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Who Magnus Carlsen said was the greatest tennis player of all time

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Dec 4, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Only three answers generally come up when tennis fans debate over who the greatest of all time is on the men’s side.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are widely considered the three best to ever do it, with the trio of stars each boasting 20 or more Grand Slam titles.

All three players have a case for the GOAT title, though the majority of tennis fans believe Djokovic, the all-time leader in major titles, has the best case.

As well as tennis stars and pundits, many big names from other walks of life have weighed in on the debate, including Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

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Magnus Carlsen’s pick for the greatest tennis player of all time

As per KhelNow, when Carlsen was asked who his ‘GOAT’ was, he responded: “Djokovic, it was after the (2023) Australian Open that he became the greatest for me.”

Djokovic equalled Nadal’s then-record tally of 22 Grand Slam titles when he won the 2023 Australian Open.

Choosing between Nadal and Federer, Carlsen then said: “Probably Federer, but I always identified more with the way Nadal plays.”

Djokovic has a winning record against Nadal, but both the Serb and the Spaniard lead their respective head-to-heads with Federer.

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Novak Djokovic’s career achievements

Djokovic has collected a total of 101 titles during the course of his legendary career, the third most of all time, trailing only Federer and Jimmy Connors.

24 of those are Grand Slams, which is a record in men’s tennis, and a joint record with Margaret Court on the women’s side.

In addition to his success at majors, Djokovic has held the position of world number one for a record total of 428 weeks.

He has won 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and also clinched an Olympic gold medal in 2024, the one prize that had eluded him for his entire career.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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