Who are the most popular players in history?

K

KG1965

Legend
The feeling is that (as in every other sport) every continent has a different impression.

My observation tells me that in North America:
1) Federer
2) Connors
3) McEnroe
4) Nadal
5) Borg

In West-Europe
1) Federer
2) Borg
3) Nadal
4) Laver
5) McEnroe

In East-Europe
1) Federer
2) Djokovic
3) Nadal
4) .....
5) .....

On other continents? (South America, Asia....)

Discuss.
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
KG1965 said:
The feeling is that (as in every other sport) every continent has a different impression.

My observation tells me that in North America:
1) Federer
2) Connors
3) McEnroe
4) Nadal
5) Borg

In West-Europe
1) Federer
2) Borg
3) Nadal
4) Laver
5) McEnroe

In East-Europe
1) Federer
2) Djokovic
3) Nadal
4) .....
5) .....

On other continents? (South America, Asia....)

Discuss.
Click to expand...
I could be wrong, but my impression is that Nadal is more popular in Eastern Europe than Djokovic.
 
T

tonylg

Legend
I'll take a punt at Australia:

Laver
Rosewall
Goolagong
Hopman
Emerson
Roche/Newcombe
Rafter
Barty
Hewitt
Cash
Stosur
Edberg
Federer
Cooper
Stolle
Fraser
Anderson
Philippoussis
Kyrgios
Court
Becker
Sampras
Lendl
Safin
Agassi
Nadal
Vilas
Wilander
Baghdatis
Tsonga
 
RaulRamirez

RaulRamirez

Legend
I'm not sure how to measure this, and mine is mostly from an American perspective. The top 3 men (guessing at worldwide) over the last 50 years have probably, chronologically, been Borg, Agassi and Fed.

McEnroe was huge news right away, with almost as much hate as love. Connors was a very polarizing figure but grew into more of a beloved figure in his latter stage.
 
Hitman

Hitman

Bionic Poster
KG1965 said:
The feeling is that (as in every other sport) every continent has a different impression.

My observation tells me that in North America:
1) Federer
2) Connors
3) McEnroe
4) Nadal
5) Borg

In West-Europe
1) Federer
2) Borg
3) Nadal
4) Laver
5) McEnroe

In East-Europe
1) Federer
2) Djokovic
3) Nadal
4) .....
5) .....

On other continents? (South America, Asia....)

Discuss.
Click to expand...

No way Nadal and Borg are more popular than Agassi and Sampras in N.America.
 
Enceladus

Enceladus

Legend
tonylg said:
I'll take a punt at Australia:

Laver
Rosewall
Goolagong
Hopman
Emerson
Roche/Newcombe
Rafter
Barty
Hewitt
Cash
Stosur
Edberg
Federer
Cooper
Stolle
Fraser
Anderson
Philippoussis
Kyrgios
Court
Becker
Sampras
Lendl
Safin
Agassi
Nadal
Vilas
Wilander
Baghdatis
Tsonga
Click to expand...
Court is certainly not popular even in her homeland, due to her homophobic views.
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Pound for Pound (Mens), Top 5 across Eras.

1. Borg
2. Nadal
3. Federer
4. Agassi
5. McEnroe
 
Last edited:
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
tonylg said:
I'll take a punt at Australia:

Laver
Rosewall
Goolagong
Hopman
Emerson
Roche/Newcombe
Rafter
Barty
Hewitt
Cash
Stosur
Edberg
Federer
Cooper
Stolle
Fraser
Anderson
Philippoussis
Kyrgios
Court
Becker
Sampras
Lendl
Safin
Agassi
Nadal
Vilas
Wilander
Baghdatis
Tsonga
Click to expand...
Looks like you just listed almost every player :p

I'll give it a try as an Aussie:

Federer
Nadal
Barty
Murray
Laver
Rosewall
Rafter
Serena
Clijsters
Agassi
Goolagong
Hewitt
Cash

There are quite a few names I have intentionally left off.

Djokovic for one, has never been popular here. If it was 5 years ago
Sharapova would be on there and very high on there but the doping ruined her. Aussies hate cheats.
Kyrgios has been left off for obvious reasons, his achievements don't equal his level of arrogance and drama. Whenever I mention him to friends and family they roll their eyes and say oh the ******* tennis player right?
Stosur has been left off, Aussie's just know she isn't the player she once was + the fact she has never been good on Australian soil. I went to the Stosur v Keys match in Brisbane this year and lets just say it wasn't booming with fans unlike Barty or even Tomljanovic and Gavrilova had.
Margaret Court has been left off because she's destroyed her image. Her tennis achievements are of course the exact same but you won't find anybody young who supports her or praise her as it's hard to differentiate rampant homophobia from ones achievements.
I added Clijsters to the list as she was known as Aussie Kim and was very popular when she was dating and engaged to Hewitt.
Baghdatis I don't quite get. Yes he was popular with fans from his country in Melbourne but same could be said of Nishikori who I know attracts a huge Japanese fanbase here in Brisbane during the Brisbane International and also at the AO. Same can be said for Osaka.
Others that i've removed from your list are more just because I don't think they are as mainstream and popular as the others, not that they shouldn't be but if you find a random on the street and ask them who Marat Safin is they'll shrug whereas they're going to know Federer or if they're Aussie even Kokkinakis or Tomic.
 
D

Deleted member 771911

Guest
Borg, Agassi, Federer, Nadal.

Going by the reception he receives wherever he goes, I'm adding Laver, too.

I am not sure about McEnroe. I think he was well known and infamous. I don't get the idea he was that popular with fans in comparison to Borg. Another poster pointed out McEnroe got booed playing Borg in his home town of NYC. That is something Nadal has managed to avoid, being cast as villain to Federer's hero. I even got the impression in Wimbledon '08 that the crowd were happy to see Nadal win. Same at AO '09.

True story- at my tennis club, (not mine, but I belong there!), if you ask kids who their favorite player is, this is in the UK, they all say....Nadal.
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Hitman said:
No way Nadal and Borg are more popular than Agassi and Sampras in N.America.
Click to expand...

Sampras was never truly beloved anywhere, even in America. He was grudgingly admired at best, while Agassi was treated as a rock star by American audiences.

I do think you can make a case for Nadal being more popular/beloved with American fans than Sampras. The whole Fedal thing is a global phenomenon, and that includes America. You can argue Federer being more popular, but Nadal gets almost as much affecton everywhere he goes as well.

I wouldn't argue Nadal being more liked than Agassi in America though.
 
PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
Some players are reviled as much as they are popular. So I'm avoiding them.

So my list (and it is mine, but hopefully reflects a national sense)

Rosewell - my grandparents and parents spoke of him with huge affection.
Goolagong-Cawley
Ann Jones
Wade
Evert
Borg
Goran
Kournikova
Henman
Clijsters
Federer
Nadal
 
Hitman

Hitman

Bionic Poster
octogon said:
Sampras was never truly beloved anywhere, even in America. He was grudgingly admired at best, while Agassi was treated as a rock star by American audiences.

I do think you can make a case for Nadal being more popular/beloved with American fans than Sampras. The whole Fedal thing is a global phenomenon, and that includes America. You can argue Federer being more popular, but Nadal gets almost as much affecton everywhere he goes as well.

I wouldn't argue Nadal being more liked than Agassi in America though.
Click to expand...

I lived in America in the 90s, so I speak from first hand experience. Sampras was massive, and unless you lived in the States in 90s you will never truly know. He had a rocket pack on his back after USO 90, I saw this whole thing unfold, he was very popular. The only thing was Agassi was more popular than him due to his flamboyant style.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
PDJ said:
Some players are reviled as much as they are popular. So I'm avoiding them.

So my list (and it is mine, but hopefully reflects a national sense)

Rosewell - my grandparents and parents spoke of him with huge affection.
Goolagong-Cawley
Ann Jones
Wade
Evert
Borg
Goran
Henman
Clijsters
Federer
Nadal
Click to expand...
Solid list I must say my friend. A little Brit-centric but wouldn't expect anything else ;) And I would add Laver along with Goolagong. Also can't say I know or have even heard of Ann Jones but i'm now going to be doing some reading up on her!
 
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PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
Aussie Darcy said:
Solid list I must say my friend. A little Brit-centric but wouldn't expect anything else ;) And I would add Laver along with Goolagong. Also can't say I know or have even heard of Ann Jones but i'm now going to be doing some reading up on her!
Click to expand...
I did say ''national''.
:)
Ann Jones will be a good read.
Also world champion in another sport!
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Hitman said:
I lived in America in the 90s, so I speak from first hand experience. Sampras was massive, and unless you lived in the States in 90s you will never truly know. He had a rocket pack on his back after USO 90, I saw this whole thing unfold, he was very popular. The only thing was Agassi was more popular than him due to his flamboyant style.
Click to expand...
If i grabbed 10 people from Canada differing in ages... more people would know Sampras than Rafa.
 
Frenchy-Player

Frenchy-Player

Hall of Fame
Nadal is very popular, i was in the crowd at the F.O people during the day of his birthday; and people spontaneously singing, encouraged him while he was crushing Nishikori .
 
Hitman

Hitman

Bionic Poster
Lleytonstation said:
If i grabbed 10 people from Canada differing in ages... more people would know Sampras than Rafa.
Click to expand...

I can understand and accept that Rafa is globally more popular than Pete, but no chance is he more popular State side. US was looking for someone to take over after McEnroe and Connors were pretty much done, and the Europeans were dominating tennis in the late 80s more with Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Wilander and co leading the way. I also remember how they thought Agassi might be the guy at RG 90, Chang had won in 89 they were not convinced in him that much at that point, Chang grew in popularity from around 93 onwards. Agassi failed to win RG 90, then it was all about the USO and we had Sampras v Agassi final, that was when Sampras was anointed as the number one guy.

I remember the media coverage went crazy, Pete was everywhere. The next US hope had arrived. Agassi started to take over during that lull that Pete had between USO 90 and W 93, but after he won W, he exploded on the US scene...This guy has NEVER lost under the lights at NYC, and the fans knew it and cheered on even harder. I saw his entire career State side, and I have seen what the following generations have done. Pete was huge in the US.
 
Terenigma

Terenigma

G.O.A.T.
My answer is by no means official but i'm gonna go with what i consider to be the most referenced/talked about players since i first got into tennis in the early 90s

1) Federer
2) Agassi
3) Borg
4) Nadal
5) McEnroe
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Terenigma said:
My answer is by no means official but i'm gonna go with what i consider to be the most referenced/talked about players since i first got into tennis in the early 90s

1) Federer
2) Agassi
3) Borg
4) Nadal
5) McEnroe
Click to expand...
But no Sampras? Most referenced to me would be Sampras until maybe about 2010 or so when Rafa And Fed kind of took that spot. But I also did not start watching till late 90;s.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
PDJ said:
Maria Bueno deserves a mention in terms of popularity in Brazil. She had ticker tape parades, her face on stamps, roads named after her. They even put up frigging statues!

Her funeral was practically a State Funeral.
Click to expand...
Not to take away from this and I’m sure Maria Bueno was iconic but the same can be sad for many individuals from nations that weren’t tennis powerhouse. I remember the huge fanfare in Romania after Halep won her first slam. Puerto Rico basically named Monica Puig as a national icon after delivering them their first Olympic gold. Ostapenko was heralded in Latvia after her RG triumph. Li Na single-handedly boosted tennis in China.
 
Terenigma

Terenigma

G.O.A.T.
Lleytonstation said:
But no Sampras? Most referenced to me would be Sampras until maybe about 2010 or so when Rafa And Fed kind of took that spot. But I also did not start watching till late 90;s.
Click to expand...

Being brutally honest? No. Sampras was a great player and when i would watch tv coverage of events they are clearly aware of his greatness and it's not like he was ignored but he just didn't get the same air-time as Agassi did. I never really understood why some players who are less successful get such promotion whilst others do not and now i believe it was because some stars were better looking or more charming in interviews ect and thus more marketable for tv audiences.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Lleytonstation said:
But no Sampras? Most referenced to me would be Sampras until maybe about 2010 or so when Rafa And Fed kind of took that spot. But I also did not start watching till late 90;s.
Click to expand...
Have to agree with @Terenigma here. Despite Sampras holding the total slam count, Agassi was the bigger name. I've spoken to friends and my parents and Agassi was the far more famous one and more well known. Whether that is the Brooke Shields marriage, marrying GOAT Steffi Graf, i'm not sure. But for non tennis observers, Agassi is more well known and popular than Sampras.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Aussie Darcy said:
Have to agree with @Terenigma here. Despite Sampras holding the total slam count, Agassi was the bigger name. I've spoken to friends and my parents and Agassi was the far more famous one and more well known. Whether that is the Brooke Shields marriage, marrying GOAT Steffi Graf, i'm not sure. But for non tennis observers, Agassi is more well known and popular than Sampras.
Click to expand...
Oh I agree on Agassi. More popular then Sampras, but if I was making a top 5 list Sampras would have to be on it, especially when talking about pure referencing.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Lleytonstation said:
Oh I agree on Agassi. More popular then Sampras, but if I was making a top 5 list Sampras would have to be on it, especially when talking about pure referencing.
Click to expand...
Hmm ok well your list (which is all males and i'm not making a sexist point just genuinely curious if people think there are female players who would feature on a top 5 most popular list with men, would be interested to know)), so you're saying you'd have both Sampras and Agassi?
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
KG1965 said:
My observation tells me that in North America:

1) Federer
2) Connors
3) McEnroe
4) Nadal
5) Borg
Click to expand...
Strongly disagree here! The omission of Agassi is a sin. Prior to 2006, the top 3 in America would be Agassi, Mac and Borg. Connors had as much hate as he did love. Someone like Stan Smith was more popular in the 70’s than Nadal is today. Sampras was also more popular than Nadal today.

Since Agassi retired, Fed is clearly #1.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Aussie Darcy said:
Hmm ok well your list (which is all males and i'm not making a sexist point just genuinely curious if people think there are female players who would feature on a top 5 most popular list with men, would be interested to know)), so you're saying you'd have both Sampras and Agassi?
Click to expand...
My list would be:

Federer
Serena
Agassi
Sharapova
Sampras
Mac

If we are talking worldwide recognition based on name value and nothing else. People are likely to know those 5 people regardless of how they feel about them. Now, if you are under 25, that list might start to change.
 
Terenigma

Terenigma

G.O.A.T.
Lleytonstation said:
Oh I agree on Agassi. More popular then Sampras, but if I was making a top 5 list Sampras would have to be on it, especially when talking about pure referencing.
Click to expand...

Who would you remove from my list to replace him with tho? It's pretty tough to place Sampras in that top 5 if you have to remove one of the others in terms of popularity and who most people would know by name. Also i saw your most recent post and if we're including WTA then i would argue that Sharapova is above Federer lol
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Terenigma said:
Who would you remove from my list to replace him with tho? It's pretty tough to place Sampras in that top 5 if you have to remove one of the others in terms of popularity and who most people would know by name.
Click to expand...
Maybe Nadal. Many of my friends (in their thirties) have no clue who he is. Also, while Borg was hugely popular, I think others have passed him.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Lleytonstation said:
My list would be:

Federer
Serena
Agassi
Sharapova
Sampras
Mac

If we are talking worldwide recognition based on name value and nothing else. People are likely to know those 5 people regardless of how they feel about them. Now, if you are under 25, that list might start to change.
Click to expand...
Was trying to find a way to disagree with this but I think i 100% agree?

Federer and Serena are obviously right. Agassi had the Hollywood drama and was very popular. Sharapova was a gorgeous blonde and many straight men knew her, while i do think the doping scandal hurt her, she probably is maybe more than Kournikova was in the early 2000's. Sampras and Mac i'm not sure of. Both huge names but others I can think of, over them but maybe thats a nationality thing. Someone like Venus resonates more for me than Sampras.
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Hitman said:
I lived in America in the 90s, so I speak from first hand experience. Sampras was massive, and unless you lived in the States in 90s you will never truly know. He had a rocket pack on his back after USO 90, I saw this whole thing unfold, he was very popular. The only thing was Agassi was more popular than him due to his flamboyant style.
Click to expand...
I saw Pete and Andre play from the time they were both juniors. Pete was never, ever as popular as Andre. Their marketing portfolios tell us that, but so does fan support while watching their matches.

Pete has great crowd support when playing any non-American, sure. If he played Nadal, it would be 90-10 for Sampras. But when playing Andre on American soil, it was 60-40 Andre. More so after 1998.
 
Hitman

Hitman

Bionic Poster
BeatlesFan said:
I saw Pete and Andre play from the time they were both juniors. Pete was never, ever as popular as Andre. Their marketing portfolios tell us that, but so does fan support while watching their matches.

Pete has great crowd support when playing any non-American, sure. If he played Nadal, it would be 90-10 for Sampras. But when playing Andre on American soil, it was 60-40 Andre. More so after 1998.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. It is clear Agassi was the most beloved of them, but if there is a list of top five in the US, I would most certainly put Pete on there, after Agassi of course.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Aussie Darcy said:
Was trying to find a way to disagree with this but I think i 100% agree?

Federer and Serena are obviously right. Agassi had the Hollywood drama and was very popular. Sharapova was a gorgeous blonde and many straight men knew her, while i do think the doping scandal hurt her, she probably is maybe more thaan Kournikova was in the early 2000's. Sampras and Mac i'm not sure of. Both huge names but others I can think of, over them but maybe thats a nationality thing. Someone like Venus resonates more for me than Sampras.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I just think you are more popular these days thanks to globalization. So Borg, Mac, and Connors might have been even more popular in today's era, but we will never know.

My list is based on if you asked say 100 people from the ages of 20-80, these would be the most recognizable names.
 
RaulRamirez

RaulRamirez

Legend
BeatlesFan said:
I saw Pete and Andre play from the time they were both juniors. Pete was never, ever as popular as Andre. Their marketing portfolios tell us that, but so does fan support while watching their matches.

Pete has great crowd support when playing any non-American, sure. If he played Nadal, it would be 90-10 for Sampras. But when playing Andre on American soil, it was 60-40 Andre. More so after 1998.
Click to expand...
My impression/experience as well, even if it was as much due to style over substance (relatively, as Agassi was also, or certainly became, a substantial player) and "image is everything".
 
HetTheGreaterer

HetTheGreaterer

Banned
KG1965 said:
The feeling is that (as in every other sport) every continent has a different impression.

My observation tells me that in North America:
1) Federer
2) Connors
3) McEnroe
4) Nadal
5) Borg

In West-Europe
1) Federer
2) Borg
3) Nadal
4) Laver
5) McEnroe

In East-Europe
1) Federer
2) Djokovic
3) Nadal
4) .....
5) .....

On other continents? (South America, Asia....)

Discuss.
Click to expand...
Feder
Agassi
/Thread
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Agassi is right up there with the other most popular tennis players in history. Pete achieved much more but Agassi always had more fan following in their playing days.
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Hitman said:
I lived in America in the 90s, so I speak from first hand experience. Sampras was massive, and unless you lived in the States in 90s you will never truly know. He had a rocket pack on his back after USO 90, I saw this whole thing unfold, he was very popular. The only thing was Agassi was more popular than him due to his flamboyant style.
Click to expand...


No one is saying Pete wasn't extremely famous and well supported. But as far back as 2010, Rafa was getting the "Rock Star" treatment from American Tennis fans, typically reserved for Agassi and Borg. The article below talks about Rafa in New York in 2010, with throngs of girls screaming his name and long lines of fans waiting to meet him. I think Rafa had the looks and on court swag that made him more of a rock star for American fans than Pete. But maybe you are right, and I'm underestimating the adulation Pete recieved.

www.telegraph.co.uk

US Open 2010: adulation proves Rafael Nadal is beginning to conquer America

They were queuing down Fifth Avenue to see the new US Open champion. Never again should it be said that America is ambivalent about Rafael Nadal, as when he arrived at the Nike Town store there was already a poster filling the front window which declared “Vamos Rafa – Won All Four”.
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

I think Rafa's popularity in general is sometimes underestimated (relative to Fed), because the media has always had a bigger hard-on for Federer, and their coverage always slants toward him (and Fed's fans spam and bot popularity contest polls more than any fanbase). But when you look at social media following, Nadal has the biggest in mens Tennis, which in objective terms, would make him most popular player in the mens game today, not Federer.

Even I'm sometimes brainwashed by the Pro-Federer media coverage. But at the very least Federer and Nadal are equally popular, with a real claim to Nadal being more popular based on social media following.
 
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