Last November, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan—the energetic, charismatic, chest-bumping identical twin brothers who are the most decorated men’s doubles team in the history of tennis—announced their plans to retire at the 2020 US Open. But even as they broke the news, one thing was already clear: Whether the Bryans call it quits in New York or anywhere else around the globe, the tennis world may never see another doubles tandem like this one-of-a-kind duo.
“They’re legends of tennis,” says 23-year-old American Reilly Opelka, who played Davis Cup alongside the Bryans in March. “They’re definitely one of the few doubles teams that can sell out an arena anywhere. I’d go watch them play no matter where I’m at, since I was a little kid. There’s not many like them, and they’re going to be around in tennis forever.”
During their 22-year professional playing career, the Bryan brothers have dominated men’s doubles, with an Open Era-record 119 titles, including 16 Grand Slam tournament championships. Together, the left-handed Bob and right-handed Mike won the Australian Open six times, Roland Garros twice, Wimbledon three times and the US Open a tournament-record five times.
The Bryans are the first tandem to collect shields from each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, with 39 total Masters crowns. They also have four year-ending ATP Finals trophies.
They captured the “Bryan Golden Slam” during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, first taking home gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games and then winning the next four majors, starting with the 2012 US Open, followed by the 2013 Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Bryans narrowly missed achieving a natural Grand Slam that year, falling in the semifinals of the 2013 US Open.
The brothers spent 438 weeks together as the No. 1 doubles team in the world, including an unprecedented 139 consecutive weeks between Feb. 25, 2013, and Oct. 25, 2015, and they finished as year-end No. 1s 10 times. They were Davis Cup stalwarts, as well, notching a 25-5 record together in 30 ties and helping Team USA to the Davis Cup championship in 2007.
It’s important to note that the Bryans are not only record-breakers on the court, but also leaders off it. They have been credited with saving the game of doubles. In 2005, they were the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the ATP Tour, whose proposed rules changes threatened to minimize doubles play on tour. The case was eventually dismissed, but it led to improvements for doubles players, including increased prize money and a modified scoring format that has extended careers.
The Bryan Brothers Foundation has raised $1.2 million to support children’s charities around the country.
When the Bryans broke the news that the final stop of their careers would be the US Open—where they made their debut at age 17 in 1995 and, 19 years later, won their milestone 100th career title at age 36—the 42-year-old California natives reflected on their two-plus decades in the sport.
“We’ve had our foot on the pedal the whole way, and we haven’t really come up for air,” Mike told USOpen.org last November. “We’ve had this energy and this passion because we love the game. We didn’t really shoot for these astronomical goals; they just happened. We’ve never really had a chance to look back and enjoy it.
“When you get to share this whole experience and your life—more than half of our lives have been on tour—to be able to do it with someone you’re close with and someone you have such a tight bond with, there’s no closer bond than with your twin brother. Doing it with him is like doing it with a piece of you. I don’t think we’d be doing it for as long as we have if we didn’t have our best friend right next to us.”
The Bryans’s longevity as partners may never be matched; playing with the same partner for an entire career just doesn’t happen. Their Hall of Fame futures secure, they will leave the sport they love on their terms—still at the top of their game, still winning titles. Their Delray Beach triumph in February guaranteed 20 consecutive years with at least one championship.
“For the last 21 years, we have been so grateful for the opportunity to live out our dreams of playing professional tennis,” Bob said. “It has truly been a magical ride.”
This story appears in the Official US Open Tournament Program. To download a digital copy, click here.
