GOAT Index

Two legends at a time. Thousands of votes. One ranking.

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Roy Emerson: the case for the GOAT

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    Roy Emerson: the case for the GOAT

    Australia · Born 3 November 1936, Blackbutt, Queensland, Australia · Career 1951–1983

    Supremely fit Australian serve-and-volleyer who dominated the amateur game in the 1960s, winning majors in both singles and doubles across every surface.

    Career highlights

    Why Roy Emerson could be the GOAT

    Emerson won 28 major titles, more than any other man, and completed the career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles. He was part of eight Davis Cup-winning teams. His 12 singles majors stood as the men's record for over three decades, even if many rivals had turned pro and were unable to enter.

    What fans say

    Roy Emerson is #14 of 20 in the fan ranking, with a 0–2 head-to-head record from 52 Men's tennis votes. See the full Men's tennis GOAT ranking

    Roy Emerson head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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    Photo credits

      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.