THE HISTORY OF THE GRAND SLAM

However, this year Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the semifinals of Roland Garros. As a result, no player will win the Grand Slam this year.

The Grand Slam is the feat of winning all four major tournaments -- Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open -- in a single season. These four tournaments were chosen because they were organized by the first four nations to win the Davis Cup until 1974: Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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The term “Grand Slam” was first used in 1933 by New York Times journalist John Kieran. He made an analogy with the game of bridge, stating that if Australian Jack Crawford won the U.S. tournament after victories in Australia, France and England, it would be like scoring a Grand Slam in bridge.

Over the course of more than 90 years, only five tennis players have achieved a Grand Slam. Don Budge (1938), Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Smith Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) are the illustrious names on this list.

Many have come close, including Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, but have failed at the final hurdle.

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Variants of the Grand Slam also exist. The Small Slam or virtual Grand Slam refers to winning all four Slam tournaments consecutively in two years. The Career Grand Slam means winning all four Slam tournaments at least once in a career. Golden Grand Slam means winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the gold medal at the Summer Olympics. The Super Slam is the highest achievement, indicating victory in all twelve Grand Slam events-singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in all four tournaments.

Doris Hart, the first tennis player in history to win the Super Slam

There is also the Super Slam, which consists of winning all twelve Grand Slam events (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in all four tournaments), a feat achieved by only three female tennis players in history-Martina Navratilova, Margaret Smith Court, and Doris Hart.