In
tennis, a
Grand Slam is achieved when a
player wins all four major championships
in a
single discipline in the
same calendar year, sometimes known as a
'Calendar-
year Grand Slam' or
'Calendar Slam.'
In doubles, a team can win the Grand Slam by playing together, while an individual can win it by playing with different partners. A non-calendar-year Grand Slam is achieved by winning all
four major championships in a row but not in the same calendar year, whereas a
Career Grand Slam is achieved by winning all four majors at any point during one's career.
Grand Slam competitions, often known as majors, are the four most prominent yearly professional
tennis tournaments
in the
world. The tournaments give the highest ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the
strongest and
largest field, and the longest men's best of five sets match. Rather of the distinct men's and women's tour organizing bodies, the
Association of
Tennis Professionals
and
Women's Tennis Association, the
International
Tennis Federation oversees them, but both the
ATP and
WTA issue ranking points based on players' results in tournaments.
The
Australian Open is held in
January, the
French Open
is held in late
May and early
June,
Wimbledon is held in late
June and early
July, and the
US Open
is held in
August and
September. Each Grand Slam tournament lasts
two weeks.
The
Australian and
American tournaments are held on hard courts, whereas the
French event is
held on
clay, and
Wimbledon is held on
grass. The
oldest tournament is
Wimbledon, which was
inaugurated
in
1877, followed by the
US Open
in
1881, the
French Open in
1891, and the
Australian Open
in
1905, but none of them have formally dubbed majors until
1925.