If you look at the state of tennis today as compared to 30 years ago, a lot has changed. Most of this change took place in the’80s, as both the racquets and playing styles underwent major transformations.

I’d like to take a trip down memory lane by writing about my favorite five’80s tennis players. These all come down to my personal preferences and they’re not based on merit. Nonetheless, I’ll be curious to see how these compare with yours.

Bjorn Borg is thought by many to be a top three tennis player of all time, and others believe he may have been the best. Had he not retired at a young age, he could very well hold some more records.

Stefan Edberg. One of the last true serve and volley players who captured the world’s number one rank. I can’t think of a player who covered the net as well as Edberg has, and he was one of the last of a breed of true serve and volley tennis players that essentially no longer exists.

Boris Becker was known for many things, especially his jump serve. The highlight of his career was most likely his early Wimbledon win as a young teenager, but he followed this up with some tremendous wins in the years that followed.

Ivan Lendl was one of the steadiest players to ever play the sport. His career was a storied won, with a handful of grand slam wins and even more tournament victories. Lendl’s baseline play was downright scary.

John McEnroe is one of those players who comes along once in a lifetime. Forget about his arguments with the chair umpires, as great as those were. He was one of the best in the sport for well over a decade and he can surprisingly still play really well today.

When I think of tennis in the’80s, I think of the five players mentioned above. All made significant contributions to the sport that still have a lasting effect to this day.

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