The Channel Slam is winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year. In the Open Era, six men have done it — Rod Laver, Björn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz — along with seven women. It is not an official achievement. It has no trophy and no governing-body recognition. It is simply the name the sport has given to the toughest three weeks on the calendar.
Why is it called the Channel Slam?
The name comes from the English Channel, the stretch of water separating France and England — and therefore separating Roland Garros from the All England Club. Win in Paris, cross the Channel, win in London.
It is an informal term. Neither the ATP, the WTA nor the ITF recognises it as a title, and no player has ever been handed anything for completing it. But the sport has settled on the phrase because the feat needed a name, and because a player who wins both in one summer has done something the record books make plain is rare.
Every men’s Channel Slam of the Open Era
| Year | Player | French Open final opponent | Wimbledon final opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Rod Laver | Ken Rosewall | John Newcombe |
| 1978 | Björn Borg | Guillermo Vilas | Jimmy Connors |
| 1979 | Björn Borg | Víctor Pecci | Roscoe Tanner |
| 1980 | Björn Borg | Vitas Gerulaitis | John McEnroe |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | Roger Federer |
| 2009 | Roger Federer | Robin Söderling | Andy Roddick |
| 2010 | Rafael Nadal | Robin Söderling | Tomáš Berdych |
| 2021 | Novak Djokovic | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Matteo Berrettini |
| 2024 | Carlos Alcaraz | Alexander Zverev | Novak Djokovic |
Nine occasions, six men. Borg is the only player to have done it three times, and he did so in consecutive years. Nadal is the only other man to have done it more than once.
Every women’s Channel Slam of the Open Era
| Year | Player | French Open final opponent | Wimbledon final opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Margaret Court | Helga Niessen | Billie Jean King |
| 1971 | Evonne Goolagong | Helen Gourlay | Margaret Court |
| 1972 | Billie Jean King | Evonne Goolagong | Evonne Goolagong |
| 1974 | Chris Evert | Olga Morozova | Olga Morozova |
| 1982 | Martina Navratilova | Andrea Jaeger | Chris Evert |
| 1984 | Martina Navratilova | Chris Evert | Chris Evert |
| 1988 | Steffi Graf | Natasha Zvereva | Martina Navratilova |
| 1993 | Steffi Graf | Mary Joe Fernández | Jana Novotná |
| 1995 | Steffi Graf | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
| 1996 | Steffi Graf | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
| 2002 | Serena Williams | Venus Williams | Venus Williams |
| 2015 | Serena Williams | Lucie Šafářová | Garbiñe Muguruza |
Twelve occasions, seven women. Graf has done it four times, more than any player of either sex. Navratilova and Serena Williams have each done it twice.
Two of these carry a curiosity. Billie Jean King beat Evonne Goolagong in both finals in 1972, and by the same scoreline each time. Chris Evert beat Olga Morozova in both of hers in 1974.
Counting both draws, thirteen players have completed the Channel Slam in the Open Era.
Why is the Channel Slam so difficult?
Three reasons, and they compound each other.
The surfaces are opposites. Clay is slow and high-bouncing, rewarding patience, heavy topspin and long rallies. Grass is fast and low-bouncing, rewarding the serve, flat hitting and short points. The footwork is different. The court positioning is different. Historically, the players who mastered one were poorly equipped for the other.
The gap is barely three weeks. Roland Garros ends in early June. Wimbledon begins at the end of the month. A player who goes deep in Paris arrives at SW19 with almost no grass-court preparation and a body that has just absorbed a fortnight of five-set clay-court tennis. Until 2015 the gap was two weeks, which made it harder still.
The champion is a target. Winning Roland Garros brings a stretch of attention, obligation and expectation that arrives precisely when a player needs rest and quiet practice.
The gap of almost three decades between Borg’s last double in 1980 and Nadal’s first in 2008 tells the story. It closed partly because Wimbledon’s grass was changed in 2002 to produce a slower, higher bounce, and partly because racket and string technology narrowed the gulf between the surfaces. The all-court player became viable. The specialist did not.
Who has come closest without doing it?
The near-miss list is as instructive as the honors board.
Chris Evert won Roland Garros and reached the Wimbledon final in 1979, 1980 and 1985 — and lost all three, twice to Martina Navratilova and once to Evonne Goolagong. Three Channel Slams, three finals, none completed.
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario went one worse. In 1995 and then again in 1996 she reached both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals, and in all four she ran into Steffi Graf.
Jasmine Paolini joined the same club in 2024, reaching both finals and losing both.
The pattern is consistent. Getting to both finals in one summer is achievable for a genuine all-court player. Winning both is a different order of problem.
How does the Channel Slam relate to the other Slams?
It is one of several unofficial terms the sport uses for major achievements, and it is worth keeping them straight.
A maiden Slam is a player’s first major title.
A Career Grand Slam is winning all four majors at some point across a career, in any order and over any number of years.
A calendar-year Grand Slam is winning all four in a single season. Any player who does that has, by definition, also completed a Channel Slam along the way — which is why Rod Laver in 1969 and Margaret Court in 1970 appear on the list above.
The Channel Slam is narrower than all of them. Two tournaments, one summer, two opposite surfaces.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Channel Slam in tennis? Winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year. The name refers to the English Channel, which separates the two tournaments.
Is the Channel Slam an official achievement? No. There is no trophy and no governing-body recognition. It is an informal term the sport uses.
Who has won the Channel Slam? Six men in the Open Era — Rod Laver, Björn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz — and seven women: Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.
Who has won the Channel Slam the most times? Steffi Graf, four times. Björn Borg holds the men’s record with three, all consecutive.
Why is the Channel Slam so hard? The two tournaments are played on opposite surfaces — slow clay and fast grass — with only about three weeks between them, leaving almost no time to adapt.
Has anyone won the Channel Slam and the calendar Grand Slam in the same year? Yes. Rod Laver in 1969 and Margaret Court in 1970 both won all four majors, which necessarily includes the Roland Garros–Wimbledon double.
