TENNIS PLAYERS from South Africa

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary South African Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous South African 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 South African Tennis Players.

1. Louis Raymond (1895 - 1962)

With an HPI of 63.75, Louis Raymond is the most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Louis Bosman Raymond (28 June 1895 – 30 January 1962) was a male tennis player from South Africa.

2. Renée Schuurman (1939 - 2001)

With an HPI of 57.27, Renée Schuurman is the 2nd most famous South African Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Renée Schuurman Haygarth (née Schuurman; 26 October 1939 – 30 May 2001) was a South African tennis player who won five Grand Slam women's doubles titles and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title.

3. Kevin Curren (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 55.51, Kevin Curren is the 3rd most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1985. During his career he won 5 singles and 16 doubles titles.

4. Eric Sturgess (1920 - 2004)

With an HPI of 55.35, Eric Sturgess is the 4th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Eric William Sturgess (10 May 1920 – 14 January 2004) was a South African male tennis player and winner of six Grand Slam doubles titles. He also reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament three times but never won. Sturgess was ranked World No. 6 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph in both 1948 and 1949.

5. Frew McMillan (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 55.08, Frew McMillan is the 5th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Frew Donald McMillan (born 20 May 1942) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by the Bryan brothers, Daniel Nestor, Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge, John McEnroe and Tom Okker. He was also ranked No.1 in Doubles on the ATP Computer for a significant period from 1977 to 1979 when he was aged 37.

6. Harold Kitson (1874 - 1951)

With an HPI of 54.88, Harold Kitson is the 6th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Harry Austin Kitson (17 June 1874 – 30 November 1951) was a male tennis player from South Africa who won a gold medal at the men's doubles event at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

7. Johan Kriek (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 53.99, Johan Kriek is the 7th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Johan Christiaan Kriek (born April 5, 1958) is a South African–American former professional tennis player. He won two Australian Open titles, beating Steve Denton in four sets in the 1981 final and the same opponent in the 1982 final in straight sets, when he tamed Denton's cannonball serve and "relentlessly whipped winners past him from all angles of the court". He reached the semifinals at the French Open and US Open, as well as the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships. Kriek won 14 professional singles and eight doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in September 1984. He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. Kriek became a naturalized American citizen in August 1982. He currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with his wife, Daga and their children Karolina and Kristian.

8. Liezel Huber (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 50.70, Liezel Huber is the 8th most famous South African Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On 12 November 2007, she became the co-world No. 1 in doubles with Cara Black. On 19 April 2010, Huber became the sole No. 1 for the first time in her career.

9. Cameron Norrie (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 50.37, Cameron Norrie is the 9th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Cameron Norrie (; born 23 August 1995) is a British professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), a ranking he achieved in September 2022. Born in South Africa in 1995, Norrie moved to New Zealand with his family at the age of three and made his junior tennis debut in 2009. In 2013, he began representing Great Britain. Norrie finished his junior career ranked as high as No. 10 in the world. From 2014 to 2017, Norrie played collegiate tennis at Texas Christian University (TCU); he ended his final collegiate season as the school's first-ever player to be ranked No. 1 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). After turning professional in 2017, Norrie made his top 200 debut that July following his first ATP Challenger title in Binghamton. He ended the year with three Challenger titles from four finals. In 2021, Norrie competed in six ATP finals, including his first at the ATP 500 and ATP Masters 1000 levels; he won two titles and sealed his top 20 debut following a victory at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters. He continued his momentum into the 2022 season, rising to the top 10 after claiming two additional ATP titles from four finals and reaching his maiden major semifinal at Wimbledon. Between October 2021 and June 2024, Norrie held the title of British No. 1 in men's singles. As of 2025, he has won five ATP Tour singles titles and one doubles title. Norrie is a left-handed player. While his forehand usually generates heavy topspin, Norrie's two-handed backhand has been regarded as one of the flattest on tour and is often compared to that of Jimmy Connors. Norrie's strengths include his footspeed and his defensive capabilities.

10. Cliff Drysdale (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 50.25, Cliff Drysdale is the 10th most famous South African Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis commentator.