The 9 highest hard-court winning percentages in an ATP season: Roger Federer’s 2005 masterclass, Jannik Sinner at No 9
Jannik Sinner enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in ATP history during 2024 with most of his success coming on hard courts, but Roger Federer remains the standard bearer following his 2005 masterclass.
Back in 2005, Federer lost only one match on the surface while his 2006 campaign also features highly on the list for the best winning percentage on hard courts.
For the record, Novak Djokovic’s best ATP Tour hard-court season was in 2023 when he had a 94.74% (36-2) record while Andre Agassi was 94.64% (53-3) in 1995.
The 9 highest hard-court winning percentages during an ATP season:
9. Jannik Sinner – 94.83
Jannik Sinner won eight titles during the 2024 season and seven of them came on hard courts, including the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals.
The Italian finished the year with a 55-3 win-loss record on the surface and those defeats came against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells and Beijing, and Andrey Rublev in Canada.
8. Yannick Noah – 95.00%
Legendary Frenchman Yannick Noah suffered only one defeat on hard courts during the 1982 season, but he played only 20 matches on the surface that year.
He won three titles that year with that solitary defeat coming in the fourth round of the US Open.
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7. Ivan Lendl 95.00%
Ivan Lendl won five hard-court titles in 1989 with the biggest one coming at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
He finished with a 38-2 win-loss record and those defeats were against Boris Becker in the final of the US Open and against Stefan Edberg in the Tokyo final.
6. Stan Smith – 95.35%
Stan Smith also lost only two matches during his great 1972 campaign as he finished the year with a 41-2 record.
The American started his hard-court season with defeat in Los Angeles while his other loss was in San Juan, but he ended up winning seven titles on the face.
=4. John McEnroe – 96.15%
The great John McEnroe played 80 matches during the 1985 season, but only 26 of those were played on hard courts and he lost only one match.
He won three titles on hard courts that year and his only defeat was against Ivan Lendl in the US Open final.
=4. Jimmy Connors – 96.15%
Ten years before McEnroe’s 25-1 season, Jimmy Connors had the same tally on hard courts while his record on all surfaces was 91.1% (82-8).
He won four hard-court titles that year and his defeat came in his last hard-court match of the year against Adriano Panatta in the final in Stockholm.
3. Jimmy Connors – 96.55%
But Connors’ 1974 season on hard courts was better as he was 28-1 for the campaign while his overall record was 94-4.
This time he won four hard-court titles and his only defeat came in the final in Omaha.
2. Roger Federer – 96.72%
Roger Federer played 61 matches on hard courts during the 2006 season and lost only two of them.
He won the Doha Open, Australian Open, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, Canada Open, US Open, Japan Open, Madrid Open, the ATP Finals and a couple of Davis Cup matches.
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only players to beat him as the former won the final in Dubai while Murray beat him in the final in Canada.
1. Roger Federer – 98.04%
A year earlier Federer enjoyed a 50-1 record on hard courts, winning eight titles on the surface with the biggest one coming at the US Open.
Marat Safin denied the Swiss legend a 100% record as he beat him in the semi-final of the Australian Open.
