Athletistic/Tennis. Tennis is a sport in which the court surface plays an important role. While on grass courts the ball bounces less and moves faster, on clay it is the opposite, as they are generally slow. The tough one is the most balanced.

Of the four Grand Slam tournaments, two (Australian Open and US Open) are played on hard court, one on clay (French Open) and one on grass (Wimbledon). Demonstrating your versatility is quite a difficult task.

However, some players can play on all three surfaces. And Carlos Alcras this year became the youngest tennis player to qualify for the TBS final on all surfaces.

Top 5 youngest tennis players:

Jim Courier – 22 years and 10 months

Courier is a four-time Grand Slam champion, known for his strong baseline game and strong forehand. He rose to fame in 1991, at the age of 20, when he defeated compatriot Andre Agassi in the French Open final in five sets. Later that year, Courier competed in the US Open title match, but was defeated by Stefan Edberg.

He added the Australian Open to his list in 1992, defeating Edberg in the final to avenge his loss at the US Open the previous year. He then reached the Wimbledon final in 1993, two months before his 23rd birthday, but lost in the final to Pete Sampras.

Rafael Nadal – 22 years and 6 months

Nadal took the tennis world by storm as a teenager with his exploits on clay. He won his first title at Roland Garros in 2005, the first of his 14 titles in Paris.

He also reached the Wimbledon final in 2006 and 2007, but lost both times. Nadal won Wimbledon in 2008, but had to wait until 2009 to reach his first TBS final on hard court. Nadal won the Australian Open in January 2009 and thus reached three TBS finals on all three surfaces at the age of 22.

Björn Borg – 22 years and 2 months

Borg became famous for winning 11 Grand Slam titles during his short career. He won Wimbledon and the French Open three times in the same year.

The Swede won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 1974, beating Manuel Orantes in five sets. He then won Wimbledon in 1976, beating Ilie Nastase in the final, and also finished second at the US Open, which was then played on clay. In 1978, Borg again reached the final of the US Open, which was played on hard court, but lost to Jimmy Connors in straight sets.

André Agassi – 22 years, 1 month

Agassi was known for his versatility and won every Grand Slam tournament during his career. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at Roland Garros, when he was 20, but lost to Ecuador’s Andres Gomez. He then lost to his compatriot Pete Sampras, who would later become his main rival, in the final of the US Open that year. However, after these two losses, Agassi finally won the TBS title, winning the 1992 Wimbledon final against Goran Ivanisevic in five sets. Thus, he became at that time the youngest player to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament on all three surfaces.

Carlos Alcaraz – 21 years and 1 month:

Alcaraz’s career started like a dream: he won two Grand Slam titles before the age of 21. The Spaniard reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2022, where he defeated Casper Ruud. Alcaraz went on to win Wimbledon in 2023, beating Novak Djokovic in a five-set final. And now, Alcaraz has demonstrated his prowess on clay by reaching the French Open final for the first time. In the semi-final he defeated his main rival Jannik Sinner in five sets. Thus, the Spaniard broke Agassi’s record and will play against Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros final.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic



Athletistic