International Tennis: The Four Grand Slams

The four Slams are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Together they use three surfaces. Two of them are hard courts.

Which surface does each Slam use?

• The Australian Open is played on hard courts in Melbourne.
• The French Open is played on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.
• Wimbledon is played on grass at the All England Club.
• The US Open is played on hard courts in New York.

Why does the surface matter?

• The surface changes how the ball bounces.
• A player who wins on all surfaces shows a complete game.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Hard, Clay, Grass, Hard”. The order follows the year: Melbourne, Paris, London, New York.

A Slam title gives 2,000 ranking points. A player’s ranking counts only the best results of the past year.

How many points does a Slam winner get?

• Grand Slams award 2,000 points to the winner.
• The ATP began its rankings in 1973.

How are rankings counted?

• A player’s ranking counts the best results of the last 52 weeks.
• In singles, it counts the best 19 tournament results in that period.

What is the record for Slam titles?

• Novak Djokovic won his 24th Slam at the 2023 US Open.
• That matched Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.

What is the memory hook?

Think “2,000 for a Slam, 24 for the record”. One number for points and one for titles.

The first Australian tournament was held in 1905. It was played on grass for most of its history.

When did it start?

• The first event took place in 1905 at a cricket ground in Melbourne.
• It was then called the Australasian Championships.
• Seventeen players entered the first men’s event.

When did it move to hard courts?

• The tournament stayed at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne until 1988.
• It moved to Melbourne Park in 1988.
• The playing surface changed from grass to hard court at that move.
• The Centre Court was renamed Rod Laver Arena in 2000.

What is the memory hook?

Think “1905 start, 1988 hard courts”. The tournament spent most of its life on grass.

The tournament is named after a French aviator, not a tennis player. In 2026 Carlos Alcaraz completed the career Slam.

Who was Roland Garros?

• Roland Garros was a French pioneer of aviation and a war hero.
• He was killed in action in the First World War.
• Paris’s new tennis stadium was named after him in 1928.

What is a career Slam?

• A career Slam means winning all four Slams at least once.
• Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the 2026 Australian Open final.
• He became the youngest man to complete the career Slam and won his seventh major.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Garros = aviator, 1928 stadium”. The name comes from a flyer, not a player.

Among the men, Alcaraz won in Melbourne. Zverev won in Paris and New York. Sinner won at Wimbledon.

Who won the men’s titles?

• Australian Open: Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 on 1 February.
• French Open: Alexander Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli. It was Zverev’s first Slam.
• Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner beat Zverev in the final on 12 July. It was his second Wimbledon in a row and his fifth Slam.
• US Open: Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2. It was his second Slam.

Who won the women’s French Open?

• Mirra Andreeva beat qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2.
• Andreeva is the youngest woman to win a major since Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open.

What was special about these finals?

• Chwalinska was the first qualifier of the professional era to reach the French Open final.
• Andy Roddick in 2003 is the last American man to win a major. Shelton could not end that wait.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Alcaraz AO, Zverev RG, Sinner W, Zverev USO”. Zverev appears twice in the list.

Which questions has this topic produced?

What do the answers show?

• The 2026 UPSC question is answered by statement 1 only (option c).
• Each Slam draw has 128 players: 104 direct entrants, 8 wild cards and 16 qualifiers.
• Simona Halep beat Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the 2019 Wimbledon final.
• Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 in the 2016 Australian Open final.

Which traps repeat?

• The Australian Open began in 1905 and stayed on grass until 1988.
• A Slam gives 2,000 ranking points to the winner.
• Djokovic and Court both hold 24 Slam titles.
• The French Open is named after an aviator.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Halep 2019, Djokovic 2016, Slam board 2026”. Each exam year has one player or one idea.