The 5 ATP players with most hard-court titles before turning 23 – ft Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic
Jannik Sinner is just 23 – but has already achieved a hell of a lot throughout his career.
The Italian’s birthday on Friday was a reminder of just how much he has achieved, with 14 career titles – including a Grand Slam – already to his name.
And the world No 1 has had particular success on hard courts so far in his career.
In fact, only four men have ever won more titles on the surface before turning 23 than Sinner did – we take a look at them all.
5) Jannik Sinner – 12
Sinner turned 23 on Friday, and as a result, now sits fifth on this list – with 12 of his 14 ATP titles so far coming on hard.
The most notable win of his career came on the surface back in January, when he beat Daniil Medvedev to claim his first major at the Australian Open.
However, both his Masters 1000 triumphs have also come on this surface, at the 2023 Canadian Open and 2024 Miami Open.
The world No 1 also has notable victories at the China Open and Rotterdam Open to his name.
4) Novak Djokovic – 13
Arguably the greatest hard-courter in ATP history, world No 2 Djokovic won an impressive 13 titles on the surface before his 23rd birthday.
Much like Sinner, his most significant result came at the Australian Open, winning his first slam as a 20-year-old at the event in 2008.
The Serbian also picked up notable victories at Indian Wells, the Miami Open, and the Paris Masters before turning 23 – and won his first ATP Finals title as a 21-year-old in 2008.
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=2) Lleyton Hewitt – 15
The second-youngest ATP world No 1 in history, most of Hewitt’s success came at a young age, with 15 of his 30 career singles titles coming on hard before he turned 23.
The Australian won the US Open title as a 20-year-old in 2001, storming past Pete Sampras in the final for the first of his two majors.
He also won back-to-back ATP Finals titles on hard in 2000 and 2001, while consecutive Indian Wells triumphs in 2002 and 2003 – and a maiden title aged 16 in Adelaide – are among his other big successes.
=2) Jimmy Connors – 15
No man in history has won more ATP titles than Connors, who sits on 109 titles overall – and 15 came on the surface before his 23rd birthday in 1975.
Interestingly, he is an outlier on this list – as none of his Slam titles before that period came on hard courts, with his three major victories in 1974 all on grass.
However, he picked up notable titles in tournaments across cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, and Johannesburg.
1) Pete Sampras – 16
One of the all-time greats of the sport, no one won more titles on hard court before turning 23 than 14-time major winner Sampras.
The American great had just turned 19 when he won his first Slam at the 1990 US Open and also won the 1993 US Open and 1994 Australian Open before his 23rd birthday.
Elsewhere, he won consecutive titles in Miami in 1993 and 1994 and also sealed Masters 1000 victories in Indian Wells and Cincinnati.
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