The Lowest Ranked Tennis Champions in History

Following his remarkable victory at the Shanghai Masters, Valentin Vacherot became the lowest-ranked player to lift a Masters 1000 title. But who are some of the other players to defy the odds on their way to tennis greatness?

10. Iga Swiatek: French Open 2020

Now I know what you’re thinking: How can Iga Swiatek winning Roland Garros be considered one of the greatest shocks in tennis history? This was only Swiatek’s second year on tour, and while she came into professional tennis off the back of a promising junior career, very few expected her to win a Slam so quickly.

Ranked 54th in the world, Swiatek dominated the competition, defeating world number 1 and 2018 Roland Garros champion, Simona Halep, in the last 16, before going on to defeat Australian Open champion, Sofia Kenin, in the final.

Swiatek didn’t drop a set in the tournament, losing no more than five games in any match she played. It was a clear sign of things to come for Swiatek at Roland Garros, who currently has more titles than losses on the French Open clay.

9. Gustavo Kuerten: French Open 1997

Much like Swiatek, Gustavo Kuerten would go on to have vast success at Roland Garros, but in 1997, when he came into the tournament ranked 66th in the world, he was relatively unknown.

No man from Brazil had ever won a Grand Slam before, but Kuerten, making only his second Grand Slam appearance, showed immense class. Dazzling the Roland Garros crowd with his idyllic one-handed backhand and infectious on-court demeanour.

Kuerten took out the two previous French Open champions on his way to a historic victory. He would go on to become one of Roland Garros’ greatest champions, winning it twice more and reaching #1 in the world.

 

8. Victoria Mboko: Montreal Masters 2025

One of our more recent additions, Victoria Mboko stunned the world of tennis when she battled her way to victory at the Montreal Masters. Aged only 18, Mboko started 2025 ranked outside the world’s top 300; a string of impressive performances saw her enter Montreal ranked 85th.

Mboko pulled off a number of impressive comebacks throughout the tournament, showcasing nerves of a player far beyond her years. She defeated three Grand Slam champions in Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina on her way to the final before adding a fourth when Naomi Osaka also fell to the talented teenager.

Victory saw Mboko rise to 24th in the world and firmly announced her as a star for the future.  

7. Chris O’Neil: Australian Open 1978

In 1978, Chris O’Neil became the first unseeded woman of the Open Era to win a Grand Slam. O’Neil came into the tournament 111th in the world and defeated the American 8th seed Betsy Nagelsen in straight sets in the final.

It was perhaps one of the weakest Grand Slam lineups in history, which was acknowledged by O’Neil, with none of the world’s top 20 participating. Nevertheless, O’Neil’s victory was a remarkable achievement given her ranking.

This victory remained O’Neil’s only venture past the third round of a Slam and saw her reach a career high of 80. She was the last Australian woman to win the title until Ash Barty lifted the trophy in 2022.

6. Goran Ivanisevic: Wimbledon 2001

Easily one of the most famous entries on this list, Goran Ivanisevic’s Wimbledon triumph goes down as one of the great sporting lessons in never giving up on your dreams. For over 12 years, Ivanisevic had been the nearly man of the ATP tour, reaching three Wimbledon finals, losing two of them in five sets.

Coming into the 2001 tournament, Ivanisevic had either been knocked out in the first round or failed to reach the last five Grand Slam tournaments. Ranked 125th in the world and aged nearly 30, Ivanisevic’s best was considered well behind him.

Due to his low ranking, he had to rely on a wildcard to enter the tournament, but once he stepped onto the fabled grass, he looked like a man on a mission. A number of top players would fall to the ruthless serving and volleying as Ivanisevic set up a fourth final against Pat Rafter.

In another gruelling five-set final, this time it was Ivanisevic who finally won what his heart most desired in one of sport’s greatest stories.  

5. Roberto Carretero: Hamburg Masters 1996

One of the most improbable victors on this list, Roberto Carretero was a complete unknown on the ATP circuit coming into the 1996 Hamburg Masters. After coming through qualifying, it looked as if his tournament might have been over in the first round before eventually scraping past Jordi Arrese.

After that, however, the world number 143 went on to beat a number of top names, including that year’s Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who would go on to win the French Open weeks later.

Carretero defeated fellow countryman Alex Corretja in four sets in the final (Masters finals were best of five sets until 2007) to complete one of the most improbable wins in tennis history. Carretero would finish his career at a high of 58th in the world and never made it past the second round of a slam.  

4. Emma Raducanu: US Open 2021

In what was only her second Grand Slam, Emma Raducanu made history as the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title and did so without dropping a set.

Raducanu had impressed at that year’s Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round, but nobody expected her first Grand Slam title to be so close around the corner.

Raducanu played with a flair and aggression that had no answer as she battled her way to one of the most improbable Grand Slam titles in history. Ranked at 150th in the world, she is still the lowest-ranked woman to ever win a Grand Slam.  

3. Borna Coric: Cincinnati Masters 2022

Following nearly a year on the side-lines after shoulder surgery, Borna Coric arrived in Cincinnati ranked 152nd in the world and was looking for a bit of rhythm over anything else.

Coric had long been recognised as a talent on the tour, but nobody could have predicted he would do what he did at Cincinnati, especially after spending so much time off court. In the second round, Coric defeated Rafael Nadal in a tight three-setter before making light work of Bautista-Agut, Auger-Aliassime and Norrie, setting up a final with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Coric showed no signs of nerves as he dismantled Tsitsipas in the final to become the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in history. A record that would stand until last week…  

2. Mark Edmondson: Australian Open 1976

Still to this day the lowest-ranked player to ever win a Grand Slam, Mark Edmondson came into the 1976 Australian Open ranked 211th in the world.

In only his third Grand Slam appearance, Edmondson fought off some of the greatest Australian tennis players of all time to claim his only major title. In the semi-finals, he defeated eight-time Grand Slam champion Ken Rosewall before locking horns with seven-time Grand Slam winner and defending champion John Newcombe in the final.

In an upset for the ages, Edmondson came from a set down to defeat Newcombe in four sets and claim his first and only Grand Slam title.

1. Valentin Vacherot: Shanghai Masters 2025

Perhaps the most improbable tournament victory in tennis history. Valentin Vacherot came into the Shanghai Masters with only 9 wins on the ATP tour. Over the course of his astonishing run in Shanghai, he doubled this.

Vacherot scraped through qualifying before knocking out a host of great players, including Alexander Bublik, Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune, before demonstrating just how serious his title challenge was with an astonishing semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic.

If this miraculous run was not enough, his opponent for the final would be his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, a man also making his debut in a Masters final.

Vacherot showed remarkably few nerves, coming back from a set down to win one of the most incredible Masters campaigns in history. Victory catapulted Vacherot 140 places in the rankings, from 204th in the world to inside the top 50. Truly one of the greatest underdog stories in sport's history.