Boxing has weight categories to ensure fair competition. Unfortunately, tennis doesn’t have height categories – players who are 6 ft 10 inches compete against players who are 5 ft 5 inches all the time. It’s not fair but short players have been able to compete against tall players despite the height disadvantage.
Shortest Men’s Tennis Players Of All Time
Active Players
Diego Schwartzman (Height: 5 ft 7 in)
Diego Schwarzman can keep up with anyone on the court with his solid groundstrokes and return game. He even reached the Top 10 in rankings while being only 5 ft 7 inches.
Like most short players, clay is his best surface. He reached the semifinals at the 2020 French Open. He is the shortest player in history to reach the Master 1000 final (2020 Italian Open).
Yoshihito Nishioka (Height: 5 ft 7 in)
Yoshihito Nishioka is only 5 ft 7 in tall. He reached the top 50 in world rankings on the back of his excellent baseline game.
As a junior, Nishioka was ranked number 12 in the world but couldn’t reach similar results on the ATP tour due to his short stature.
Damir Dzumhur (Height: 5 ft 9 in)
As a junior Dzumhur was ranked world number 3. He also won the bronze medal at Youth Olympics in 2010. But despite his height, he managed to reach a ranking of world number 23. He has won three titles in his career.
Retired Players
Olivier Rochus (Height: 5 ft 5 in)
Olivier Rochus is the shortest player on the list. He won two singles titles in his career. He also won the French Open doubles title in 2004. He reached a career-high ranking of world number 24.
Rochus played junior tennis with Roger Federer. He won the 1998 boys’ doubles title at Wimbledon with Federer.
Rod Laver (Height: 5 ft 8 in)
Rod Laver was only 5 ft 8 inches tall but he is one of the most accomplished tennis players ever to play the game. He won the grand slam – winning all four slams – twice in his career.
The Laver Cup and the main stadium at the Australian Open, The Rod Laver Arena, are named after him.
David Ferrer (Height: 5 ft 9 in)
David Ferrer won 27 singles titles but could not break through in the grand slams. He reached the semifinals at grand slams four times in his career. He reached a career-high ranking of world number 3.
Michael Chang ( Height: 5 ft 9 in)
Chang is the youngest grand slam champion in men’s tennis history. He won the French Open title in 1989 at age 17. He won 34 titles in his career. He was also a runner-up three times at grand slams.
Marcelo Rios (Height: 5 ft 9 in)
Marcelo Rios reached the world number 1 ranking despite being only 5 ft 9 inches. He won 18 singles titles in his career. His best grand slam record was reaching the quarterfinals.
