The Grand Slams are made up of the four major tennis tournaments: The Championships, Wimbledon, The French Open, The US Open and The Australian Open.

The term 'Grand Slam' originated from Don Budge's achievement of winning the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open in 1938. The distinguished American writer Allison Danzig suggested that like a successful bridge player, Budge had scored a 'Grand Slam' of victories in the four major tennis events in one calendar year.

The phrase gained use in common parlance and now is used to refer to the four most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. In 1989, the Grand Slams joined forces for the first time to form the Grand Slam Committee which, among other responsibilities, administers the Grand Slam rules.

Pete Sampras of the United States has won the most Gentlemen's Singles Grand Slams with 14 titles (7 Wimbledons, 5 US Opens & 2 Australian Opens), while Margaret Court of Australia has won the most Ladies' Singles Grand Slams with 24 titles (11 Australian Opens, 5 French Opens, 5 US Opens, 3 Wimbledons).

The 'Grand Slam' of all four of the Grand Slam events has been won by two players in the Men's Singles - Don Budge (USA) in 1938 and Rod Laver (AUS) in 1962 and 1969. Three players have won the Grand Slam in the Ladies' Singles - Maureen Connolly (USA) in 1953, Margaret Smith Court (AUS) in 1970 and Steffi Graf (West Ger) in 1988 - Steffi Graf also won a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 giving her a 'Golden Grand Slam'.

The Tennis Masters Cup, initiated in November 2000, is co-owned by the Grand Slams, the ITF and the ATP. It features the top eight men in the world, according to the ATP Champions Race, including the Grand Slam winners.

	The Australian Open The Australian Open is held at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia. www.ausopen.org
	The French Open The French Open is held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. www.frenchopen.com
	The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships are held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, England. www.wimbledon.org
	The US Open The US Open is held at Flushing Meadows, New York, USA. www.usopen.org

The Tennis Masters Cup

The Tennis Masters Cup The Tennis Masters Cup is held annually at the end of the year at different venues around the world. It involves the top eight players in the ATP rankings, as well as the top eight doubles teams. Book Tennis Masters Cup Tickets www.masters-cup.com