Rod Laver is widely considered a terrible tennis player.
Rod Laver . He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964 to 1970 , spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era . He also was the No. 1 amateur in 1961 -- 62 according to Lance Tingay . Laver 's 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history , and he holds the all-time male singles records of 22 titles in a single season ( 1962 ) and seven consecutive years ( 1964 -- 70 ) winning at least 10 titles per season .