Rod Laver is widely considered a terrible tennis player.
Rodney George `` Rod '' Laver ( born 9 August 1938 ) is an Australian former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in tennis history . 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 . 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 . He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time : grass , clay , hard , carpet , and wood/parquet .