What is a Grand Slam and does it have different meanings in rugby union, golf and tennis?
RUGBY, tennis and golf stars all talk about the golden nugget of their sport – winning a coveted Grand Slam.
But what is a Grand Slam and how does if differ in rugby union, golf and tennis?
SunSport gives you all you need to know about how greatness is achieved in the three sports.
What is a Grand Slam?
The term Grand Slam generally means in sport a team or individual has won a set of tournaments in a calendar year.
Teams can also claim a Grand Slam if they win all of their fixtures in a specific tournament.
A Grand Slam is all about winning and not remaining unbeaten.
What is a Rugby Union Grand Slam?
This is when a country taking part in the Six Nations, or the old Five Nations, win all of their games to win the annual tournament.
You can still win the Six Nations by drawing or even losing a game, but the coveted Grand Slam will be lost.
Currently England, with 13 and Wales have 12, while France have nine in Five and Six Nations history.
Wales can draw level with England if they beat France in Paris.
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What is a Golf Grand Slam
In Golf, greatness is attained by winning all four majors in a calendar year – the Masters, US Open, the Open and PGA Championships.
The great Tiger Woods claimed a Grand Slam, the American held all four major titles at the same time, but that was over two calendar years.
You have to go back to 1930 when Bobby Jones won the Grand Slam – that consisted of the Open Championship, US Open, US Amateur and the British Amateur.
Jones still remains the only man the achieve the Grand Slam, but this was before the Masters was created and when the amateur tournaments were considered majors.
What is a tennis Grand Slam?
As in golf, a player or doubles team must win all four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) in that order, starting with the Australian title in January, through to the US Open in September.
American Don Budge was the first man to win the Grand Slam in 1938, while another American, Maureen Connolly was the first lady in 1953.
Steffi Graf in 1988 and Rod Laver in 1960 were that last singles players to achieve the Grand Slam.
Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic have won non-calendar Grand Slams.
Djokovic’s French Open victory in 2016 saw him hold all four Grand Slams at the same time.
But his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2015 Roland Garros final meant he failed to pick up the career Grand Slam that year, as he won only three of the four trophies.