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Historically speaking, doubles and mixed doubles draw far fewer crowds and offer much lower prize money compared to the singles competitions. With that being said, by no means does it mean that Doubles is a sport played by only those who couldn't succeed in Singles at first and view Doubles as a fail safe.
Neither is the widely held notion that Doubles is played by only those players who are past their prime or who are in their 30's true. US Open was the first Grand Slam to hold the Men's Doubles event in 1881 and Wimbledon followed in 1884.
Over the years, the competition and level of interest in Doubles has been on the ascendancy just like the Singles game albeit at a slower pace. Today, we have players in their early to mid-twenties make the switch over to Doubles trying to establish themselves as successful players in this format.
This was far and few in between in the older days especially when prize money across all formats including Singles were nowhere close to what players earn today. This may have been one of the factors for low interest in Doubles matches in olden days especially the Amateur Era.
Our topic of discussion revolves around 5 players who have won most Doubles titles of all-time and incidentally all the players have plied their trade in the Open Era.
#5 Tom Okker
Nicknamed, 'The Flying Dutchman', Tom Okker was the first Dutch tennis superstar who established a successful tennis career spanning 13 years from 1968 to 1981. Okker was one among a select group of elite tennis players who thrived in both the Singles and Doubles format. Ranked inside the top-10 of the Singles rankings for 7 years unbroken between 1968 to 1974, Okker made at least the semi-finals of all 4 Grand Slam tournaments in Singles.
In Doubles, he tasted more success especially at the Grand Slam level winning 2 Grand Slam Doubles titles at the 1973 French Open and 1976 US Open. He was the first Dutchman to top the Doubles rankings in 1969. Okker won 78 Doubles titles - a record which stood for 24 years until it was broken in 2005.
#4 John McEnroe
Stanford alumnus John McEnroe is a household name in tennis. The late 1970s and 1980s saw McEnroe assert himself as one of tennis' most prominent faces. Most people associate McEnroe with his Singles game and the terrific matches that he had with great rival Bjorn Borg. Few people, however, are aware of the fact that McEnroe is in fact one of the greatest Doubles players of all-time.
Known for his mercurial and maverick ways, McEnroe won a total of 78 Doubles titles and is the only player in the Open Era to have been ranked World Number 1 in Singles and Doubles categories.
McEnroe, one of the finest volleyers that the game has had, won 7 of his 9 Grand Slam Doubles titles with fellow American Peter Fleming. McEnroe's tally of 155 ATP titles (77 in Singles and 78 in Doubles) is the highest among Men in the Open Era.
#4 Todd Woodbridge
Tom Okker's record of having the most Doubles titles stood for 24 years and was eventually surpassed only in 2005 by Australian Todd Woodbridge. Todd Woodbridge along with fellow Australian Mark Woodforde (together known as the Woodies) were the most successful Doubles pair in the 1990s.
Woodbridge won a record 9 Doubles titles at the Wimbledon Championships. His final tally of 83 Doubles titles includes 16 Grand Slam Doubles titles - 11 of which came with Mark Woodforde and 5 with Jonas Bjorkman.
#3 Daniel Nestor
Recently retired tennis legend, Daniel Nestor is Canada's greatest tennis export. Nestor's career spanned 28 years from 1991 to 2018, and during those years he notched up 1062 wins. Nestor won an impressive 91 doubles titles.
Significant among them are 8 Grand Slam Singles titles, the Olympic Gold Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with Sebastien Lareau, and 5 ATP Finals trophies. Nestor was the first player in tennis history to win every single Grand Slam and Masters Series event, the Year End ATP Finals Championships and Olympic gold medal at least once in his career.
The popular Canadian Nestor won titles with 43 different partners, in 38 distinct countries - an all-time record in terms of wins in distinct countries.
#2 Bob Bryan
The southpaw among the Bryan twins - Bob Bryan's serve is undoubtedly the best that the Doubles game has ever had. Bob, the elder of the two by just two minutes, was forbidden from his parents in childhood from competing with his brother Mike.
While at Stanford University, Bob became the first man to complete the 'Triple Crown' of NCAA singles, doubles (with Mike) and team titles. Bob has won 116 Doubles titles (16 Grand Slam Doubles titles - 2 less than Mike). However, Bob has 7 Mixed Doubles titles to Mike's 4.
#1 Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan unlike his brother Bob, doesn't have a big serve. But he more than compensates for that by having exceptional predatory instincts which come in handy at the net. This makes him one of the best volleyers that the Doubles game has had.
The Bryans have won 16 Grand Slam titles together and are the only Doubles pair to lodge at least 1000 match wins together. The duo are the only doubles tennis players to have won all Grand Slams, all 9 ATP Masters 1000 titles, ATP Finals as well as the Olympic Gold.
An injury to Bob in the middle of 2018, meant that Mike had to pair up with another partner for the first time at Grand Slams. Mike forged a hugely successful partnership with Jack Sock and the duo won 5 titles including 2 Grand Slam titles in 2018. Mike has thus won 5 more Doubles titles than Bob and currently has 121 titles. Mike is also the current World Number 1, the oldest to be be ranked so at the 40.
