20 Tallest Tennis Players of All Time (Men & Women)

Who would have thought that tall people make for great tennis players? It’s no coincidence that a good number of the world’s top-ranked professional tennis players are at least 6’2″ tall.

Are you curious to know who are the tallest tennis players to ever play on the field? I’ve got you covered.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the top 20 tallest male and female tennis players ever.

Top 15 Tallest Tennis Players Male

Read more about each of the top tennis player’s heights and their incredible achievements below.

1. Ivo Karlović – 6’11” / 211 cm

Ivo Karlovic is the tallest tennis player in history with a height of 6’11”, and he shares this jointly with Reilly Opelka.

Naturally, Ivo faces quite some difficulty in moving fast, which is why he always tries to serve at a blinding speed. This player holds the record of serving at a speed of 251km/h, which is the fourth fastest tennis serve to date. 

If there’s a player who can utilize his height properly, then Ivo is the one. This player managed to win about eight ATP titles, and that too in a short span of ten years only. Back in the Wimbledon of 2015, he managed to score at least 40 aces in three consecutive matches.

2. Reilly Opelka – 6’11” / 211 cm

Reily Opelka is a 6’11” tennis player who hails from Florida. This youngster is advancing with giant leaps. 

Reily had won against John Isner with a score of 3-1. To those of you who don’t know, John Isner holds the record of serving at a speed of 253km/h, which is also the fastest service in the history of tennis, at least officially. 

What helped Opelka win against John Isner was his consistency. Even though he can’t break the limits like Opelka, he sure can serve around 140mph consistently. This promising youngster also won two titles.

3. John Isner – 6’10” / 208 cm

John-Isner-Height
John Isner Height

John Isner is a 6’10” giant who comes from Dallas, Texas. This player holds the record of serving at a blinding speed of 253km/h. 

The best part about John Isner is that he can control the speed of the service very well. Each time you tune into a Grand Slam tournament, you’ll see him bombing the court with this fast service. 

Officially, John Isner holds the record of the fastest serves. However, there are two unofficial records faster than this. 

4. Jerzy Janowicz – 6’8″ / 203 cm

Jerzy Janowicz is a 6’8” Polish player who holds the record of one of the fastest serves in history. This beast starts the game off with a serve with a speed between 140 to 130 mph. In general, his serves range from 115 to 130 mph. 

Even though Jerzy couldn’t win any title, this player was ranked as the top 14th in the world back in 2013.

5. Dick Norman – 6’8″ / 203 cm

Dick Norman is a left-handed tennis player with a height of 6’8”. This Belgian player was a doubles specialist, and he managed to rank top 10 in the world when he was 39. 

He is one of the few who could reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam as a lucky loser, and this has set a record rivaled by only a few. 

6. Kevin Anderson – 6’8″ / 203 cm

Kevin Anderson is a 6’8” tennis player from Johannesburg. Back in 2017, this player managed to reach the finals of the Grand Slam, making him the tallest player to do so, and he had finished as the runner-up. 

His performance in the Wimbledon Championships of 2015 got him the ranking of number 5 in the world, which is also the highest-ranking of his career. He has six titles in his name. 

Related: Kevin Anderson Racquet Specification: What Racquet Does He Use?

7. Marc Rosset – 6’7″ / 201 cm

Being one of the fastest servers of the 90s’, Marc Rosset was a great tennis player in both singles and doubles. He’s also one of the tallest tennis players in history, standing at 6’7”. 

Rosset was the highest-ranked Swiss player, and he managed to hold his position until Roger Federer came around. 

Rosset has crowned this ranking after his amazing performance in the Barcelona Olympics, which was held back in 1992. He had won the gold medal in this tournament beating the concurrent world champions. 

In singles, his highest rank was no. 9, and in doubles, it was no. 8. 

8. Chris Guccione – 6’7″ / 201 cm

This Australian stands at 6’7”, making him one of the tallest tennis players. He is more of a doubles player, and this player has five ATP tours to his name.

Chris has also managed to rank as high as no. 38 in the world. 

9. Marin Cilic – 6’6″ / 198 cm

Marin Cilic, standing at 6’6”, is deemed as one of the most successful players from Croatia. Cilic had won the US Open back in 2014 when he had knocked Rodger Federer out.

Back in 2018, he had won the Davis Cup and had achieved the rank of no. 3 in the world. 

10. Sam Querrey – 6’6″ / 198 cm

Sam Querrey is the third American on this list, and this tennis star stands at 6’6”. He not only boasts one of the best serves, but he also holds the record of having the most consecutive aces, where he holds a record of 10. 

Querrey is an amazing sportsman, and he has 10 titles to his name. Back in 2018, this tennis player reached the career ranking of no. 11, which was also his highest achievement. 

11. Juan Martin Del Potro – 6’6″ / 198 cm

Juan Martin Del Potro is an Argentine tennis player who stands at 6’6”. This player started getting recognition from the international tennis society from his post-teenage. 

He not only serves fast and accurately, but he also has a firm forehand. His forehand is considered to be one of the best in the circuit. 

12. Victor Hănescu – 6’6″ / 198 cm

Victor Hănescu is a Romanian tennis player who stands at 6’6”. He had managed to earn the highest rank of number 26 in July 2009.

However, due to several injuries, his rank had fallen as low as 759. Once recovered, he started coming back, but couldn’t reach as high as before. 

13. Tomáš Berdych – 6’5″ / 195 cm

Hailing from the Czech Republic, this tennis player boasts a height of 6’5”. Tomáš turned pro only in 2002. Back in 2010, this promising tennis player managed to become one of the finalists of Wimbledon. 

14. Ryan Sweeting – 6’5″ / 195 cm

Ryan Sweeting is a tennis player from Nassau, and he stands at 6’5”. The only ATP title that he managed to win was at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships. They managed to win it by beating Kei Nishikori of Japan. 

15. Florian Mayer – 6’3″ / 191 cm

Florian Mayer is a retired German tennis player. Standing at 6’3”, this player managed to reach the highest ranking of no. 18 back in 2011. In the same year, he managed to win his first ATP title. 

Florian also defeated Rafael Nadal in the round of 16. This led him to win the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters. 


Top 5 Tallest Tennis Players Female

Keep scrolling to read more about each women’s tennis player’s height and their incredible ranks.

1. Eva Hrdinova – 6’3″ / 191 cm

Standing at 6’3″, the tallest female tennis player today is Eva Hrdinova. She is more suited for doubles than for singles.

She has managed to win about three singles and 19 doubles titles until now. Back in 2008, she was ranked number 55 in the world. 

2. Akgul Amanmuradova – 6’3″ / 191 cm

Ranked amongst the top 400, we have Akgul Amanmuradova as the 2nd tallest female tennis player standing at 6’3”.

Akgul hails from Uzbekistan and she has won two WTA doubles titles, as well as nine ITF singles. The highest rank he earned till now was 50, and it was back in 2008. 

3. Naomi Broady – 6’2″ / 189 cm

Standing at 6’2”, Naomi Broady stands as the third tallest female tennis player in the world. She’s only 30, and she has won nine singles titles and 19 doubles titles on the ITF circuit, and one WTA doubles title.

She has managed to achieve the highest ranking of 76 back in March 2016. And yes, she’s the elder sister of Liam Broady, another professional tennis player.

4. Lindsay Davenport – 6’2″ / 189 cm

Lindsay Davenport surely has one of the best serves in the women’s tennis circuit, and her 6’2” surely comes into play here.

Her height also allows her to slam with great power. This amazing player managed to hold the number 1 world ranking on four different occasions. 

5. Maria Sharapova – 6’2″ / 189 cm

Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova Height

Sharapova is one of the most popular female tennis stars of our time. Standing at 6’2”, this Russian tennis player is deemed as the most successful tennis player of all time.

Even though her later years were a bit bumpy, overall, she managed to pull off wonders.

Are Tall Tennis Players Better?

However, don’t conclude that a tall tennis player always performs better than short tennis players.

While the tall players can manage to serve at great speed and can decimate the opponents with their flat groundstrokes, they also face difficulty in moving, making them slower.

In fact, according to the latest statistics, no tennis player over the height of 6’4” has ever ascended to the top rankings of ATP.

Conclusion

Height isn’t everything when it comes to tennis, but it can surely get you an edge while serving and slamming.

This was a list of the tallest tennis players in the world, be sure to keep an eye on them during the next tournament!

Read More: Best Left-Handed Tennis Players of All Time

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