The Most Famous

TENNIS PLAYERS from Sweden

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 36 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 10th most number of Tennis Players behind Spain, and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Swedish Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swedish Tennis Players.

1. Björn Borg (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 72.93, Björn Borg is the most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 74 different languages on wikipedia.

Björn Rune Borg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈbjœːɳ ˈbɔrj] ; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his career, including eleven majors: six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimbledon. Borg was ATP Player of the Year from 1976 to 1980, the year-end No. 1 in the ATP rankings in 1979 and 1980, and the ITF World Champion from 1978 to 1980. A teenage sensation at the start of his career, Borg experienced unprecedented stardom and consistent success that helped propel the rising popularity of tennis during the 1970s. Between 1974 and 1981, Borg claimed 11 major singles titles, the most by any man in the Open Era up to that point. His rivalries with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe became cultural touchstones beyond the world of tennis, with the latter rivalry peaking at the 1980 Wimbledon final, considered one of the greatest matches ever played. Following defeats to McEnroe in the 1981 Wimbledon and US Open finals, Borg unexpectedly retired from tennis at the age of 25. He made a brief and unsuccessful comeback in 1991. Borg won four consecutive French Open titles (1978–81) and was undefeated in six French Open finals. He is the only man to achieve the Channel Slam three times. He won three major titles without losing a set during those tournaments. However, he never won the US Open despite four runner-up finishes. Borg also won three year-end championships and 16 Grand Prix Super Series titles. In 1979, Borg became the first player to earn more than US$1 million in prize money in a single season. Overall, he set numerous records, some of which still stand. Borg is widely considered one of the all-time greats of the sport, and was ranked by Tennis magazine as the sixth-greatest male player of the Open Era.

2. Mats Wilander (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 64.18, Mats Wilander is the 2nd most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Mats Arne Olof Wilander (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmats vɪˈlǎnːdɛr]; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 20 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 1988. Wilander won 33 career singles titles, including seven majors (three each at the French Open and Australian Open, and one at the US Open), and seven career doubles titles, including a major in men's doubles at Wimbledon. Wilander's breakthrough came suddenly and unexpectedly when he won the 1982 French Open at the age of 17. Wilander won his fourth major singles title at the age of 20, the youngest man in history to have achieved the feat. In 1988, he won three of the four singles majors to finish the year ranked as the world No. 1. Wilander also won eight Grand Prix Super Series titles (1983–88), the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. He was also a driving force behind Sweden's run of seven consecutive Davis Cup finals and three titles in the 1980s. Wilander is one of seven men to have won major singles titles on grass courts, hard courts, and clay courts since the feat became achievable in 1978 (when US Open was first played on hard courts). Wilander, Nadal, and Djokovic are the only men to have won at least two major singles titles on each of the three surfaces. Wilander retired from the sport in 1996. In 1983, Wilander won the Jerring Award. In 2002, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

3. Stefan Edberg (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 63.36, Stefan Edberg is the 3rd most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Jan Stefan Edberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstěːfan ˈêːdbærj]; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), one of two players in the Open Era to hold both positions (alongside John McEnroe). Edberg won 41 career singles titles and 18 doubles titles, including nine majors: six in singles and three in men's doubles. A major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, Edberg also won the 1989 year-end championships, led Sweden to four Davis Cup titles, and won four Masters Series titles and four Championship Series titles. After retirement, Edberg coached Roger Federer from January 2014 to December 2015.

4. Sven Davidson (1928 - 2008)

With an HPI of 58.66, Sven Davidson is the 4th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Sven Viktor Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam.

5. Lennart Bergelin (1925 - 2008)

With an HPI of 57.71, Lennart Bergelin is the 5th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Sven Lennart Bergelin (10 June 1925 – 4 November 2008) was a Swedish tennis player and coach. As a player, for AIK, Bergelin won nine Swedish championship singles titles between 1945 and 1955, and the French Open doubles title in 1948. Bergelin is best known for his work with Björn Borg, whom he trained between 1971 and 1983, helping him to win 11 Grand Slam tournaments. Bergelin also captained Sweden to its first Davis Cup title.

6. Anders Järryd (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 54.93, Anders Järryd is the 6th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Anders Per Järryd (pronounced [ˈânːdɛʂ ˈjæ̂rːyːd]; born 13 July 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles (three French Open, two Wimbledon, two US Open, one Australian Open), reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5. Järryd was born in Lidköping, Västra Götaland. He also played bandy in Lidköpings AIK, while growing up.

7. Gunnar Setterwall (1881 - 1928)

With an HPI of 54.37, Gunnar Setterwall is the 7th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Carl Gunnar Emanuel Setterwall (18 August 1881 – 26 February 1928) was a Swedish tennis player who won four Olympic medals. In 1908, he won a bronze in the men's indoor doubles, with Wollmar Boström. Four years later, he won three more medals. In the mixed doubles (with Sigrid Fick) and indoor doubles (with Carl Kempe) tournaments, he reached the final but lost both times. Sigrid Fick was also his partner in the mixed indoor event, and they won a bronze medal together. Setterwall's father, also named Carl, was a multimillionaire controlling much of the iron works during the development of railways in Scandinavia. His son followed in his footsteps, eventually taking over the family firm.

8. Ulf Schmidt (b. 1934)

With an HPI of 54.10, Ulf Schmidt is the 8th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ulf "Uffe" Christian Johan Schmidt (born 12 July 1934) is a former Swedish tennis player. He competed for AIK from Stockholm. He won 14 singles' tournaments, among them the International Swedish Championships in Båstad in 1957 and 1961. In 1958 he and Sven Davidson won the doubles event in Wimbledon after defeating the top seeds Ashley Cooper and Neale Fraser in the final. They were the only Swedish winners before the Borg era. His best singles result at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semifinal at the 1958 U.S. National Championships. Schmidt was unseeded and defeated third-seeded Ham Richardson in the fourth round before losing to first-seeded Mal Anderson in the semifinal. At the Wimbledon Championships he reached the quarterfinals in 1956 and 1957. Schmidt was ranked World No. 8 for 1958 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph (and No. 10 in 1961). He played 102 Davis Cup matches for Sweden (1955–1964) and won 66 of them.

9. Jonas Björkman (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 52.92, Jonas Björkman is the 9th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Jonas Lars Björkman (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjûːnas ˈbjœ̌rkman]; born 23 March 1972) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 in doubles, and also a former world No. 4 in singles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup doubles championships. As of 2019, he was ranked in the top 40 on the all-time ATP prize money list with over $14.5 million. As of July 2024 he is still in the top 50 of the all-time ATP prize money list. Björkman has had long-term successful doubles partnerships with Jan Apell, Jacco Eltingh, Nicklas Kulti, Max Mirnyi, Pat Rafter, Kevin Ullyett, and Todd Woodbridge. He has won the career Grand Slam in men's doubles, holding a total of nine major championships. In March 2015, he joined Andy Murray's coaching team. He has also coached the Swedish men's padel team.

10. Wollmar Boström (1878 - 1956)

With an HPI of 52.90, Wollmar Boström is the 10th most famous Swedish Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Wollmar Filip Boström (15 June 1878 – 7 November 1956) was a Swedish diplomat and tennis player. He competed at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics in singles and men's doubles and won a bronze medal in the doubles in 1908, finishing fifth in three other events. He was the son of Governor of Södermanland County Filip Boström and nephew to Prime Minister Erik Gustaf Boström. In 1903, he started working at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1909–13, he served as president of the Swedish Tennis Association, and in 1918–22, he was a cabinet secretary. From 1925 till 1945, he was the Swedish minister in Washington.

People

Pantheon has 36 people classified as Swedish tennis players born between 1878 and 1998. Of these 36, 30 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish tennis players include Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, and Stefan Edberg. The most famous deceased Swedish tennis players include Sven Davidson, Lennart Bergelin, and Gunnar Setterwall. As of April 2024, 7 new Swedish tennis players have been added to Pantheon including Lennart Bergelin, Ulf Schmidt, and Peter Lundgren.