Oldest Grand Slam Title Winners

At the top of the Open Era list for Oldest Grand Slam Title Winners stands Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open aged 37 years and 62 days — the oldest recorded men’s singles Grand Slam champion of the Open Era. Rosewall defeated Mal Anderson in the final at Kooyong, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5, claiming his eighth and final Grand Slam singles title.

Rosewall dominates the top of this record: one year earlier, he had also won the 1971 Australian Open aged 36, beating Arthur Ashe 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 without dropping a set throughout the tournament. His 1972 triumph therefore remains the ultimate Grand Slam title-winning longevity milestone — not merely a late-career run, but a successful defence of a major title deep into his late thirties.

Behind him, the modern benchmark is Roger Federer, who won the 2018 Australian Open aged 36 years and 5 months, beating Marin Cilic in five sets to claim his 20th and final Grand Slam singles title. Close behind come Novak Djokovic, champion at the 2023 US Open aged 36 years and 97 days, and Rafael Nadal, champion at Roland Garros 2022 aged 35 years and 354 days, where he became the oldest men’s champion in French Open history.