Wimbledon has seen 22 different men’s singles champions so far in the Open Era. Many of the sport’s greatest-ever players have won the grass-court Major and there have been a few instances when they were considerably young at the time of their triumphs. On that note, let us take a look at the five youngest men’s singles champions in Wimbledon during the Open Era.
5 Youngest Men’s Wimbledon Winners in the Open Era
#5 Jimmy Connors- 21 Years, 307 Days
Jimmy Connors won two titles at Wimbledon during his career, the first of these coming in 1974, when he was just 21 years and 307 days old. Seeded third in the tournament, the American beat Ove Bengtson, Phil Dent, Adriano Panatta, Jaime Fillol, Jan Kodeš, and Dick Stockton before beating the experienced Ken Rosewall 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the final.
Connor’s second Wimbledon title came in 1982, when he triumphed 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4 over John McEnroe in the final. In addition to his wins, the American also reached another four finals at the grass-court Major.
#4. Lleyton Hewitt- 21 Years, 133 Days
Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon when he was at the peak of his career. The Aussie was the World No. 1 during the 2002 edition of the grass-court Major and reached the quarterfinals after straight-set wins over Jonas Björkman, Grégory Carraz, Julian Knowle, and Mikhail Youzhny.
Here, he edged out Sjeng Schalken 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(5), 1-6, 7-5 before triumphing 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 over Tim Henman to book his place in the final. The Aussie faced David Nalbandian in the championship match and bagged a dominant 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 win to clinch his second Grand Slam singles title.
#3. Carlos Alcaraz- 20 Years, 72 Days
Carlos Alcaraz became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion in the Open Era after his victory in 2023. The Spaniard entered the tournament after winning his maiden grass-court tournament at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Seeded first at the tournament, Alcaraz had to over come a few tough fixtures but managed to reach the final after defeating Jeremy Chardy, Alexandre Müller, Nicolas Jarry, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev. Here, he faced then-defending champion Novak Djokovic and got off to a shaky start, as the Serb won the first set 6-1.
However, Alcaraz gradually took control of the match after the opening set and eventually won a thrilling final 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win his maiden title at Wimbledon. The Spaniard successfully defended his title in 2024 by beating Djokovic in straight sets in the championship match.
#2 Björn Borg- 20 Years, 27 Days
Björn Borg won five successive Wimbledon singles titles during his illustrious career and the first of these came in 1976, when he was just 20 years and 27 days. The Swede produced a dominant display during the tournament and did not drop a single set.
Borg beat David Lloyd, Marty Riessen, Colin Dibley, Brian Gottfried, Guillermo Vilas, and Roscoe Tanner, before triumphing 6-4, 6-2, 9-7 over Ilie Năstase in the final. This was his third Grand Slam title, having previously won the French Open in 1974 and 1975. Apart from his Wimbledon triumph, Borg also won six titles at the French Open.
#1. Boris Becker- 17 Years, 28 Days
Boris Becker is the youngest Wimbledon champion and actually won two titles at the grass-court Major as a teenager. His maiden triumph at SW 19 came in 1985, when he was just 17 years old. He was even younger than the boys’ singles champion that year.
Becker was unseeded in the tournament and started with a four-set win over Hank Pfister. The German then thrashed Matt Anger 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 to register his only straight-set win of Wimbledon 1985. He edged out two seeded players in Joakim Nyström and Tim Mayotte to book his place in the quarterfinals.
Here, Becker beat Henri Leconte 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 before triumphing 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 over fifth seed Anders Jarryd to set up a title clash with eighth seed Kevin Curren. The German won the final 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-4 to win his maiden Grand Slam singles title.
Becker remains the youngest champion in Wimbledon history and was also the youngest Major singles champion before Michael Chang overtook him at the 1989 French Open.
