- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1956–1979
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 95.0
- Dominance
- 94.0
- Statistics
- 93.0
- Honours
- 93.0
- Longevity
- 90.0
GOAT Rank · 13
Greatest Tennis Players who debuted in the 1950s
This ranking is led by Rod Laver, Billie Jean King and Ken Rosewall. GOAT Rank currently ranks 13 eligible Tennis players who debuted in the 1950s using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Rod Laver ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 93.1.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1959–1983
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 91.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1951–1980
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 94.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1953–1983
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 88.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1953–1972
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1958–1973
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1951–1968
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1950–1963
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 82.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1952–1972
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1956–1966
- Country
- 🇵🇪 Peru
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1954–1963
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1953–1959
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 58.0
- Sport
- Tennis
- Career
- 1959–1968
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Rod Laver | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1956–1979 | 93.1 |
| 17 | Billie Jean King | Tennis | 🇺🇸 United States | 1959–1983 | 89.8 |
| 20 | Ken Rosewall | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1951–1980 | 88.7 |
| 36 | Roy Emerson | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1953–1983 | 86.7 |
| 47 | Nicola Pietrangeli | Tennis | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1953–1972 | 85.5 |
| 66 | Manuel Santana | Tennis | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1958–1973 | 84.2 |
| 103 | Lew Hoad | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1951–1968 | 82.5 |
| 120 | Tony Trabert | Tennis | 🇺🇸 United States | 1950–1963 | 82.1 |
| 135 | Mal Anderson | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1952–1972 | 81.3 |
| 179 | Alex Olmedo | Tennis | 🇵🇪 Peru | 1956–1966 | 79.3 |
| 181 | Neale Fraser | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1954–1963 | 79.2 |
| 205 | Ashley Cooper | Tennis | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1953–1959 | 78.1 |
| 207 | Chuck McKinley | Tennis | 🇺🇸 United States | 1959–1968 | 78.0 |
Compare the leaders
Rod Laver vs Billie Jean KingRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.
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