Players Who have lost the most Grand Slam finals

There have been various players in the history of Tennis to triumph in Grand Slams in numerous occasions; and most of the ardent tennis fans are well aware of such facts. But, we are here to tell you that there are many unlucky losers in the four Grand Slam tournaments taking place every year. Such players might have sealed various Grand Slams, but also lost on numerous occasions in the Grand Slam finals.

We have chosen the following 7 players who have lost the highest number of Grand Slam final matches.

#7 Rafael Nadal

8 Grand Slam Finals

Rafael Nadal has 18 Grand Slam titles under his belt, but in addition to that he has accumulated 8 losses in Grand Slam finals. The latest loss was against Novak Djokovic at the 2019 Australian Open. It turned out to be a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 hammering at the hands of the Serbian. It is also the fourth time he has lost to Djokovic in a Grand Slam final.

#6 Andy Murray

8 Grand Slam final losses!

Andy Murray played in his first Grand Slam final in the 2008 US Open. He lost in straight sets to Roger Federer. In the more recent past, he lost to the Serbian World Number 1 Novak Djokovic at the French Open final in 2016.

The three time grand slam champion and one of the most consistent players until he became the world number number 1 in 2016, Murray is perhaps the one player in this list who has come perilously close to winning Majors but has just not been able to reach the finish line 8 out of 11 times.

#5 Novak Djokovic

9 Grand Slam final losses!

The current World No. 1 and also a 16-time Grand Slam holder, Novak Djokovic has 9 Grand Slam final losses to his name. Considered unlucky to be playing in an era dominated by Federer and Nadal, Novak Djokovic has emerged as the top player in recent times. The Serb had appeared in 25 Grand Slam finals and was beaten by some brilliant performances by his opponents in the nine finals. The last two being the most memorable by Stan Wawrinka in Roland Garros 2015 and US Open 2016.

#4 Roger Federer

11 Grand Slam final losses! 

Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer has appeared in a whooping 31 Grand Slam finals. Currently world number 3, the Swiss put his name up in the record books with some brilliant tennis. In an era that was dominated by him and Rafael Nadal, the sport witnessed a paradigm shift in terms of passion and following.

The Swiss has lost 11 Grand Slam finals, the last of which still stings the most. It came at the hands of Novak Djokovic who beat him in five sets. The match was the longest singles final in Wimbledon history. Federer lost despite being up two Championships points in the sixteenth game of the final set.

#3 Ivan Lendl

11 Grand Slam final losses!

One of the most dominant players in the 80’s and the early 90’s, Ivan Lendl has been described as one of the greatest Tennis players of all time. A holder of eight Grand Slam singles titles, the American originally from Czechoslovakia, reached at least one Grand Slam final for 11 consecutive years.

A game particularly relied on strength and a lot of topspin from the baseline, Lendl has helped in the inception in the modern era of ‘power tennis’. But he competed a record of 19 Grand Slam singles finals, and to seal the title only for eight times.

#2 Martina Navratilova

14 Grand Slam final losses!

One of the Greatest Women’s Tennis player of all time, Martina Navratilova sits at number two in terms of Grand Slam final losses. The Czech and American player was World No.1 for a total of 332 weeks in Singles. She also has a record 237 weeks in doubles. That makes her the only player in history of Tennis to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. She has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam Doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam Mixed-Doubles titles!  

She could have sealed way more than 18 Grand Slam Singles titles if not for her heart-breaking 14 losses in the finals of Grand Slams.

#1 Chris Evert

16 Grand Slam final losses!

Chris Evert had reached 34 Grand Slam singles finals. That is more than any player in the history of professional tennis. But, she wrapped up the Grand Slam tournaments only on 18 occasions and then lost on 16 occasions. Having a career winning percentage of 89, Chris Evert is most successful player in the history of Open Era. Yet, she holds the record for most Slam final losses in the Open Era!