In the same year, winning consecutive French Open and Wimbledon was the most difficult challenge in the history of tennis?
Historically, only a handful of players have achieved this feat, and the reason is obvious: although both are held in Europe, the dates of the two Grand Slams are very close (two weeks before 2015, expanded to three weeks since 2015), and there is a huge difference in venue types and play styles.
Today, we look back at which players have won the French Open and Wimbledon doubles in the same season, why this is an extremely difficult achievement to achieve, and who has the ability to become the new double in the future.
Why is it so difficult to reach back-to-back tops at Roland Garros and Wimbledon?
First of all, the difference in the type of clay and grass court means that the playing style is very different. Paris' clay balls are slow and heavy, suitable for players who are good at running, playing powerful topspins, and prefer multi-shot rounds; Wimbledon grass is fast and has low bounce, and players who are good at serving the net and have strong forehands and serves tend to be able to thrive.
Secondly, the two Grand Slam tournaments are only three weeks apart, and winning a Grand Slam comes at a huge physical cost. After seven best-of-five or best-of-three matches, the energy and fitness of the players are running out. It was even more difficult to get 14 wins in a row over a period of seven weeks (not including the grass warm-up match in the middle).
In addition, after the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, most players will choose to take a break. But after a short break at the end of the French Open, it takes a lot of mental courage to jump straight onto a flight to London.
Rod Laver and Björg Borg: Pioneers of the Francoon double
In 1969, Rod Laver became the first person to win the French Open and Wimbledon double. Admittedly, tennis was just entering its second year of the Open era, and the sport was still largely in its infancy.
The real winner of the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year was Sweden's Björg Borg. Incredibly, Borg accomplished this feat three times in a row between 1978 and 1980. Moreover, Borg came close to winning four consecutive doubles – in 1981, Borg won the French Open and reached the Wimbledon final, but lost to John McEnroe in the final four sets.
Entering the era of the Big Three, miracles began to reappear
In the nearly three decades since Borg, no one else in men's tennis has unlocked this achievement. It wasn't until 2008 that another king could replicate Borg's achievements and become the French Open-Wimbledon double.
In fact, with the change of Wimbledon grass in 2002 and the continuous improvement of racket and line technology, it is only a matter of time before tennis regains a double title. Gone are the days when two Grand Slam conditions were so different – now all-rounders can win in both Grand Slam tournaments.
The first double since Borg was the king of clay, Nadal, who finally broke through in 2008 after losing twice to Federer in the final of Wimbledon, and the victory over Federer became a matchup in history, and Rafa lifted the Wimbledon trophy for the first time.
Soon after, Federer achieved the same feat in 2009, and 12 years later, in 2021, Djokovic also caught up with Feiner, and the Big Three all unlocked the same season to win consecutive French Open and Wimbledon.
In the WTA, even the French Open and Wimbledon are also extremely rare
In the history of women's tennis, only six women have won consecutive French and Wimbledon wins. Margaret Court, Billy Jean King and Evert won doubles in 1970, 1972 and 1974 respectively, and Graff achieved the Golden Slam feat in 1988. Almost a decade later, Navratilova achieved it twice.
The last WTA to do that was Serena Williams Jr., who won both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2002 and 2015. In a 2015 interview, Serena said that in a matter of weeks, to win two Grand Slams on two very different venues, he needed to control himself on the court and not "lose his mind".
Perhaps the most important statistic of the difficulty of winning French Open and Wimbledon in the same year is the total number of Grand Slam titles for these doubles – none of the 10 players has fewer than 10 Grand Slam titles.
Who can become the French Open-Wimbledon double in the future?
Looking at the current tennis world, who else is capable of accomplishing it besides Deyo? Alcaraz is widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded players out there. While the Spaniard is more comfortable on clay, having won seven clay-court titles, he also has a chance to reach deep rounds at Wimbledon. His best finish at Wimbledon was the round of 16, and as his skills and psychology continue to mature, Alcaraz has a good chance of reaching a double title in the future. In addition, Sinner and Rune also have the potential to challenge this achievement.
In women's tennis, Swiatek has won three French Opens and one US Open, and she is still in the learning stage of playing on grass after she is very dominant on clay. The grass strength of Lebakina and Sabalenka is not at all inferior to the Poles. The competition in the women's singles arena at Wimbledon this year will surely be much fiercer than at the French Open.