By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Photo credit: Corleve/Mark Peterson
NEW YORK—Star power is on the Hall of Fame ballot.
The Bryan Brothers, Maria Sharapova and Daniel Nestor are candidates for the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall announced.
American doubles team and twins Bob and Mike Bryan and five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova are new additions to the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s ballot for the Class of 2025. The Bryans and Sharapova join Canada’s Daniel Nestor, who returns to the ballot, as the nominees in the Player Category.
Together, the Bryans are the most accomplished men’s doubles team in history, winning 16 major titles and topping the world rankings for 438 weeks. The twins completed the career Golden Slam in doubles at the 2012 London Olympics. Individually, Mike Bryan owns the most doubles major titles of any man in tennis history (18) along with four major titles in mixed doubles. Bob Bryan is additionally a seven-time major champion in mixed doubles.
One of only 10 women in tennis history to achieve a career Grand Slam in singles, Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach the world No. 1 ranking in 2005. During her nearly 20-year WTA career, she returned to the top of the rankings four times, was ranked in the top 5 for 408 weeks and won 36 singles titles.
The most accomplished Canadian tennis player in history, Nestor is a 12-time major champion, having won eight titles in doubles and four in mixed doubles. He accomplished a career Golden Slam in doubles and topped the ATP doubles rankings for over 100 weeks. He is the first singles or doubles player on tour to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles, and the first player to win 1,000 career doubles matches.
FAN VOTING RETURNS
The polls are now open for the sixth year of ITHF Fan Voting. Fans around the world are encouraged to weigh in on which nominees they think are deserving of Hall of Fame induction through Thursday, September 12 at vote.tennisfame.com.
To be elected to the Hall of Fame, candidates must receive an affirmative vote of at least 75% or higher from the combined total of the Official Voting Group result, and any bonus percentage points earned in the Fan Vote. The top three candidates in the Fan Vote will receive added percentage points to their vote totals from the Official Voting Group, with first place earning three percentage points, second place two percentage points, and third place one percentage point.
Following voting tabulations, the Class of 2025 will be announced in October, with Hall of Fame Induction celebrations scheduled for August 21-23, 2025 in Newport, Rhode Island.
For additional information on the nominees, Fan Voting and the ITHF’s induction process, please visit tennisfame.com/class-of-2025-ballot