Who is better, Djokovic or Budge?
Novak Djokovic leads with a GOAT score of 97.6 against 90.9 for Don Budge — a gap of 6.7 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Djokovic vs Budge
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks Novak Djokovic above Don Budge: 97.6 vs 90.9. Novak Djokovic leads on Longevity, Honours, Dominance. Don Budge leads on Peak.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
DjokovicWinner
97.6Djokovic wins: Dominance, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Budge
90.9Budge wins: Peak
Candidates
Locked to TennisShareable URL · /compare/djokovic-vs-don-budge
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic
97.6
Djokovic leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Novak Djokovic
2. Don Budge
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic11 titles
3 seasons by age 21 · 3.7 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Budge — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | DjokovicActive | BudgeRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam titles | 24 | — |
| Weeks at No. 1 | 428 | — |
| Masters 1000 titles | 40 | — |
| Career titles | 99 | — |
| Match win % | 83.2% | — |
| Year-end No. 1 finishes | 8 | — |
| Olympic gold | 1 | — |
| Calendar Grand Slams | — | 1 |
| Major singles titles | — | 6 |
| Major titles including doubles | — | 14 |
| Davis Cup titles | — | 2 |
| Consecutive major wins | — | 6 |
| Dominance w25% | 99 | 94 |
| Peak w20% | 96 | 98 |
| Longevity w20% | 97 | 78 |
| Honours w20% | 99 | 92 |
| Statistics w15% | 96 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Djokovic97.6
Budge90.9
FAQ
Where does Budge beat Djokovic?
Budge scores higher on peak. Djokovic leads on dominance, honours, statistics, longevity.
How is the Djokovic vs Budge score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Djokovic: 97.6, Budge: 90.9.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Djokovic vs Budge. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.