How the term 'Grand Slam' originated?

The other day my 6 year old nephew asked me the origin of the term 'Grand Slam'. I googled it and found more information on it and thought to put this collection in my tennis blog.
The term ‘Grand Slam’ was first coined by ardent bridge player, John Kiernan, when describing the antics of Australian Jack Crawford in the 1930s.

He had clinched the men’s singles at the Australian and French Opens and at the All England Club, and speculation was obviously rife as to his chances of lifting the US Open singles crown. Columnist, Kiernan wrote: “If Crawford wins, it would be something like scoring a Grand Slam on the courts, doubled and vulnerable.”

The term was quickly embraced, not only by tennis players and spectators, but the golfing fraternity as well.

The four major tournaments on the tennis circuit are known as Grand Slam tournaments. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. By their very nature, the Grand Slam venues all sport a very different court surface, so as to test the ability of the top players to adapt to very different conditions.

The Australian Open will be played on a totally new surface called ‘Plexicushion’. The venue will however remain the same – Melbourne Park.

The French Open is contested on the traditional red clay – all court surfaces in Europe are made up of red clay, whereas in the US, the courts are surfaced with green clay, or ‘Rubicon’.

Wimbledon Championships Grand Slam is contested on rye grass, and is the last remaining Grand Slam which takes place on a natural surface.

The US Open is played out on ‘DecoTurf’ or a hard court surface.

The term Grand Slam is also used when a player or doubles team wins all four Grand Slam events, and is further divided into:

Calendar Year Grand Slam or the Grand Slam – winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year. Since Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969, no other man has achieved the highest honour in singles tennis, whereas Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court and the great Steffi Graf are the women to walk away with a Calendar Year Grand Slam for the singles event. In the doubles event in recent times Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver have walked away with this achievement.

Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam – winning all four Grand Slams but not in a calendar year. Some recent tennis players are Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.

Career Grand Slam – Winning all four events at some point in their career, not necessarily in succession. Recent players with a Career Grand Slam include Andre Agassi, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, and in the doubles event Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, and Bob and Mike Bryan and Serena & Venus Williams.

Calendar Year Golden Slam – Holding all four titles and Olympic gold in the same year. Only Steffi Graf has claimed the Calendar Year Golden Slam.

Career Golden Slam – Holding all four titles and Olympic gold at some point in their career. Recent players include Andre Agassi in singles and the “Woodies” and Williams sisters in doubles.

Small Slam – Winning three of the four tournaments in a year. Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors and Mats Wilander in the men’s singles events, and Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles are some recent women who have achieved a Small Slam.

The Career ‘Boxed Set’ – Winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles at all four events. In recent years Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova are the only tennis players to have clinched the ‘Boxed Set’. Serena Williams only has to win the mixed doubles at the Australian and French Opens to achieve her career ‘Boxed Set’.

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