Serena Williams and Andy Murray Compete to be Biggest Loser in Tennis

Novak Djokovic was knocked out shockingly early, leaving him unable to complete the calendar grand slam, but the most impressive statistic is still available for two of the biggest names in tennis: Andy Murray and Serena Williams are both in the race to be the biggest loser in tennis

For Andy Murray, his whole career has been leading to this moment. He’s lost eight out of his ten grand slam finals, but this is the first year in which he’s lost twice. This means the opportunity exists for him to lose the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open, thus fulfilling the calendar grand slam of losing. With his incredible record of losing finals throughout the years, he can truly seal his mark in history. Unfortunately for Murray, online sportsbooks in the UK reckon he is the favourite to win Wimbledon. However, he is an experienced Grand Slam final loser and can’t be discounted to throw his opportunity away.

Serena Williams has arrived at this opportunity from a very different direction. She, like Murray, has also lost the first two grand slam finals of the year. This is unusual for her, as despite winning twenty-one slams, before this year she had only lost four slam finals! She’s completed a non-calendar Grand Slam twice, and was two matches away from winning all four slams last year. She is odds on favourite to win at online sportsbooks, with Bet365 placing her as low at 1/4; However, as she plays Kerber (who beat her in the Australian Open final) in the Wimbledon final tomorrow, she is well placed to lose her third slam final of the year and come within one tournament of the prestigious position biggest loser in tennis.

Who is the reigning biggest loser in tennis?

While Andy Murray is indisputably the biggest loser in tennis, other players in history have put together more impressive sequences of consecutive grand slam final losses. His current coach Ivan Lendl was also one of the greatest losers, with eleven slam final losses, but his seven slam wins diminish this achievement. Jimmy Connors effectively completed the calendar slam of losses in 1975, but didn’t participate in the French Open.

There are, however, two women who have achieved the non-calendar slam of losing Grand Slam finals. Venus Williams lost the final of the 2002 French Open, followed by the finals of Wimbledon, the US Open, and then the final of 2003’s Australian Open. Incredibly, each one of those losses was to her younger sister Serena, who now has the chance to mirror her winnings feats with the title of biggest loser in tennis.

Probably the reigning biggest loser in tennis when it comes to women’s singles is Chris Evert, who completed the non-calendar slam of losing slam finals from the 1984 French Open to the 1985 Australian Open. This was part of a sequence of losing five slam finals in eight events. She (amid an admittedly successful career of winning slams) lost sixteen slam finals. If Serena loses to Kerber then Evert’s position as biggest loser in women’s tennis will be very much under threat. If you like to bet on sports in the US, this could add a fascinating angle to the upcoming US open!