Vote for your ITF Fantasy Champion of Champions

If Roger Federer ever faced Steffi Graf, whose side would you be on? Could you pick your favourite between John McEnroe and Justine Henin? Is there any tennis player in history you would side with if they were up against Novak Djokovic or Serena Williams?

Well, let’s find out! Wednesday 15 April sees the launch of the ITF Fantasy Champion of Champions draw, pitting the 36 ITF singles World Champions against one another – and the winner will be determined by you, the fans.

Since Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert were first crowned ITF World Champions in 1978, 19 women and 17 men have received the award, with winners traditionally honoured at the ITF World Champions Dinner held each year during Roland Garros.

In 2019, Roland Garros champion and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas finalist Ashleigh Barty succeeded fellow first-time winner Simona Halep as World Champion, while Rafael Nadal, the reigning Roland Garros, US Open and Davis Cup by Rakuten champion, collected his fourth title, two shy of Novak Djokovic’s six World Champion crowns – the most of any man, and one short of Steffi Graf’s seven World Champion titles.

While we await the return of tennis, we have placed those 36 ITF World Champions into one hypothetical drawsheet – and we are leaving the chance to crown the Champion of Champions entirely up to you, with daily polls on Twitter to determine who advances.

Click on the draw to view it in full:

The draw includes seeding for the top four men and women by Grand Slam titles won, with Davis and Fed Cup titles used as tiebreakers where necessary. The same criteria were also used to determine the eight players involved in the preliminary matches.

As for your voting rationale, that is entirely up to you too. Maybe you judge greatness by Grand Slam titles, or weeks spent as world No.1. Perhaps you’ll imagine how each match may have played out on the slick Wimbledon lawns of the 1980s or under the roof of Rod Laver Arena, or with both players using today’s modern racquets and strings.

Or perhaps you have a more personal connection with a player. Have they proudly represented your nation in Davis Cup or Fed Cup? Did you once get their autograph at Roland Garros? Do you like the way they play the game, the way they act on court, dress off-court, or how they interact with fans and fellow pros on social media?

Whatever your logic, cast your vote. This is, after all, just a bit of fun – 100 per cent unofficial, inconsequential and in no way designed to settle the great GOAT debate.

Each day for the next two weeks, four matches will be posted as polls on the ITF Tennis Twitter page. Polls will be open until one hour before the next set of matches, with the updated drawsheet published each day. You can follow along and get involved using the hashtag #ITFChampionOfChampions.

To find out more about the ITF World Champions, which honours outstanding seasons in singles, doubles, juniors and wheelchair events, click here.