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1
Roger Federer
Born
Roger Federer is the bridge between the two grass eras. Early on he served and volleyed, beating Pete Sampras that way at Wimbledon in 2001; later he won mostly from the baseline with a precise first serve, taking the ball early and stepping in to finish at the net. Light footwork on a slippery surface and a sliced backhand that stayed low helped him to a record eight Wimbledon singles titles.
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Martina Navratilova
Born
Martina Navratilova was the most complete serve-volleyer the women's game has produced. Her left-handed slice serve dragged opponents wide, she was at the net before the return arrived, and her athleticism and fitness, unusual for the time, let her cover the angles. She won nine Wimbledon singles titles, six of them in a row from 1982 to 1987, and 20 Wimbledon titles in all.
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Pete Sampras
Born
Pete Sampras won seven Wimbledon titles in eight years, from 1993 to 2000, with the most reliable serve of the fast-grass era. He could hit the same ball toss for a flat serve out wide, down the middle or a kicker, so returners could not read it, and he followed it with sharp first volleys. On the old, faster Wimbledon grass that was close to unplayable.
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Novak Djokovic
Born
Novak Djokovic mastered modern grass from the baseline. His return neutralised big servers, and his ability to slide on grass, once thought impossible, let him defend wide balls and reset rallies. He also learned to serve well under pressure, saving two championship points against Roger Federer in the 2019 final. He has won Wimbledon seven times.
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Serena Williams
Born
Serena Williams had the best serve in women's tennis, and on grass, where a low, skidding ball is hard to return, it was decisive. She paired it with a heavy return that attacked second serves, so most of her points lasted only a few shots. She won Wimbledon seven times between 2002 and 2016, often serving her way out of trouble in close sets.
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Steffi Graf
Born
Steffi Graf won Wimbledon seven times with a combination that suited fast grass perfectly: a huge inside-out forehand and a low, skidding sliced backhand that opponents had to dig out from around their ankles. Her speed let her run round the backhand to hit forehands from almost anywhere. In 1988 her Wimbledon title was part of the Golden Slam, all four majors plus Olympic gold.
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Rod Laver
Born
Rod Laver won Wimbledon four times, in 1961 and 1962 as an amateur and in 1968 and 1969 as a professional, with wooden rackets on very fast grass. As a left-hander he swung serves wide on the ad court, came forward and finished with angled volleys, and his topspin backhand gave him passing shots few of his peers had. Three of the four majors were then played on grass, so grass skill shaped his two calendar Grand Slams.
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Margaret Court
Born
Margaret Court used her height, long reach and strength to dominate at the net, at a time when three of the four majors were played on grass. Her serve-volley game won her Wimbledon in 1963, 1965 and 1970, the last as part of a calendar Grand Slam. She won 24 Grand Slam singles titles in all, still the women's record, though many came before the Open era.
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Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King built her game around attacking the net, chipping and charging on returns and volleying with authority, which made her ideal for the fast grass of the 1960s and 1970s. She won six Wimbledon singles titles and 20 Wimbledon titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Her tactical aggression is still a model for club doubles players.
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John Newcombe
Born
John Newcombe's big, heavy serve and solid first volley were built for grass. He won Wimbledon in 1967, the last year before the Open era, and again in 1970 and 1971, and he was also one of the great doubles players with Tony Roche. His matches show the basic grass pattern at its clearest: serve hard, close the net and put the volley away.
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Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Evonne Goolagong Cawley moved across grass so smoothly that she seemed to glide, reaching balls early and finishing points with touch volleys. She won Wimbledon in 1971 and again in 1980, becoming the first mother to win the title since 1914. Her game shows that grass rewards movement and timing as much as raw power.
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Björn Borg
Born
Björn Borg was a clay-court baseliner who taught himself to win on fast grass. He improved his serve, sometimes followed it to the net, and relied on topspin passing shots and outstanding speed against serve-volleyers. The result was five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976 to 1980, including the 1980 final against John McEnroe with its famous fourth-set tie-break.
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John McEnroe
Born
John McEnroe's game was pure touch on fast grass: a left-handed serve from an unusual side-on stance that swung wide, and volleys angled away with very soft hands. He won Wimbledon in 1981, ending Borg's run, and again in 1983 and 1984, a season in which he won 82 of his 85 matches. His doubles record, with Peter Fleming, is just as impressive.
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Boris Becker
Born
Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985 at 17, unseeded, with a huge serve and diving volleys that made the grass look made for him. He won again in 1986 and 1989 and reached seven finals in all. His serve, nicknamed Boom Boom, was the start of the power era, and his willingness to dive for volleys showed how aggressive net play could be on low-bouncing grass.
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Stefan Edberg
Born
Stefan Edberg served with a high-kicking serve that gave him time to reach the net, then volleyed as smoothly as anyone has. On grass the kick serve stayed awkward for returners and the volley did the rest. He beat Boris Becker in the Wimbledon finals of 1988 and 1990, in a three-year run of finals between them, and is regarded as one of the purest serve-volleyers of all.
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Pat Cash
Born
Pat Cash won the 1987 Wimbledon title by serving and volleying on almost every point, beating Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final, then climbing through the crowd to his family's box, a celebration now copied by others. His aggressive net game and quick reflexes were ideal for the faster grass of the 1980s, though injuries limited his career afterwards.
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Richard Krajicek
Born
Richard Krajicek's huge serve and athletic volleying won him the 1996 Wimbledon title, and on the way he beat Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals, Sampras's only defeat at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000. Krajicek, 1.96 metres tall, served at a sharp downward angle that made the ball skid away on grass. That fortnight showed how one great serving player could beat anyone on fast courts.
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Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević had one of the greatest left-handed serves, angled wide on both sides and so fast that he once hit more than 200 aces in a single Wimbledon. He lost three finals there in the 1990s, then in 2001, ranked outside the top 100 and given a wildcard, won the title by beating Pat Rafter in a five-set Monday final. Few stories show better how far a serve alone can carry a player on grass.
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Venus Williams
Born
Venus Williams's long reach and fast serve, once clocked at 129 miles per hour at Wimbledon, made her a natural on grass. She could cover the court in a few strides, turn defence into attack and close at the net. She won Wimbledon five times, in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008, and her 2005 final against Lindsay Davenport, won after saving a championship point, is one of the best women's finals there.
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Andy Murray
Born
Andy Murray grew into one of the best modern grass players through his return, variety and defence: low slices, lobs and passing shots that made attackers hit one more ball. In 2012 he won Olympic gold at Wimbledon; in 2013 he became the first British man to win the singles title there since Fred Perry in 1936, and he won it again in 2016. He also won Queen's Club five times.
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Tim Henman
Born
Tim Henman never won Wimbledon, but he is one of the clearest examples of classic serve-volley craft in the transition years. He chipped and charged, volleyed with soft hands and reached four Wimbledon semi-finals between 1998 and 2002. The slower grass introduced from 2001 suited baseliners more than him, which makes his matches a useful lesson in how conditions shape a style.
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Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová's left-handed serve swung away from right-handers' backhands, and her flat, early groundstrokes left little time on grass. When she was on form, points lasted only a few shots. She won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, the second final against Eugenie Bouchard in under an hour, and retired in 2025.
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Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty brought old-fashioned variety to modern grass: a sliced backhand that stayed very low, an accurate serve, and a willingness to come forward and volley that her doubles background gave her. On a surface where a skidding slice is hard to lift, that mix was ideal. She won Wimbledon in 2021, fifty years after her mentor Evonne Goolagong Cawley first won it, and retired as world number one in 2022.
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Elena Rybakina
Born
Elena Rybakina has one of the best serves in women's tennis, with a smooth, repeatable action that produces both pace and accuracy, and grass rewards it more than any other surface. Her flat groundstrokes give opponents little time after the serve. She won Wimbledon in 2022 and has since added major titles on hard courts, which shows how the same first-strike skills translate.
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