Fansided

14 best players to never win the French Open

By Nathaniel Reeves

25 May 1999: Pete Sampras of the USA in action during Round One of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Sampras won in 5 sets. \ Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill /Allsport
25 May 1999: Pete Sampras of the USA in action during Round One of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Sampras won in 5 sets. \ Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill /Allsport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 15
Next
Martina Hingis of Switzerland returns the ball Ekterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia during the Women’s Doubles Final during the WTA Tennis Open tournament final at the Foro Italico on May 15, 2016 in Rome.(Photo by Fabio Averna/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Martina Hingis of Switzerland returns the ball Ekterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia during the Women’s Doubles Final during the WTA Tennis Open tournament final at the Foro Italico on May 15, 2016 in Rome.(Photo by Fabio Averna/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

6. Martina Hingis 

Hingis put together a dominant run in the late 1990s, spending 209 weeks overall as the No.1-ranked singles player in the world and winning over 80 percent of her career matches. The French Open title just barely eluded her grasp twice.

The Australian Open was Hingis’ best event, as she won three straight singles titles in Melbourne from 1997-1999. Hingis added US Open and Wimbledon titles in 1997, giving her one of the best seasons by a women’s singles player ever. In 20 Grand Slam singles tournaments played between 1997-2001, Hingis would make at least the semifinals an incredible 17 times.

Roland Garros would keep Hingis from winning both the single-season Grand Slam in 1997 and accomplishing the feat for her career. Unlike some others, Hingis had career success on clay and made it to at least the French Open semifinals in five consecutive years, but the singles title win would never come.

As the top seed, Hingis lost in straight sets to Majoli in the 1997 final. She would get even closer two years later with a three-set defeat against Steffi Graf.

While Hingis hasn’t participated in a singles tournament since 2007, she has come out of retirement multiple times to find success in the doubles game and is one of 17 women with a career doubles Grand Slam. Hingis and Sania Mirza won the 2016 Australian Open doubles title and enter the French Open as favorites for the event.

Next: 5. John McEnroe

Home/French Open