TENNIS PLAYERS from Georgia

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Georgian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Georgian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Alex Metreveli (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 52.86, Alex Metreveli is the most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.

Alexander Irakliyevich Metreveli (Georgian: ალექსანდრე მეტრეველი, romanized: aleksandre met'reveli, pronounced [alekʰsandɾe metʼɾeveli]; Russian: Александр Ираклиевич Метревели ; born 2 November 1944) is a retired Soviet tennis player of Georgian background. He is an honorary citizen of Australia. His grandson Aleksandre Metreveli, also a professional tennis player, has represented Georgia in the Davis Cup. He was active from 1962 to 1980 and won 62 singles titles.

2. Leila Meskhi (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 39.63, Leila Meskhi is the 2nd most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Leila Meskhi (Georgian: ლეილა მესხი, romanized: leila meskhi, pronounced [leila mesχi]; born 5 January 1968) is a retired Georgian professional tennis player. Meskhi has won five singles and doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She has also won one singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 5 August 1991, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 12. On 10 April 1995, she peaked at No. 21 in the WTA doubles rankings. Her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament came when she got to the quarterfinals of the 1990 US Open, defeating Akiko Kijimuta, Natasha Zvereva, Katia Piccolini and Linda Ferrando before losing to eventual champion Gabriela Sabatini in straight sets.

3. Nikoloz Basilashvili (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 36.68, Nikoloz Basilashvili is the 3rd most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ბასილაშვილი, romanized: nik'oloz basilashvili, pronounced [nikʼoloz basilaʃʷili]; born 23 February 1992) is a Georgian professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 16 on 27 May 2019. He is currently the No. 1 Georgian player. In July 2018, he entered the main draw of the German Open in Hamburg as a qualifier and went on to win the tournament, defeating Leonardo Mayer in the final, thereby becoming the first Georgian player to ever win an ATP title. In October 2018, Basilashvili won his second ATP title at the China Open by defeating world No. 4 Juan Martín del Potro in the final. In 2019, Basilashvili completed his first title defense by winning the German Open for a second successive year.

4. Teymuraz Gabashvili (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 34.07, Teymuraz Gabashvili is the 4th most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Teymuraz Besikovich Gabashvili (Russian: Теймураз Бесикович Габашвили, IPA: [tɛɪ̯mʊˈraz ɡəbɐˈʂvʲilʲɪ]; born 23 May 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of World No. 43 achieved on 1 February 2016. He has reached the fourth round of the 2010 and 2015 French Open. On 18 November 2021, Gabashvili was banned from competition for 20 months after testing positive for furosemide.

5. Irakli Labadze (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 34.00, Irakli Labadze is the 5th most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Irakli Labadze (Georgian: ირაკლი ლაბაძე, romanized: irak'li labadze, pronounced [iɾakʼli labad͡ze]; born June 9, 1981) is a Georgian retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 42, which he attained in July 2004. He was the first Georgian player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier.

6. Anna Tatishvili (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 33.24, Anna Tatishvili is the 6th most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Anna Tatishvili (Georgian: ანა ტატიშვილი, romanized: ana t'at'ishvili, pronounced [ana tʼatʼiʃʷili]; born February 3, 1990) is a Georgian-American former professional tennis player. In her career, Tatishvili won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, 2014 at the Linz Open, partnering with Raluca Olaru. She also won eleven singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 8 October 2012, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 50. On 21 May 2012, she peaked at No. 59 in the doubles rankings. Her biggest achievement was a fourth-round appearance at the 2012 US Open, in which she was defeated by then-world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, in straight sets. At the 2015 US Open, Tatishvili soared through the qualifiers to face the world No. 8, Karolína Plíšková, in the first round of the main draw. Using her aggressive returns and dominant ground strokes, Tatishvili defeated the eighth seed in just 51 minutes. Competing for Georgia Fed Cup team, Tatishvili has a win–loss record of 10–3. She announced her retirement from tennis on 26 March 2020, citing recurring injuries.

7. Oksana Kalashnikova (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 28.30, Oksana Kalashnikova is the 7th most famous Georgian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Oksana Kalashnikova (Georgian: ოქსანა კალაშნიკოვა, romanized: oksana k'alashnik'ova, pronounced [okʰsana kʼalaʃnikʼova]; born 5 September 1990) is a Georgian professional tennis player. Kalashnikova has won six WTA Tour doubles titles and four doubles titles on the WTA Challenger Tour, as well as five singles and 25 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 5 July 2010, she reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 156, before suffering a lower back injury that led her to focus primarily on doubles. On 11 September 2023, she peaked at No. 42 in the WTA doubles rankings following a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon. Kalashnikova had a remarkable junior career, having won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 2005 at age 15, and peaked at No. 11 in the ITF junior world rankings. The following year she reached the US Open girls' singles semifinal, notably defeating Simona Halep in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion, Kristína Kučová. Playing for Georgia Fed Cup team since 2007, Kalashnikova has a win–loss record of 27–18 (as of November 2024).