Tennis has been transformed over the last five decades by TV, money, technology, equipment, fashion and politics. But through all of that, the players have remained at the heart of the game. As part of our golden anniversary celebration of the Open era, Tennis.com presents its list of 50 best players—the Top 25 men and the Top 25 women—of the last 50 years. You'll be able to view the entire list in the March/April issue of TENNIS Magazine.
(Note: Only singles results were considered; any player who won a major title during the Open era had his or her entire career evaluated; all statistics are through the 2018 Australian Open.)
Years played: 1995–2008
*Titles: 20
Major titles: 3 (French Open - 1997, 2000, 2001)*
Paris is magical in the springtime, they say, so it made sense that in May and June of 1997, Roland Garros would play host to the most enchanted two-week romp, and one of the most surprising and popular breakthroughs, in tennis history.
That spring, Kuerten, a lean, lanky, little-known 20-year-old from Brazil ranked 66th in the world, turned the City of Light into the city of infectious joy. By the time Guga had survived three straight five-set matches—two of them over French Open champions—the sport had a new, single-named star.
The locals took to his easygoing, loose-limbed mien; his bright, blue-and-yellow apparel and his heavy-hitting, smooth-sliding flair, which was highlighted by a powerfully looped one-handed backhand. This laid-back man of destiny would close out the tournament with a straight-set win over another former champion, Sergi Bruguera, and charm the tennis world one last time by spontaneously bowing to the man who handed him the winner’s trophy, six-time French champion Bjorn Borg.
When Kuerten’s career ended 11 years later, he was a legend in his own right. Guga would win two more French Opens and become the first South American to finish a season at No. 1, in 2000. He was also an underrated figure in the game’s evolution. As he slid and smiled his way through Roland Garros in ’97, Kuerten was carrying a secret weapon inside his Head racquet: Luxilon Original. This stiff polyester string let him swing for pace, while also generating the topspin needed to keep the ball in the court. Twenty years later, virtually everyone uses poly string, and virtually everyone rips the ball with the power and spin that Kuerten did in Paris. Unfortunately for Guga, he was also an early victim of the physical toll that the modern game takes on player’s bodies—multiple hip surgeries cut his prime short.
But Guga’s career was about more than evolution and equipment. It was also about love. During his run to a third title at Roland Garros, in 2001, he carved a heart in the clay and laid down inside it. He loved tennis, and tennis loved its single-named star right back.
Defining Moment: On his way to winning his third French Open, in 2001, Kuerten drew a heart in the clay with his racquet and laid down inside it. It was where Guga, the most contagiously joyful of players, spent most of his career—in the hearts of tennis fans everywhere.
Watch: Kuerten reflects on his 1997 French Open title