Top 15 Tallest Men’s Tennis Players – These Are the Most Successful
Being tall in tennis means having a big serve, both powerful and precise, which is quite useful to win free points in the serving game, especially on fast surfaces.
However, it has its holdbacks like low reaction times, not enough speed, and difficulties to hit low balls.
When we look at the statistics of the most successful tennis players, the Big 3 have an average height of 6’1”. Perhaps this is the optimal height to achieve the perfect balance between having an effective serve & volley and a top-notch all-around game.
The tallest men’s tennis players, which we’ll discuss further in the article, didn’t achieve big titles historically, but there are some exceptions like Medvedev, Cilic, and Del Potro who have been particularly hard to beat having a complete playstyle.
Now, let’s dive into the Top 15 tallest male tennis players who have been successful in their careers.
To make it to the list, a player must at least:
- Have won one title in his career (singles or doubles)
- Or Have had a career-high ranking inside the Top 100
| Player | Country | US size | EU size |
| 1. Reilly Opelka | United States | 6’11” | 2.11m |
| 2. Ivo Karlovic | Croatia | 6’11” | 2.11m |
| 3. John Isner | United States | 6’10” | 2.10m |
| 4. Jerzy Janowicz | Poland | 6’8″ | 2.04m |
| 5. Kevin Anderson | South Africa | 6’8″ | 2.03m |
| 6. Dick Norman | Belgium | 6’8″ | 2.03m |
| 7. Marc Rosset | Switzerland | 6’7″ | 2.01m |
| 8. Chris Guccione | Australia | 6’7″ | 2.01m |
| 9. Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 6’6″ | 1.98m |
| 10. Marin Cilic | Croatia | 6’6″ | 1.98m |
| 11. Juan Martin Del Potro | Argentina | 6’6″ | 1.98m |
| 12. Sam Querrey | United States | 6’6″ | 1.98m |
| 13. Victor Hanescu | Romania | 6’6″ | 1.98m |
| 14. Milos Raonic | Canada | 6’5″ | 1.96m |
| 15. Tomáš Berdych | Czech Republic | 6’5″ | 6’6″ |
What Tall Men’s Tennis Players Are the Most Successful?
We will take the previous list and figure out the most successful ones.
What Tall Male Tennis Players Have the Highest Career Ranking?
| Player | Country | US size | EU size | Highest ATP Ranking |
| Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 1 |
| Marin Cilic | Croatia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 3 |
| Juan Martin Del Potro | Argentina | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 3 |
All of the three players above have played in a very competitive era, distinguished by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic eating titles for breakfast and leaving almost nothing for the others.
Yet, they all managed to get a Grand Slam title and Daniil Medvedev is still going stronger and not done yet.
Juan Martin Del Potro
Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro entered the Top 5 after his incredible success in US Open in 2009. Still, he reached his highest career ranking of world no.3 in 2018 after winning in Indian Wells his first Masters 1000 and attaining the Miami Open final.
Marin Čilić
A 2017 Wimbledon final followed by a 2018 Australian Open final helped Croatian Marin Čilić to reach his highest career ranking of world no.3.
Cilic benefited from the hip injury of Murray and the elbow injury of Djokovic to climb the ladder, and if not for the strong comeback of both Nadal and Federer, Marin Cilic could’ve become the World no. 1 in 2017.
Daniil Medvedev
The Russian sensation became the talk of tennis media after a breakthrough 2019 season, during which he won 2 Masters 1000 and reached his maiden Grand Slam final in New York.
However, following his first-ever Grand Slam title in the US Open 2021 over Djokovic in straight sets, he played another Major final in Melbourne losing this time to Nadal in an epic five-setter.
This contributed to Medvedev clinching the world no. 1 spot in Mexico, a sensational achievement for a player of his height.
What Short Male Tennis Players Have Won the Most Titles?
| Player | Country | US size | EU size | Singles Titles | Doubles Titles | Grand Slams |
| Juan Martin Del Potro | Argentina | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 22 | 1 | 1 |
| Marin Čilić | Croatia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 20 | 0 | 1 |
| John Isner | United States | 6’10” | 2.10m | 16 | 8 | 0 |
Juan Martin Del Potro
Del Potro is considered one of the most successful and impactful Argentinian tennis players. In his superb career, he won 22 Single titles, counting a Grand Slam and a Masters 1000.
He also helped his team win the Davis Cup in 2016.
Ultimately, injuries took the better of him leading him to retire in 2022.
Marin Čilić
Like Del Potro, Marin Čilić has won 1 Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati 2016 and 1 Grand Slam in the US Open 2014.
The total titles he’s achieved is 20, which is quite a good achievement considering the fact that he’s played all his career in the Big 3 era.
John Isner
The American giant has been successful in tennis. Even though he turned pro late, he still managed to win 16 Single and 8 Double titles.
John Isner was always a challenging player for the top dogs, but his powerful serve was not always enough to make it to the late stage of the Major tournaments.
However, Isner accomplished the unthinkable when he claimed a maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami by defeating Alexander Zverev in the final.
Overall, Isner’s career is not bad by any means. In terms of titles, he is among the “Giants” who won the most titles in tennis.
What Tall Male Tennis Players Have Won the Most Prize Money?
To begin with, we must address the fact that tennis pays a lot more over the years. For example:
- The US Open 1990 prize money for the winner was $350,000.
- In 2000, it was $800,000 for the winner.
- In 2010, it was $1.7 million for the winner.
- And in 2021, the winner took home $2.5 million before taxes.
This is a 714% increase in prize money in just 30 years! And pretty much the same happened to Masters 1000, 500, and 250 tournaments. Tennis has become very lucrative over the years.
| Player | Country | US size | EU size | Prize Money (US$) |
| Marin Čilić | Croatia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | $30 468 623 |
| Tomáš Berdych | Czech Republic | 6’5” | 1.96m | $29 491 328 |
| Juan Martin Del Potro | Argentina | 6’6″ | 1.98m | $25 896 046 |
| Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | $23 829 470 |
6’6” seems like the height limit for achieving higher prize money, which means being consistent throughout the season tournament after tournament.
Berdych and Del Potro are now retired players while Čilić is at the edge of his fruitful career.
Daniil Medvedev would definitely be the one with the most titles and the highest prize money by the end of his career knowing that he’s still young and going stronger each day.
To Sum It Up
Overall, this is what the list of the tallest men’s tennis players looks like adding the highest ATP ranking, the titles, and the prize money of each one’s career.
| Player | Country | US size | EU size | Highest ATP Ranking | Singles Titles | Doubles Titles | Singles Grand Slams | Prize Money |
| Reilly Opelka | United States | 6’11” | 2.11m | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | $10 160 232 |
| Ivo Karlovic | Croatia | 6’11” | 2.11m | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | $3 915 111 |
| John Isner | United States | 6’10” | 2.10m | 8 | 16 | 8 | 0 | $21 121 427 |
| Jerzy Janowicz | Poland | 6’8″ | 2.04m | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $3 762 321 |
| Kevin Anderson | South Africa | 6’8″ | 2.03m | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | $17 728 382 |
| Dick Norman | Belgium | 6’8″ | 2.03m | 85 | 0 | 4 | 0 | $2 019 581 |
| Marc Rosset | Switzerland | 6’7″ | 2.01m | 9 | 15 | 8 | 0 | $6 812 693 |
| Chris Guccione | Australia | 6’7″ | 2.01m | 67 | 0 | 5 | 0 | $1 761 876 |
| Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 3 | 20 | 0 | 1 | $30 468 623 |
| Marin Cilic | Croatia | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 3 | 22 | 1 | 1 | $25 896 046 |
| Juan Martin Del Potro | Argentina | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | $23 829 470 |
| Sam Querrey | United States | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 11 | 10 | 5 | 0 | $13 436 353 |
| Victor Hanescu | Romania | 6’6″ | 1.98m | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | $4 297 051 |
| Milos Raonic | Canada | 6’5″ | 1.96m | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | $20 218 982 |
| Tomáš Berdych | Czech Republic | 6’5″ | 1.96m | 4 | 23 | 2 | 0 | $29 491 328 |
Read Also: Top 10 Tallest Women’s Tennis Players – These Are the Most Successful
