The 9 best ATP players to never win a Grand Slam title: ft. Alexander Zverev, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Winning a Grand Slam title is one of the ultimate challenges in tennis, and it is a feat that has eluded a host of outstanding players on the ATP Tour.
Here, we look at the nine best male players to never win a major singles title in the Open Era (only including players who spent their entire careers competing in the Open Era, which started in 1968).
9. Alex Corretja
Grand Slam finals reached: 2
Career-high ranking: 2
ATP titles: 17
During a career spanning from 1991 to 2005, Alex Corretja was an elite player on clay, but he also achieved big results on other surfaces.
The Spaniard was a Roland Garros runner-up in 1998 and 2001, losing to Carlos Moya in three sets and Gustavo Kuerten in four sets in the respective finals.
Corretja avenged his French Open loss to Moya in the final of the 1998 ATP Finals as he recovered from two sets to love down to prevail in five sets.
He won two Masters series titles — in Rome and Indian Wells — and was also a beaten finalist three times at Masters level.
8. Miroslav Mecir
Grand Slam finals reached: 2
Career-high ranking: 4
ATP titles: 11
Miroslav Mecir turned pro in 1982 and was forced to call time on his career in 1990, aged only 26, due to injury issues.
The Slovak, who represented Czechoslovakia, was a runner-up at the 1986 US Open and the 1989 Australian Open, losing both finals in straight sets to compatriot Ivan Lendl. He reached two other major semi-finals.
Mecir’s greatest triumph was his gold medal victory at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, where he defeated top seed Stefan Edberg in the semi-finals and second seed Tim Mayotte in the final.
7. Nikolay Davydenko
Grand Slam finals reached: 0
Career-high ranking: 3
ATP titles: 21
Nikolay Davydenko, who competed from 1999 to 2014, is arguably the best player to never feature in a Grand Slam final.
The Russian reached four major semi-finals and came closest to making a final at the 2005 French Open, when he lost to Mariano Puerta in five sets — after leading 2-1 in sets — in the last four.
His other three semi-final losses came against a peak Roger Federer, while he played in 10 Grand Slam quarter-finals overall.
Davydenko won the ATP Finals in 2009 after being a runner-up the previous year, while he holds a 3-0 record in Masters 1000 finals. He finished five straight years ranked sixth or higher between 2005 and 2009 and registered 38 top 10 wins.
6. David Nalbandian
Grand Slam finals reached: 1
Career-high ranking: 3
ATP titles: 11
David Nalbandian, who competed from 2000 to 2013, was convincingly beaten by Lleyton Hewitt in the 2002 Wimbledon championship match, which was the only Grand Slam final he contested. He made the last four at majors on four other occasions.
The Argentine secured the biggest title of his career by coming back from two sets to love down to beat Roger Federer in an epic final at the 2005 ATP Finals. He won his first five matches against Federer and finished with a 8-11 record against the Swiss legend.
Nalbandian won two Masters 1000 titles from six finals, including the 2007 Paris Masters, where he downed Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in successive matches — making him the only player to beat each of the Big Three in the same tournament.
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5. Tomas Berdych
Grand Slam finals reached: 1
Career-high ranking: 4
ATP titles: 13
Tomas Berdych, who played between 2002 and 2019, regularly took on the three greatest players of all time: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Berdych downed Federer in the quarter-finals and Djokovic in the semi-finals, before losing to Nadal in straight sets in his only major title match. He reached a further six Grand Slam semi-finals.
The Czech won his biggest career title at the 2005 Paris Masters, while he was also a three-time runner-up at Masters 1000 level.
Berdych achieved seven consecutive year-end top 10 finishes from 2010 to 2016 and he triumphed 53 times against players in the top 10 of the rankings.
4. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Grand Slam finals reached: 1
Career-high ranking: 5
ATP titles: 18
During an 18-year career spanning from 2004 to 2022, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — like Berdych — shared his prime years Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
In his only major final appearance, an unseeded and 22-year-old Tsonga was beaten in four close sets by Novak Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open — the Serbian’s maiden Grand Slam triumph. He progressed to the semi-finals of Grand Slams six times.
The Frenchman won two Masters 1000 titles from four finals, while he was also a runner-up at the ATP Finals in 2011.
Tsonga ended six years inside the top 10 of the ATP Rankings and compiled 45 wins over players ranked in the top 10.
3. David Ferrer
Grand Slam finals reached: 1
Career-high ranking: 3
ATP titles: 27
David Ferrer, who played between 2000 and 2019, was another player who regularly locked horns with the Big Three.
He faced the toughest test in tennis history in his only Grand Slam final as he lost 3-6, 2-6, 3-6 to his legendary countryman Nadal in the 2013 French Open championship match. Ferrer reached six major semi-finals and 17 quarter-finals.
The Spaniard secured his biggest career title at the 2012 Paris Masters and was also a six-time Masters 1000 runner-up, while he was a finalist at the 2007 ATP Finals.
Ferrer finished seven seasons ranked in the top 10 and registered 54 victories over top 10 opponents.
2. Marcelo Rios
Grand Slam finals reached: 1
Career-high ranking: 1
ATP titles: 18
Marcelo Rios turned pro in 1994 and played his last match in 2003, at the age of just 27, due to injury. He is the only ATP world No 1 in history who has not won a Grand Slam title.
The Chilean reached his only major final at the 1998 Australian Open and lost in straight sets to Petr Korda.
Rios claimed five titles from seven Masters series finals, while he also won the Grand Slam Cup (a season-ending event which was held from 1990-1999). Rios recorded 22 wins over top 10 players.
1. Alexander Zverev
Grand Slam finals reached: 3
Career-high ranking: 2
ATP titles: 23
In a tension-riddled final at the 2020 US Open, Alexander Zverev fell to Dominic Thiem in a deciding set tiebreak having led by two sets to love and served for the match at 5-3 in the fifth.
The German also fell in five sets in his second major final after seeing a 2-1 lead in sets slip away against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open final.
Zverev was then beaten in straight sets by Jannik Sinner in the championship match at the 2025 Australian Open having been unable to generate a break point.
He is a two-time ATP Finals champion, while he is also a seven-time Masters 1000 winner from 12 finals. He has reached the semi-final stage at Grand Slams on eight occasions.
The 27-year-old, who turned pro in 2013, has recorded 54 wins over top 10 players and four victories against each of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
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