Grand Slams Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open
The Four Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments Explained: Dates, Surfaces and Winners
Four tournaments decide how a tennis season is remembered. They have the biggest draws, the most ranking points and the largest prize money, and each one is played on its own terms, with hard courts in Melbourne and New York, clay in Paris, grass in London.
- Next Grand Slam
- 76days to the Australian Open, January 17, 2027
- Biggest cheque
- $5.5MUS Open singles champion, 2026
- Ranking points
- 2000for each singles champion
Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Gracchus250 (CC BY-SA 4.0); MFonzatti (CC BY-SA 4.0); Squeaky Knees from Cornwall, UK (CC BY 2.0); slgckgc (CC BY 2.0), all cropped.
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The four majors
What the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments are
Short answerThe Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Each is two weeks long, has 128-player singles draws for men and women, and is run by its national federation or, in Wimbledon's case, by the All England Club.
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Hard · Melbourne · since 1905
Australian Open
The first major of the year, played in the Australian summer on blue hard courts, with roofs over its three main stadiums for the heat.
Melbourne Park
- Next edition
- January 17 - 31, 2027in 76 days
- Last champions
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Clay · Paris · since 1891
Roland Garros
The French Open, the slowest surface of the four and the one where the same clay specialists win again and again.
Stade Roland Garros
- Next edition
- May 23 - June 6, 2027in 202 days
- Last champions
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Grass · London · since 1877
Wimbledon
The oldest tournament in tennis and the only major still on grass, with an all-white dress code and no sponsor boards on the grounds.
All England Lawn Tennis Club
- Next edition
- June 28 - July 11, 2027in 238 days
- Last champions
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Hard · New York · since 1881
US Open
The last major of the year, with the biggest stadium in tennis, the loudest night sessions and the largest prize money.
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
- Next edition
- August 29 - September 12, 2027in 300 days
- Last champions
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Stadium photos from Wikimedia Commons: Gracchus250 (CC BY-SA 4.0); MFonzatti (CC BY-SA 4.0); Squeaky Knees from Cornwall, UK (CC BY 2.0); slgckgc (CC BY 2.0).
In tennis, "Grand Slam" first meant winning all four national championships in one year, which Don Budge did in 1938, and over time the four tournaments themselves took the name. Today a "Grand Slam tournament" and a "major" mean the same thing, and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments are the fixed points every season is built around.
Each has its own guide: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. The courts are counted in how many courts Roland Garros has and how many courts there are at Wimbledon, the history in when tennis was invented, and the record champions in who has won the most Wimbledon titles.
Side by side
The four Grand Slams compared
Short answerTwo hard-court majors, one on clay, one on grass. Every major has a 128-player singles draw and the same scoring; what changes is the surface, the season and the size of the cheque.
Singles prize money of the latest edition (2026); bars compare the champion's cheque in US dollars at GBP 1 = $1.3399, EUR 1 = $1.1172, A$1 = $0.7025 (ECB reference rates, October 30, 2026). Capacities are approximate seat counts published by the venues.
Dates
When the Grand Slams are played
Short answerJanuary in Melbourne, late May into June in Paris, late June into July in London, and late August into September in New York. The next one is the 2027 Australian Open, January 17 - 31, 2027.
- Australian OpenJanuary 17 to January 31
- Roland GarrosMay 23 to June 6
- WimbledonJune 28 to July 11
- US OpenAugust 29 to September 12
The shortest gap is Paris to London: 3 weeks between the last day of one and the first of the next.
The four majors are spread so that each surface gets its own run-in. Melbourne comes after two weeks of hard-court events in Australia and New Zealand. Roland Garros caps two months of clay in Europe. Wimbledon follows three weeks after Paris, the shortest gap of the year and the reason the grass season is so compressed. The US Open ends the North American hard-court summer that starts in Washington in late July.
The next editions: the Australian Open January 17 - 31, 2027; Roland Garros May 23 - June 6, 2027; Wimbledon June 28 - July 11, 2027; the US Open August 29 - September 12, 2027. Every other tournament of the season, both tours, is on our tennis calendar.
Surfaces
Why each Grand Slam plays differently
Short answerGrass is fastest and keeps the ball low, clay is slowest with the highest bounce, and the two hard courts sit in between. Very few players win all four majors over a career.
Clay grabs the ball and throws it up, which rewards heavy topspin and the patience to build a point. Grass skids, so a big serve and a short point carry further, and the court changes over the fortnight as the baselines wear to bare earth. Hard courts are the most predictable of the three, and the two hard-court majors differ mostly in weather, with Melbourne's heat against New York's humidity and night sessions.
That is why a career Grand Slam, at least one title at each major, is rare. Carlos Alcaraz completed his at the 2026 Australian Open, aged 22. For how the courts themselves are built and how many each venue has, see our tennis courts guides.
Recent winners
Who has won the Grand Slams lately
Short answerThe last five editions of each major, men and women, with the players who won more than one of these titles marked. It updates as soon as a new champion is in the data.
Top line: men's championSecond line: women's champion×N next to a name: that player's titles among the 40 shown (three or more, marked once)
Most titles in this window: Carlos Alcaraz (7), Jannik Sinner (5), Iga Swiatek (5), Aryna Sabalenka (4).
Photos, cropped, from Wikimedia Commons: Carlos Alcaraz by 12121343A (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Elena Rybakina by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Jannik Sinner by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Madison Keys by Tatiana from Moscow, Russia (CC BY-SA 2.0, source); Aryna Sabalenka by Ocoudis (CC0 1.0, source); Novak Djokovic by AndrewHenkelman (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Rafael Nadal by Yann Caradec (CC BY-SA 2.0, source); Ashleigh Barty by Carine06 from UK (CC BY-SA 2.0, source); Alexander Zverev by Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0, source); Mirra Andreeva by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Coco Gauff by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Iga Swiatek by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Linda Noskova by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Barbora Krejcikova by Hameltion (CC BY-SA 4.0, source); Marketa Vondrousova by Jck.rhn (CC BY-SA 4.0, source).
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Format and points
How a Grand Slam works
Short answer128 players per singles draw, seven rounds, two weeks. Men play best of five sets, women best of three, and since 2022 a deciding set at 6-6 ends in a first-to-10 tiebreak at all four.
- First round128 players, 64 matches
- Second round64 players, 32 matches
- Third round32 players, 16 matches
- Fourth round16 players, 8 matches
- Quarterfinal8 players, 4 matches
- Semifinal4 players, 2 matches
- Final2 players, 1 match
- Champion1 player, 2,000 ranking points
Each singles draw has around 104 direct entries by ranking, 16 qualifiers and a few wildcards, and the top 32 players are seeded. A champion wins seven matches and earns 2,000 ranking points, twice a Masters 1000 title. Qualifying is played in the week before, with its own prize money, and doubles, junior and wheelchair events run alongside. Men play best of five sets and women best of three, a split with a long history that we trace in why women play three sets at the majors.
The tours do not run the majors; the four organizers do, through the Grand Slam Board, which is how a shared rule such as the final-set tiebreak can be agreed by four bodies at once.
Prize money
Grand Slam prize money
Short answerThe US Open pays the most: $5,500,000 to each singles champion in 2026. All four majors pay men and women the same in every round.
Australian Open 2026
- Champion$2.92MA$4,150,000
- Runner-up$1.51MA$2,150,000
- Semifinal$878KA$1,250,000
- First round$105KA$150,000
Roland Garros 2026
- Champion$3.13MEUR 2,800,000
- Runner-up$1.56MEUR 1,400,000
- Semifinal$838KEUR 750,000
- First round$97KEUR 87,000
Wimbledon 2026
- Champion$4.82MGBP 3,600,000
- Runner-up$2.41MGBP 1,800,000
- Semifinal$1.21MGBP 900,000
- First round$107KGBP 80,000
US Open 2026
- Champion$5.5M$5,500,000
- Runner-up$2.8M$2,800,000
- Semifinal$1.45M$1,450,000
- First round$140K$140,000
The latest singles champion's cheques were A$4,150,000 in Melbourne (about $2.92M), EUR 2,800,000 in Paris (about $3.13M), GBP 3,600,000 at Wimbledon (about $4.82M) and $5,500,000 in New York. The comparison board above puts them on one scale in US dollars.
The bigger story is lower down the draw. Each major has raised first-round and qualifying money much faster than the champion's cheque in recent years, so that a player ranked around 100 can fund a season from a few Slam appearances. Equal pay arrived in stages, with the US Open in 1973, the Australian Open in 2001 and Wimbledon last, in 2007. The full ladders are on each tournament page and in our tennis prize money guide.
The calendar Slam
Winning all four in one year
Short answerFive singles players have won all four majors in the same calendar year: Don Budge, Maureen Connolly, Rod Laver (twice), Margaret Court and Steffi Graf. Graf added Olympic gold in 1988.
The 2026 season: 4 of 4 majors played
- Australian Open
- Roland Garros
- Wimbledon
- US Open
Elena Rybakina has won 2 of the 4, Alexander Zverev has won 2 of the 4 played so far this season. A calendar Slam needs all four in one year, and none is in the data for the last five seasons.
- 1938
Don Budge
The first Grand Slam of all, Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles in one season.
- 1953
Maureen Connolly
The first woman to do it, at 18.
- 1962
Rod Laver
His first Grand Slam, won as an amateur.
- 1969
Rod Laver
The second, as a professional in the Open Era. Laver is the only player with two.
- 1970
Margaret Court
The first calendar Slam of the Open Era for women.
- 1988
Steffi Graf
All four majors and the Olympic singles title: the Golden Slam.
No singles player has done it since 1988. Records at each major, from most titles to longest matches, are collected on our records page, and the champions who won latest in life on our list of the oldest Grand Slam winners.
FAQ
Grand Slam tennis questions, answered
Short answerShort answers to what people ask most about the four majors.
What are the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments?
The Australian Open in Melbourne, Roland Garros (the French Open) in Paris, Wimbledon in London and the US Open in New York. They are the four oldest and biggest tournaments in tennis and the only ones called majors.
Are there five Grand Slams in tennis?
No, there are four. The Olympic tournament is sometimes added in conversation because a player who wins all four majors and Olympic gold in one year has a "Golden Slam", which only Steffi Graf has done, in 1988.
Has anyone won all four Grand Slams in one year?
In singles, five players: Don Budge in 1938, Maureen Connolly in 1953, Rod Laver in 1962 and again in 1969, Margaret Court in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988. No man or woman has done it since.
Which Grand Slam is the oldest?
Wimbledon, first played in 1877. The US Open followed in 1881, the French championships in 1891 and the Australian Open in 1905.
Which Grand Slam has the most prize money?
The US Open. In 2026 it paid $108M in total and $5,500,000 to each singles champion. Wimbledon paid GBP 3,600,000 (2026), the Australian Open A$4,150,000 and Roland Garros EUR 2,800,000.
Who won the last Grand Slam?
The 2026 US Open was won by Alexander Zverev and Elena Rybakina. The next major is the 2027 Australian Open, January 17 - 31, 2027.
What is the hardest Grand Slam to win?
There is no official answer, but the surfaces make each one a different test. Roland Garros on slow clay asks for the most physical tennis, and in the men's draw it means best-of-five sets on the surface where points last longest.
How many ranking points is a Grand Slam worth?
The singles champion earns 2,000 ranking points on both the ATP and WTA tours, twice as many as a Masters 1000 or WTA 1000 title.