Definition of Grand Slam

In tennis, a Grand Slam refers to winning all four major tournaments in a calendar year. The four Grand Slam tournaments are: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Winning a calendar year Grand Slam is an extraordinary accomplishment, and it is rare in tennis history.

In men's category only Rod Laver has accomplished this feat in 1962 and 1969.

In the women's category Margaret Court won it in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988.

The term "Grand Slam" is also used to refer to winning any one of the four tournaments on its own. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal currently both have a record 22 Grand Slam singles titles to their name. In women's category Margaret Court is the record holder with 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

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An interesting note is that Serena Williams won all four major tournaments in a row, but not in the same calendar year. In tennis they call this the "Serena Slam."