TENNIS

The 10 best Danish tennis players of all time

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Holger Rune, Denmark’s top tennis player

Tennis in Denmark has a tradition spanning more than a century. Although young Holger Rune has already cemented his place in the history of Danish tennis with his meteoric rise, he is not the first player from this country to break through to the top of the world stage. Below is the list of the 10 best Danish tennis players of all time in singles competition. The main ranking criterion was their highest career position on the ATP list. Let’s begin:

10. ELMER MOLLER

Born in Aarhus on July 9, 2003, Møller has built his career through Challenger tournaments, collecting a total of four titles at that level—three of them won in 2025. It’s no surprise that in the same year he achieved his career-high ATP ranking. He reached World No. 102 on July 14, 2025. That year, he also made his debut in Masters tournaments, and his Davis Cup victory over Hamad Međedović, helping Denmark defeat Serbia 3–2. remains particularly memorable.

Møller has so far played the main draw of Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The only Slam where he never progressed past the first qualifying round is the Australian Open.

9. MICHAEL TAUSON

The uncle of well-known Danish tennis player Clara Tauson had a very successful career himself. He came close to entering the ATP Top 100 when he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 101 on March 3, 1990—a position he never surpassed.

He competed in two of the four Grand Slam tournaments. At Roland Garros, he reached the second round in 1989, while at the 1990 Australian Open he played in the first round. Tauson represented Denmark at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where he lost in the first round to Brad Gilbert. During his career, he won two Challenger titles. Today, he works as a tennis analyst for the Danish TV channel TV2.

8. TORBEN ULRICH

In eighth place on our list is Torben Ulrich, the father of Metallica’s world-famous drummer, Lars Ulrich. His tennis career lasted from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. This versatile man was a tennis player, writer, musician, journalist, painter, film director, and who knows what else. Even though he worked in other fields at the same time, he still managed to record notable results on the tennis court, and his best ranking on the ATP list was No. 96, which he achieved on October 15, 1973.

Torben comes from a true tennis family, since his father Einar was also a tennis player who represented Denmark at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. His brother Jørgen, whom we will mention later, was also a professional player. In singles, Torben reached the fourth round at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The only Slam where he played only the first round was the Australian Open, in 1971. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, he reached the fourth round in 1959. He also reached the same round at the US Open on four occasions — in 1953, 1956, 1964, and 1968.

Torben came closest to winning a Grand Slam trophy in 1959 at Wimbledon, but in doubles competition. That year, he reached the semifinals paired with Austrian Ladislav Legenstein. He won three titles in his career and was the finalist of the first Rogers Cup in the Open Era. He played over 100 matches for Denmark, for which he received an award in 2013. Torben Ulrich passed away at the age of 95, on December 20, 2023.

7. FREDERIK FETTERLEIN

One of the favorites among Danish fans was undoubtedly Frederik Fetterlein, often known for his nightlife as well. He was active from 1988 to 2004. His best ranking on the ATP list was No. 75, which he reached on October 23, 1995.

At all four Grand Slams, his best result was the second round. Although he never won an ATP title, Danish fans remember his Davis Cup victory against Stefan Edberg.

6. JØRGEN ULRICH

After the previously mentioned Torben, we now come to his younger brother by seven years, Jørgen Ulrich. The uncle of Metallica’s famous founder, Lars Ulrich, was an active tennis player from 1941 to 1973. Since he ended his career just before the publication of the first ATP rankings, he never had an official ATP ranking. He won several titles in his career, including the German Open, Scandinavian Indoor Championships, French Open Indoor, along with several doubles titles.

Jørgen Ulrich - Winbledon 1999 (cropped)
Jørgen Ulrich (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

At Grand Slam level, his best results came at Wimbledon. He reached the fourth round three times at the grass-court Slam, and he also played the third round of Roland Garros twice. At the US Open, he reached the second round in 1962. From 1953 to 1972, he played for Denmark in the Davis Cup. After his tennis career, he became a successful lawyer. He died suddenly while on vacation in Greece on July 22, 2010, at the age of 74.

5. KRISTIAN PLESS

Next on our list is Kristian Pless. As a junior, he won the 1999 Australian Open and reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. He finished that season as the world No. 1 junior. In his professional career, which lasted from 1999 to 2009, he did not manage to break into the very top of world tennis, but he built a respectable career. His best ranking was No. 65, reached on January 28, 2002.

Although he never won an ATP title, he played three ATP semifinals and won four Challenger tournaments. It is also important to note that in 2003 he suffered a serious shoulder injury, which required several surgeries and kept him off the court for almost a year. His best Grand Slam result was the third round of the 2002 Australian Open. At the other three Slams, he reached the second round. His only victory over a Top 10 player came in 2007, against David Nalbandian, and that same year he also took a set off Roger Federer. He represented Denmark at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he lost in the second round.

4. KENNETH CARLSEN

The first Danish tennis player to break into the ATP Top 50 was Kenneth Carlsen. He was named Danish Tennis Player of the Year seven times. His best ranking was No. 41, which he reached on June 7, 1993. Since he was active from 1992 to 2007, it is clear that he reached his tennis peak fairly early. A piece of trivia about him is that for a long time he held the record for the most first-round losses at Grand Slam tournaments. He had 30 of them, and this negative record was later broken by Spain’s Albert Montañés.

He won three ATP titles in his career — Hong Kong (1998), Tokyo (2002), and Memphis (2005). After winning Memphis, he returned to the ATP Top 50 at the age of 32. His best Grand Slam result was the fourth round at the 1993 Australian Open. He reached the third round of Wimbledon three times and the third round of the US Open once. At Roland Garros, he made the second round twice. His five-set victory over Stefan Edberg at Wimbledon in 1994 is especially remembered. He was a long-time member of Denmark’s Davis Cup team. He also represented his country at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he reached the third round. Like his compatriot Pless, Carlsen suffered a serious shoulder injury that kept him off the court for a long time. Today, he is a tennis analyst on Danish television and the coach of Holger Rune.

3. JAN LESCHLY

One of the leaders of Danish tennis during the second half of the 20th century was today’s successful businessman, Jan Leschly. Although he played from 1957 to 1973, when no official rankings existed, journalist Lance Tingay ranked him as the tenth-best tennis player in the world in 1967.

Leschly’s greatest achievement was the semifinals of the 1967 US Open. Although he won the first two sets, he lost 3–2 to Clark Graebner of the USA. At Wimbledon, he reached the round of 16 one year earlier, while his best result at Roland Garros was the third round in 1971. He won 18 titles in his career and was a regular member of Denmark’s Davis Cup team.

2. KURT NIELSEN

In second place on our list is the only Danish tennis player who reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament — Kurt Nielsen. He did so twice, in 1953 and 1955, when he came close to winning the Wimbledon title. In both finals he failed to win a single set, but in those years (specifically 1953), according to Lance Tingay, he was ranked as the seventh-best player in the world. As a junior, he won Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

Winbledon 1999
Jørgen Ulrich, Harry Majstrup, Jan Leschly, Eva Majstrup and Kurt Nielsen
at Wimbledon 1999 (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Interestingly, his grandson, Frederik Nielsen, succeeded in what his grandfather could not — but in doubles. In 2012, Frederik won the Wimbledon doubles title with Jonathan Marray of Great Britain. Frederik’s best doubles ranking was No. 17.

But back to Kurt. In addition to the two Wimbledon finals, he also played one US Open quarterfinal, and he reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros five times. He did, however, manage to win one Grand Slam title — in mixed doubles in 1957, partnering Althea Gibson of the USA at the US Open. With the same partner, he played the Wimbledon mixed doubles final one year later. His career lasted from 1948 to 1966, and he won 13 singles titles. He played an impressive 96 Davis Cup ties for Denmark. After retiring, he worked as a tennis analyst for Danish Eurosport. He passed away on June 11, 2011, at the age of 80.

1. HOLGER RUNE

At the top of our list is an active player who, although very young, has already written his name into the history books of Danish and world tennis. As you’ve guessed, it is Holger Rune. He was born on April 29, 2003, in Gentofte, and at just 20 years old he climbed to No. 4 on the ATP rankings — a ranking he held on August 21, 2023. Rune has so far won five titles, the biggest being the 2022 Paris Masters, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final.

In addition to that, Rune played three more Masters finals, but Rublev, Medvedev, and Draper were better in those matches. His other ATP titles came in Munich (twice), Stockholm, and Barcelona. His major rise began in 2021, when he won four Challenger titles and qualified for the US Open. There, in his Grand Slam debut, he drew Novak Djokovic in the first round. Djokovic was on the hunt for the Calendar Grand Slam, and Rune managed to take the second set, signaling that he was a player of great potential.

Rune’s best Grand Slam results are two quarterfinals at Roland Garros (2022, 2023) and one Wimbledon quarterfinal (2023). At the Australian Open, he reached the round of 16 twice (2023, 2025), while at the US Open he got as far as the third round.

Holger Rune became the first Dane ever to qualify for the ATP Finals in 2023. In 2025, he led Denmark to a victory over Serbia in the Davis Cup, and they were just one win away from reaching the final tournament after a tight loss to Spain. Despite leading 2–0, Spain ultimately advanced to Bologna. After that, Holger ended his season early due to injury. His current coaches are Kenneth Carlsen and Lars Christensen.

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