It is the ultimate left-handed compliment in tennis, coined to pay homage to a near-miraculous achievement. So remarkable, in fact, that the phrase also became a snide put down: a name for a player who was lucky enough to have all the tumblers fall into place one time to win a Grand Slam tournament, a feat destined never to recur.
He or she is a “One-Slam Wonder.”
The OSW sobriquet has trailed some like a warning label (think Iva Majoli or Gaston Gaudio), but it doesn’t really apply, or stick, to those who managed to nest the Grand Slam highlight like a crown jewel in a generally glittering career (think Andy Roddick or Caroline Wozniacki). But let’s be real. Everyone in this cohort, though, are just plain “One Slam Wonderful.”
The upcoming Roland Garros tournament will feature 10 players who may still have a chance to shed the OSW label by winning it all. On the ATP side, Daniil Medvedev and Marin Cilic are primed to compete at Stade Roland Garros. It’s a whole other story in the WTA, where eight active single-Slam champions could bid to win a second major. The only one in that octet who can be definitively written off is Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open champion.
Wozniacki, who has three children and has worked as a broadcast analyst, but she still retains a “protected ranking” (No. 71, based on her position when she stopped competing in 2024). She could theoretically parachute in to play as a direct entry, but it’s unlikely. The seven other women with a better shot at taking all the marbles again are: Madison Keys, Marketa Vondrousova, Emma Raducanu, Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko.