TENNIS PLAYERS from Croatia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Croatian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Croatian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Croatian Tennis Players.

1. Nikola Pilić (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 64.05, Nikola Pilić is the most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Nikola "Niki" Pilić (born 27 August 1939) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight. Pilić was ranked world No. 6 in January 1968 and world No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.

2. Goran Ivanišević (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 62.37, Goran Ivanišević is the 2nd most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Goran Ivanišević (Croatian pronunciation: [ɡǒran iʋanǐːʃeʋitɕ]; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including the 2001 Wimbledon Championships. He is the only player to win a Wimbledon singles title as a wild card, achieving the feat while ranked world No. 125. He had previously been runner-up at Wimbledon in 1992, 1994, and 1998. Ivanišević was known for his powerful left-handed serve, and for almost two decades held the record for most aces at Wimbledon with 1,377 (before Roger Federer broke it in 2019). He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020. Following his playing career, Ivanišević coached Marin Čilić from September 2013 to July 2016, leading Čilić to a major title at the 2014 US Open. He then coached Novak Djokovic from 2019 to 2024, leading Djokovic to nine major titles. He shortly coached Elena Rybakina in 2025, before ending the partnership due to Rybakina's troubled relationship with her ex-coach Stefano Vukov.

3. Željko Franulović (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 58.44, Željko Franulović is the 3rd most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Željko Franulović (Croatian pronunciation: [ʒêːʎko franǔːloʋitɕ]; born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005. Whilst his career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 30, the ATP rankings were installed after his 1969–1971 heyday – Franulović was ranked inside the top 20 in both 1970 and 1971, reaching as high as world No. 8 in March 1971. Finalist of the 1970 French Open and winner in Monte Carlo the same year. His singles career lasted 20 years from 1963 to 1983 in which he won 23 career titles.

4. Jelena Dokic (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 58.42, Jelena Dokic is the 4th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Jelena Dokic (Serbian: Јелена Докић, romanized: Jelena Dokić; pronounced [jɛ̌lɛna dokit͡ɕ]; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis commentator, sports analyst, former professional player and public speaker. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. She won WTA Tour events on all surfaces during her career. In the 1999 Wimbledon Championships the 16-year-old Dokic achieved one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, beating Martina Hingis 6–2, 6–0 in the first round. This remains the only time the women's world No. 1 has ever lost to a qualifier at Wimbledon. Dokic went on to reach the quarterfinals of that competition, only her second Grand Slam championship. Dokic rapidly ascended through the rankings after her Wimbledon breakthrough, but her time in the world elite was beset by off-court struggles. Her relationship with her outspoken father and coach Damir Dokić, on whose advice she switched allegiance to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in November 2000, was the subject of much media speculation over many years. She switched back to Australia in 2005. Dokic made a serious return to tennis in 2008 and finished 2009 back in the WTA top 100, but thereafter struggled badly with form and injuries, and ceased playing professionally in 2014. She wrote of physical and mental abuse by her father in her 2017 autobiography Unbreakable. In November 2024, a feature-length documentary film based on the book, titled Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, was released in Australian cinemas.

5. Ivo Karlović (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 54.74, Ivo Karlović is the 5th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Ivo Karlović (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐːʋo kâːrloʋitɕ]; born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint-tallest ranked tennis player in history (along with Reilly Opelka). He won eight ATP Tour singles titles between 2007 and 2016. He was a serve-and-volleyer and officially held the record for the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h (156 mph), before being officially surpassed by John Isner in 2016. He was considered one of the best servers on tour, and held the record for career aces from 1991 onwards with 13,728 (not including Davis Cup) before the record was broken by Isner on July 1 2022. This makes him one of only five players since 1991 to surpass 10,000 aces. His height enabled him to serve with high speed and unique trajectory.

6. Goran Prpić (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 52.32, Goran Prpić is the 6th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Goran Prpić (Croatian pronunciation: [ɡǒran pr̩pitɕ]; born 4 May 1964) is a Croatian tennis coach and former professional tennis player, who played for SFR Yugoslavia and Croatia.

7. Iva Majoli (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 51.73, Iva Majoli is the 7th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Iva Majoli (born 12 August 1977) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. She won three WTA Tier I singles tournaments and upset the world No. 1, Martina Hingis, to win the women's singles title at the 1997 French Open. Majoli reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4, in February 1996.

8. Darija Jurak (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 47.34, Darija Jurak is the 8th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Darija Jurak Schreiber (née Jurak; Croatian pronunciation: [dâːrija jûraːk]; born 5 April 1984) is a Croatian former tennis player. Her career-high doubles ranking is world No. 9, achieved on 15 November 2021. Her best WTA ranking in singles is 188 which she reached in April 2004. She qualified with Andreja Klepač for the 2021 WTA Finals after 20 years on the professional tour.

9. Mario Ančić (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 46.93, Mario Ančić is the 9th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Mario Ančić (Croatian pronunciation: [mâːrio âːntʃitɕ]; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the ATP Tour. Ančić's career-high singles ranking came in 2006, when he reached world No. 7. Ančić helped Croatia to win the 2005 Davis Cup and claimed a bronze medal for the country at the 2004 Athens Olympics, in men's doubles partnering Ivan Ljubičić. As a teenager making his major debut at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, he defeated seventh-seeded Roger Federer. His best performance at the majors came at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, when he reached the semifinals. During 2007 and 2008, infectious mononucleosis and minor injuries forced him to miss many major events, and his ranking dropped from No. 9 in January 2007 to No. 135 in January 2008.

10. Borna Ćorić (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 46.90, Borna Ćorić is the 10th most famous Croatian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Borna Ćorić (Croatian pronunciation: [bôːrna tɕǒːritɕ]; born 14 November 1996) is a Croatian professional tennis player. On 5 November 2018, he reached his best singles ranking of world No. 12. In 2022, Ćorić became the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 history when he won the Cincinnati title. He is currently the No. 1 Croatian player.