Big Three (tennis)

The Big Three is a common nickname in tennis for the trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, each considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time. The trio dominated men's singles tennis for two decades, collectively winning 66 majors; Djokovic leads with an all-time record of 24 titles, followed by Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20. They have been ranked as world No. 1s in singles for a total of 947 weeks (equivalent to 18 years, 11 weeks): Djokovic for a record 428 weeks, Federer for 310, and Nadal for 209. One of the three finished the season as the year-end No. 1 player nearly every year from 2004 to 2023, with the exceptions of 2016 and 2022. They collectively occupied the top-three positions of the year-end ATP rankings eight times; in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2019. Prior to the adoption of the term Big Three, there was the Big Four, a similar term used from about 2008 to 2016 to describe the quartet of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and their nearest and most consistent rival, Andy Murray. Although the volume of Murray's achievements did not match those of the 'Big Three', he was in contention on a similar basis during that period for the biggest trophies, reaching the final at all four majors at least once, winning several major and ATP Masters 1000 titles, in addition to the ATP Finals and the Olympics twice, while being the only other player besides the Big Three to reach the top of the ATP rankings in an 18-year period from 2004 to 2022. The term is still used when referring to the group. As both a trio and as a quartet, they have been a critical part of what has been labelled a "golden era" in men's tennis. Federer was the first to come to prominence after winning Wimbledon in 2003, and became the world No. 1 after winning the Australian Open in 2004. Nadal followed in 2005 with a French Open triumph on his first attempt, including a win over Federer, and the duo occupied the top two places of the ATP rankings from 25 July 2005 to 6 September 2010. From 2007, Djokovic and Murray increasingly challenged Federer and Nadal's dominance with consistency. By 2011, Nadal declared that his joint dominance with Federer had ended, following the ascent of Djokovic and later Murray. Djokovic has been a dominant player since the beginning of 2011, gradually approaching or surpassing Federer and Nadal's career achievements. The emergence of new players, commonly referred to as the "Next Generation", tempered their dominance at the ATP Finals since 2017, and the Masters 1000 tournaments since 2021. However, despite occasional injury breaks by individual members of the Big Three, they maintained their collective dominance at the majors through to 2023. The Big Four regularly held the top four places in the rankings between 2008 and 2013. They were ranked year-end world top four from 2008 to 2012, the longest span of dominance for any quartet of players in tennis history. They held the top-two spots continuously from 25 July 2005 to 18 March 2021, 13 May 2013 to 8 March 2021, as well as the top ranking from 2 February 2004 to 27 February 2022, meaning that no player outside the Big Four were ranked world No. 1 for 18 years or was in the top 2 for nearly 16 years. Djokovic was the year-end No. 1 for a record eight years, with Federer and Nadal for five years each, and Murray once. At the Grand Slam tournaments, the trio are the all-time title leaders; Djokovic has won a record 24 majors, Nadal with 22 and Federer 20. They have each completed a career Grand Slam by winning all four majors at least once, with Nadal completing it twice for a double career Grand Slam and Djokovic three times for a triple career Grand Slam. With their singles Olympic gold medals, Djokovic completed the Career Super Slam and Nadal achieved a Career Golden Slam. Djokovic has also completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam, making him the only man in history to hold all four major titles at once across three different surfaces. Nadal and Djokovic have each achieved a Surface Slam by winning majors on hard, clay, and grass courts in a calendar year, making them the only male players in history to do so. Each of the three has won a Channel Slam by winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year. At the Masters tournaments, the trio are also the top-three title leaders; Djokovic leads with a record 40 titles, followed by Nadal with 36, and Federer with 28. Djokovic is the only player to achieve the Career Golden Masters by winning all nine active Masters 1000 tournaments, a feat he has completed twice. At the ATP Finals, they won 13 titles, with Djokovic winning a record seven titles, and Federer six. Representing their countries, the Big Four have played vital roles in leading their countries to victory at the Davis Cup, ATP Cup, Olympics, and Hopman Cup. At the Davis Cup, Nadal helped Spain to win the title in five editions (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019), Djokovic and Federer helped Serbia (2010) and Switzerland (2014), respectively, win their first title in the competition, and Murray helped Great Britain win the title in 2015. At the ATP Cup, Djokovic led Serbia to victory in the inaugural edition in 2020. At the Olympics, the Big Four have won six gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal: Murray won a record two gold medals in singles and a silver in mixed doubles, Djokovic won a gold medal and a bronze medal, both in singles, Nadal won a gold medal in singles and a gold in doubles, Federer won a silver medal in singles and a gold in doubles. Federer is the only member to have won the Hopman Cup with his national team, in 2001, 2018, and 2019.