H2H data updated: 2026-09-01 00:00 UTC

John Newcombe vs Rod Laver H2H: 4-15

Rod Laver holds a 15–4 lead over John Newcombe in their ATP head-to-head. Across 19 main-draw meetings, Rod Laver leads 5–1 on carpet and 4–1 on grass. Most recently, Rod Laver won the 1973 Sydney Indoor final 3-6 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-4.

Want to explore more matchups? Advanced rivalry search lets you browse current and historical rivalries, unbeaten records, or every matchup for a player.

John Newcombe
AUS Age 82 Right-Handed 183 cm / 6'0"
H2H
4 – 15
19 main draw meetings
Rod Laver
AUS Age 88 Left-Handed 175 cm / 5'9"

H2H Match Log

PlayerScorePlayerMatch DataDateRoundTournamentCategorySurface
Rod Laver #10 3-6 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-4 John Newcombe #2 Match data Nov 17, 1973* F Sydney Indoor ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 7-6 6-3 Rod Laver Match data Nov 2, 1973* SF Tehran ATP 250 Clay
Rod Laver 6-3 7-5 John Newcombe Match data Sep 15, 1973* SF World Invitational Classic ATP 250 Carpet
Rod Laver 6-4 6-4 6-4 John Newcombe Match data May 15, 1972* QF Dallas Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 1-6 7-6 6-3 Rod Laver Match data Mar 26, 1972* QF Hilton Head ATP 250 Clay
Rod Laver 6-2 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Sep 2, 1971* F Hilton Head ATP 250 Clay
Rod Laver 6-0 6-1 John Newcombe Match data Mar 27, 1971* QF London ATP 250 Hard
Rod Laver 6-4 6-2 4-6 5-6 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Mar 19, 1971 RR Champions Classic ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 7-6(5) 7-6(1) 6-4 Rod Laver Match data Feb 15, 1971* F Philadelphia Wct ATP 250 Carpet
Rod Laver 4-6 6-4 7-6 John Newcombe Match data Sep 25, 1970* F Los Angeles Open ATP 250 Hard
Rod Laver 6-3 6-3 John Newcombe Match data Aug 8, 1970* F Louisville ATP 250 Hard
Rod Laver 6-4 6-3 John Newcombe Match data Jun 21, 1970* F Queen's Club Championships ATP 250 Grass
Rod Laver 7-5 6-2 4-6 6-1 John Newcombe Match data Jul 15, 1969* F U.S. Pro Tennis Championships ATP 250 Carpet
Rod Laver 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Jul 7, 1969* F Wimbledon Grand Slam Grass
John Newcombe 6-4 6-4 Rod Laver Match data Jun 21, 1969* SF Queen's Club Championships ATP 250 Grass
Rod Laver 6-2 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Mar 8, 1969* SF Los Angeles 1 ATP 250 Carpet
Rod Laver 6-1 6-3 7-5 John Newcombe Match data Jan 18, 1969* SF Sydney International ATP 250 Grass
Rod Laver 6-2 6-2 6-3 John Newcombe Match data Jul 13, 1968* F Paris 2 ATP 250 Clay
Rod Laver 6-4 6-4 9-7 John Newcombe Match data Jun 18, 1968* F U.S. Pro Tennis Championships ATP 250 Grass

Estimated match date where the exact historical date is unavailable. Arrows show an edition's recorded category and documented modern equivalent; unresolved editions keep their recorded category. Asterisked totals include editions mapped from documented historical predecessor categories. Mapping details.

Career Comparison

Player Current Peak Pts Elo W L Win % GS 1000 including documented historical predecessor categories Finals 500 including documented historical predecessor categories 250 including documented historical predecessor categories Titles
John Newcombe #826 #1 0 2,203 544 220 71.2% 5 0 0 0 33 38
Rod Laver #662 #3 0 2,303 570 145 79.7% 5 0 0 0 64 69

Career Progression by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. GS and Titles are cumulative career totals through that season.

Age John Newcombe Rod Laver
YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles
24 1968 70–37 65.4% — 1,819 0 6 — — — — — — —
25 1969 64–26 71.1% — 1,916 0 8 — — — — — — —
26 1970 65–23 73.9% — 2,035 1 12 — — — — — — —
27 1971 61–18 77.2% — 2,085 2 18 — — — — — — —
28 1972 69–22 75.8% — 2,130 2 25 — — — — — — —
29 1973 59–19 75.6% #2 2,056 4 29 1968 73–19 79.3% — 1,879 1 10
30 1974 81–16 83.5% #2 2,119 4 37 1969 97–14 87.4% — 2,162 5 26
31 1975 17–8 68.0% #20 2,017 5 38 1970 89–15 85.6% — 2,216 5 39
32 1976 21–17 55.3% #21 1,832 5 38 1971 85–20 81.0% — 2,158 5 46
33 1977 5–6 45.5% #185 1,838 5 38 1972 50–16 75.8% — 2,018 5 51
34 1978 28–22 56.0% #24 1,824 5 38 1973 67–16 80.7% #8 2,103 5 58
35 1979 4–3 57.1% #226 1,839 5 38 1974 42–9 82.4% #4 2,124 5 64
36 1980 0–2 0.0% — 1,807 5 38 1975 49–12 80.3% #10 2,100 5 69
37 1981 0–1 0.0% — 1,799 5 38 1976 9–11 45.0% #73 2,006 5 69
38 — — — — — — — 1977 5–9 35.7% #106 1,937 5 69
39 — — — — — — — 1978 4–3 57.1% #216 1,926 5 69
40 — — — — — — — 1979 0–1 0.0% #662 1,909 5 69

Surface Results by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Results cover completed main-draw matches. Bold green marks the higher win percentage when both players have at least 5 matches on that surface at the aligned age.

Age John Newcombe Rod Laver
Yr HardClayGrassCarpet Yr HardClayGrassCarpet
W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win %
24 1968 18 7 25 72.0% 18 4 22 81.8% 15 7 22 68.2% 19 19 38 50.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 5 4 9 55.6% 27 7 34 79.4% 25 7 32 78.1% 7 8 15 46.7% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 17 8 25 68.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 37 7 44 84.1% 9 7 16 56.3% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 10 5 15 66.7% 22 6 28 78.6% 12 4 16 75.0% 17 3 20 85.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
28 1972 16 3 19 84.2% 13 5 18 72.2% 4 2 6 66.7% 36 12 48 75.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
29 1973 14 4 18 77.8% 17 7 24 70.8% 18 2 20 90.0% 10 6 16 62.5% 1968 16 6 22 72.7% 31 9 40 77.5% 17 2 19 89.5% 9 2 11 81.8%
30 1974 43 3 46 93.5% 10 4 14 71.4% 18 8 26 69.2% 10 1 11 90.9% 1969 21 4 25 84.0% 12 4 16 75.0% 34 3 37 91.9% 30 3 33 90.9%
31 1975 5 5 10 50.0% 3 1 4 75.0% 6 0 6 100.0% 3 2 5 60.0% 1970 33 3 36 91.7% 8 2 10 80.0% 21 4 25 84.0% 27 6 33 81.8%
32 1976 7 7 14 50.0% 4 3 7 57.1% 7 2 9 77.8% 3 5 8 37.5% 1971 27 4 31 87.1% 14 6 20 70.0% 10 3 13 76.9% 34 7 41 82.9%
33 1977 1 2 3 33.3% 0 1 1 0.0% 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — 1972 8 6 14 57.1% 9 4 13 69.2% 3 1 4 75.0% 30 5 35 85.7%
34 1978 5 4 9 55.6% 7 8 15 46.7% 8 3 11 72.7% 8 7 15 53.3% 1973 18 3 21 85.7% 19 6 25 76.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 28 6 34 82.4%
35 1979 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1974 12 2 14 85.7% 15 0 15 100.0% — — — — 15 7 22 68.2%
36 1980 0 2 2 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1975 19 2 21 90.5% 21 7 28 75.0% — — — — 9 3 12 75.0%
37 1981 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1976 4 3 7 57.1% 0 3 3 0.0% — — — — 5 5 10 50.0%
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 2 2 4 50.0% — — — — 1 2 3 33.3% 2 5 7 28.6%
39 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 — — — — — — — — — — — — 4 3 7 57.1%
40 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1979 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — —
Career — 145 58 203 71.4% 123 47 170 72.4% 154 45 199 77.4% 122 70 192 63.5% — 160 36 196 81.6% 129 41 170 75.9% 88 16 104 84.6% 193 52 245 78.8%

Advanced Statistics Comparison by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Metrics are precomputed from eligible main-draw results; point-stat values use the available detailed sample. Bold green marks the stronger value when both underlying samples are sufficient. Lower is better for Schedule because a negative value means a tougher schedule. Career Schedule is normalized per 100 matches.

Age John Newcombe Rod Laver
Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule
24 1968 1819 120.5 — — — — -93 +43 -86 60.5% +1.05 16–14 (53%) — — +1.04 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 1916 144.5 — — — — -167 +98 +137 66.0% +1.08 16–9 (64%) — — -3.03 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 2035 152.0 — — — — -68 -52 +203 66.8% +1.17 17–9 (65%) 4–4 (50%) — -2.09 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 2086 160.2 — — — — +48 -10 +108 70.1% +1.06 15–5 (75%) 18–9 (67%) — -5.69 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
28 1972 2131 156.8 — — — — +83 -60 -24 72.1% +1.41 13–9 (59%) 20–12 (63%) — -3.97 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
29 1973 2056 152.9 — — — — +49 -63 +159 70.8% +1.34 14–8 (64%) 22–13 (63%) — +0.26 1968 1880 130.3 — — — — +4 -6 +3 74.4% +1.65 15–6 (71%) — — -0.21
30 1974 2120 157.1 — — — — +217 -156 +7 77.7% +1.78 13–3 (81%) 21–10 (68%) — +0.43 1969 2162 149.8 — — — — +114 -174 +143 76.7% +1.93 22–7 (76%) — — -1.40
31 1975 2017 140.1 — — — — +109 -67 +183 61.1% +0.76 8–4 (67%) 3–5 (38%) — -0.06 1970 2216 155.8 — — — — +205 -202 +12 76.8% +1.87 21–6 (78%) 6–2 (75%) — -1.22
32 1976 1833 148.7 — — — — +121 +46 +317 53.9% +0.25 5–3 (63%) 12–7 (63%) — -0.96 1971 2158 162.7 — — — — +163 -164 0 71.8% +1.59 26–7 (79%) 11–14 (44%) — -5.72
33 1977 1839 137.4 — — — — +69 — +255 54.8% +0.19 1–3 (25%) 3–2 (60%) — -1.06 1972 2019 162.7 — — — — +114 -24 +111 69.6% +1.41 13–11 (54%) 7–10 (41%) — -3.85
34 1978 1825 147.7 — — — — +89 -83 +249 51.7% +0.12 10–4 (71%) 8–6 (57%) — -2.37 1973 2104 156.6 — — — — +129 -106 -11 73.5% +1.55 18–7 (72%) 17–10 (63%) — -2.12
35 1979 1840 126.6 — — — — +74 — — 53.3% -0.07 1–0 — — -1.21 1974 2124 154.6 — — — — +39 +3 — 73.2% +1.66 12–3 (80%) 6–3 (67%) — -0.96
36 1980 1807 107.0 — — — — — — — 0.0% -2.75 — 0–1 — -0.42 1975 2100 163.1 — — — — +102 -5 — 71.6% +1.53 16–7 (70%) 14–11 (56%) — -2.95
37 1981 1799 108.5 — — — — — — — 0.0% -3.50 — — — -0.45 1976 2006 156.1 — — — — +89 +19 — 46.0% -0.38 2–3 (40%) 6–2 (75%) — -2.11
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 1937 147.8 — — — — +74 — +86 44.4% -0.42 1–4 (20%) — — -2.94
39 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 1926 125.9 — — — — +46 — — 50.0% 0.00 2–0 1–1 — -0.22
40 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1979 1910 103.6 — — — — — — — 33.3% -2.33 0–1 1–0 — -0.31
Career — 2204 153.9 — — — — +40 -13 +125 66.3% +1.08 129–71 (65%) 111–69 (62%) 108.3 -2.59 — 2304 159.0 — — — — +120 -67 +61 72.3% +1.57 148–62 (70%) 69–53 (57%) 102.7 -3.39

Career Rivalries

Each player's five most-played main-draw opponents. The current matchup is highlighted when it appears in a player's top five.