This article will look at the top Irish tennis players who are playing on the ATP and WTA Tours in May 2023, as well as looking at some of the Irish born grand slam winners from the past.
Osgar O’Hoisin is currently the number 1 male Irish tennis player playing singles on the ATP tour with an ATP ranking of 731 (22/5/23) in the world.
Osgar O’Hoisin is one of three Irish players who are ranked in the top 1500 of the ATP ranking, with the others being Simon Carr (787) and Michael Agwi (T1234).
In the Men’s Doubles Ranking, Ireland has a total of four players ranked by the ATP with Osgar O’Hoisin being the number 1 ranked men’s doubles player from Ireland.
On the WTA Tour, Celine Simunyu is the number 1 Irish player playing on the WTA Tour with a world ranking of 970.
As at the 22nd of May 2023, Celine Simunyu was the only Irish player ranked in the WTA World Singles Ranking.
Top Irish Tennis Players (Men’s Singles)
| IE Rank | ATP Rank* | ATP Player | ATP Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 732 | Osgar O’Hoisin | 32 |
| 2 | 787 | Simon Carr | 26 |
| 3 | T1234 | Michael Agwi | 5 |
Top Irish Male Players (Doubles)
| IE Rank | ATP Rank* | ATP Player | ATP Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 640 | Osgar O’Hoisin | 73 |
| 2 | 788 | Simon Carr | 51 |
| 3 | T1292 | Cian Maguire | 16 |
| 4 | T1712 | Ammar Elamin | 6 |
Top Irish Female Tennis Players (Singles)
| IE Rank | WTA Rank* | WTA Player | WTA Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 970 | Celine Simunyu | 17 |
Top Irish Female Tennis Players (Doubles)
| IE Rank | WTA Rank* | WTA Player | WTA Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 723 | Celine Simunyu | 56 |
| 2 | 1494 | Beatrice Pertac | 4 |
*ATP and WTA Rankings Date: 22/05/23
The main Tennis Ireland Rankings as well as the ranking for Irish Juniors and Seniors are available to view on the Tennis Ireland Tournament Software website.
Irish Grand Slam Winners Tennis (Men’s Singles)
To date, Willoughby Hamilton (1890 Wimbledon), James Cecil Parke (1912 Australian Open), and Joshua Pim (1893 and 1894 Wimbledon) are the only Irish-born tennis players who have claimed a grand slam title in men’s singles.
| Year | Player | Grand Slam | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Willoughby Hamilton | Wimbledon | William Renshaw (GBR) | 6–8, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, 6–1 |
| 1893 | Joshua Pim | Wimbledon | Wilfred Baddeley | 3–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1894 | Joshua Pim | Wimbledon | Wilfred Baddeley | 10–8, 6–2, 8–6 |
| 1912 | James Cecil Parke | Australian Open | Alfred Beamish (GBR) | 3–6, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 7–5 |
Irish Grand Slam Winners Tennis (Women’s Singles)
Lena Rice was the first Irish-born woman to win a grand slam title when she claimed the title at the 1890 Wimbledon.
A year later Mabel Cahill would win the first of her two US Open singles titles.
Mabel Cahill would later be included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame and to this day is the only player in the Hall of Fame who was born in Ireland.
| Year | Player | Grand Slam | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Lena Rice | Wimbledon | Blanche Bingley Hillyard (GBR) | Walkover |
| 1891 | Mabel Cahill | US Open | Ellen Roosevelt | 6–4, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 1892 | Mabel Cahill | US Open | Elisabeth Moore | 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 |
Irish Players at Wimbledon
Irish born players had great success in the early days of Wimbledon, with Willoughby Hamilton (1890), Joshua Pim (1893 and 1894), and Lena Rice (1890) all winning the Wimbledon singles titles.
In the open era, there has been less success, with Conor Niland (2011) being the last player from Ireland to make it to the main draw of the singles, where he lost in five sets to Adrian Mannarino in the first round (6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 4-6).
If Niland had defeated Mannarino, he would have faced Roger Federer in the second round but unfortunately, it was not to be.