty hard to do. You simply don't have that many appearances at the Olympic Games to win the gold medal. We're not even talking about how hard it is to win the gold medal itself. Just being there is a privilege, let alone being good enough to compete for the medal. Some of the best players in history have failed to win the gold medal in tennis, and just take the example of Novak Djokovic recently.

He only did it at age 37 after failing to do so several times in his career before. He did it though and by doing that the Serbian was actually able to join this exclusive list of players who were able to complete the career golden slam. We're gonna go over some of them below, and that list will show you just how hard it is to do this because not many have done it, and there he's been a lot of players in history that have been really good.

Andre Agassi

The bad boy of tennis was able to get this done and it's not a huge surprise. We're talking about one of the best players that has ever played the game and this achievment just speaks to how legendary his legacy truly is.

Agassi finished his career with 8 Grand Slam trophies, which pales in comparison to somebody like Djokovic and his 24, but at that time, that was a huge deal. He won the Australian Open a couple of times, the French Open and Wimbledon only once, and the US Open twice.

The gold medal came at home when the Olympics were held in Atlanta in 1996, and funnily enough, it didn't complete the golden slam for him back then. Generally, you'll have players ticking the boxes at the Grand Slams first, but for Agassi, it was the medal. When he won gold, he won the US Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon. The French Open completed things for him, and it didn't happen until 1999.

Andre Agassi

Steffi Graf

His wife, Steffi Graf, is another player who was able to get it done, and that shouldn't come as a huge surprise either. The German is one of the best players in history, and she's won a lot of trophies. Graf won 22 Grand Slam trophies, which is one of the best marks in women's tennis and almost the best. Serena Williams finished with 23, while the ever-controversial Margaret Court still has 24, but that isn't really comparable to these two.

The German is one of the rare players who actually achieved the Golden Slam by winning the gold medal and all four of the Grand Slams in the same year. It happened in 1988 when she won the gold medal in Seoul, which obviously means that she has done the career golden slam as well.

She wouldn't repeat it, but she didn't have to as the German beat her husband to it, and that should be enough. Truly an amazing career by Graf, who doesn't get mentioned enough in the history books.

Steffi Graf

Serena Williams

Obviously, a list like this wouldn't make much sense without Serena Williams being on it. She's the greatest women's tennis player to have ever lived, and obviously, this achievement is one of many she was able to get done. The American won 23 Grand Slam trophies in her career and achieved the career golden slam in 2003 when she won the Australian Open for the first time.

By the time she won the gold medal in Sydney in 2000, Williams had won all of the grand slams except the Australian Open, so much like Graf, she first got the gold and then the last Grand Slam. She would win two more gold medals in Beijing and London, furthering a legacy that's by far the best we have in tennis.

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Venus Williams

Her sister Venus Wiliams is another player who was able to achieve the career golden slam, and we shouldn't be surprised by that. Venus Williams played during the best years of her sister Serena Williams and actually bested her a couple of times directly in a match, which tells you what kind of player we're talking about. If there had not been Serena Williams, Venus might have ended up as one of the greatest players we've ever had, and even like this, she is.

Her career golden slam came in 2001 when she won her first Australian Open. Funnily enough, she won the first gold medal at the same Olympics as Serena did, but she beat her to the career golden slam by two years, completing it in 2001 as opposed to 2003. Fascinating stuff.

Serena and Venus Williams

Roger Federer

Of course, we have to mention Roger Federer, who is also one of the best players we've ever had in the sport. The Swiss maestro is also a player who was able to get it done. Naturally, he won 20 Grand Slam trophies though he was only able to win the French Open once in 2009.

That triumph is exactly what completed the career golden slam for him because the Swiss Maestro won the gold medal one year before at the Beijing Olympics, teaming up with Stan Wawrinka. It's certainly an achievement that holds value, though he was never able to get it done in the singles.

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Rafael Nadal

One player who was able to get it done by winning the gold medal in the singles is Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is again one of the best players in history, which shows you the trend here. Generally players that have been able to get it done are players who are easily counted among the best ones we've ever had in history.

Nadal completed it in 2010 when he finally won his maiden US Open. Much like a few of his colleagues from this list, the Spaniard won the gold first before winning all the Grand Slams. The gold came in Beijing in 2008, at which point he had only won Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

His first Wimbledon came only a month earlier and after that he won the Australian Open next year and the US Open two years after that.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic

Finally, we have to mention the final entry on this iconic list and it's Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is the most recent player who was able to get this done, and it happened just a few days ago. Djokovic played a wonderful event to win the gold at the Paris Olympics, fulfilling a lifelong dream of his.

He's won many grand slams in the past, 24 of them actually but it wasn't until this year that he was able to win the gold medal and become part of this iconic list.

So there you have it. These are the players that were able to get it done and as you can see there are no average players here. All of them are legends of the sport, top of the food chain even when it comes to legend, and for very good reason. It's one of the hardest things to do in tennis simply because winning the gold medal is so tough. Very few have done it and some that did do it didn't win the all four Grand Slams. Andy Murray has two golds but never won the French Open for example.

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Bob and Mike Bryan

The Career Golden Slam is an achievement that the Bryan Brothers were also able to achieve. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise as we're talking about possibly the most iconic doubles pairing. Their dominance of doubles tennis and how it lasted is simply something you can't overlook. They won all four grand slams, with the French Open being the first in 2003. They would complete that in 2006 by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but it took a while until they finally got their gold medal.

It only happened in 2012 at Wimbledon, and it's the only gold medal they won in doubles. The only other medal they won was the Bronze Medal at the games prior, which isn't good enough for this achievement. The gold is what matters, and they did it in 2012.

Bob and Mike Bryan Miami 2016

Pam Shriver and Martina Navratilova

Another pair who achieved the Career Golden Slam is Pam Shriver and Martina Navratilova. Both players have left an indelible mark on the tennis world, with numerous Grand Slam victories to their names. Their journey to the Career Golden Slam began in 1994 when they triumphed at the French Open, followed by a gold medal win at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

They're one of several US pairings on this list showcasing just how dominant US tennis used to be at one point in history. It's not the case anymore though they were able to win a medal at the Paris Olympics recently.

Marina Navratilova

Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva

This is another interesting pairing that achieved this, as Fernandez and Zvereva won the gold in 1992 in Barcelona and then in 1996 in Atlanta as well. They were very dominant, completing this achievement in 1993 when they won the Australian Open. They narrowly missed the golden slam in 1992, as they needed the Australian Open that year to get it done. They finally got it the next year, but there was no Olympics that year, which prevented them from doing so. They wouldn't do it in 1996 either as they failed to win Wimbledon that year.

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Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova

A more recent pairing that was able to do this is Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. Both are accomplished singles players, but they truly dominated in the doubles. Krejcikova and Siniakova won the French Open and Wimbledon in 2018. They won the Australian Open and US Open in 2022, while the gold came at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which were, of course, played in 2021.

Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 2024

Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodbridge

We're going to finish off with another iconic doubles pairing, popularly known as the Woodies. These two were able to win the Australian Open in 1992, adding Wimbledon in 1993, the US Open in 1995, and finally, the French Open in a surprise run in 2000. The Olympic gold came a bit earlier in 1996 in Atlanta, making that French Open run a truly historic one for the Woodies.