The best moments of Joe Salisbury's career
• 3 minute read
Joe Salisbury is the most successful British men’s doubles player in the Open Era so far.
15 years on from making his ATP Tour debut and the 34-year-old has since gone on to become a multiple Grand Slam champion and hold the position at the top of the world rankings.
Following his retirement from tennis, we look back on the best moments of Salisbury’s incredible doubles career.
Sealing his first major title at the Australian Open
Every tennis player’s dream is to win a Grand Slam title, but only a few understand what it means to lift one of the four major trophies. It's a feeling Salisbury experienced six times in his career.
The British star realised his career dream at the 2020 Australian Open when he captured his first major title at Melbourne Park, alongside Rajeev Ram, with the pair having only been playing together for a year.
Salisbury and Ram rounded off an impressive campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Aussie wild cards Max Purcell and Luke Saville in the final.
The triumph marked the first of four men’s doubles Grand Slam titles of Salisbury’s career and the beginning of one of the most successful doubles partnerships of the 21st century.
His breakthrough also saw him join Jamie Murray as only the second British man in the Open Era to win the Australian Open men's doubles title.
Completing the US Open three-peat
In 2023, Salisbury and Ram became the first doubles partnership in the Open Era to win three consecutive US Open men’s doubles titles.
Salisbury’s first crown came in 2021 - the same year he became the first man to win the men's and mixed US Open doubles title since Bob Bryan in 2010.
He and Ram then went on to successfully defend their title in New York the following year after overcoming second seeds Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof in the final, before sealing the hat-trick in 2023, becoming just the second team in history to do so after Tom Bundy and Maurice McLoughlin in 1912.
In an era which has plenty of depth in the men's doubles game, Salisbury and Ram's US Open three-peat stands as one of the greatest achievements by any partnership and will be a hard feat to replicate.
Becoming ATP doubles world No.1
Salisbury joined one of the most elite clubs in British tennis when he rose to ATP doubles world No.1 on 4 April 2022.
Following on from his run to the silverware at the Monte Carlo Masters, Salisbury overtook Croatia’s Mate Pavic who had held the position since November 2021.
In doing so, the London-born star became just the third British man to hold the top ranking in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of Andy Murray in singles and Jamie Murray in doubles.
To have the No.1 ranking is amazing - it's a special moment.
Winning back-to-back ATP Finals
The former world No.1 became the first Briton to win the Nitto ATP Finals doubles title - also known as the year-end championships - when he and Ram clinched the title in Turin in 2022.
Known as one of the most prestigious titles outside of the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals brings together the season’s best eight doubles teams on the tour.
Having fallen short in the final the previous year, Salisbury and Ram got their redemption in Turin by defeating Croatian pair Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 7-6(4), 6-4 to cap off a season that also included a Grand Slam title and two ATP Masters 1000 crowns.
The pair went on to successfully defend their title the following year, making Salisbury the most successful British player in ATP Finals history with two doubles titles.
Becoming the first British champion at Roland Garros since 1976
Amongst his many achievements, Salisbury also made history in becoming the first British player to win a Roland Garros title since Sue Barker in 1976 (not including wheelchair tennis events).
Teaming up with Desirae Krawczyk for the 2021 instalment, the pair beat Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in the mixed doubles final to claim victory on the Parisian clay.
It was a win that later spurred the British, American partnership on to a second major title at the US Open just a few months later.
He later went on to secure more success at the tournament in 2025, when he and Skupski became the first Brits to reach the men’s doubles final at Roland Garros since 1936. However, the pair narrowly lost out on the silverware in a tight three set defeat to Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Representing Great Britain on the biggest stages in tennis
Throughout his career, Salisbury proudly represented Great Britain on some of the biggest stages in sport, including the Olympics and Davis Cup.
Salisbury became an Olympic athlete when he was selected to represent Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Partnering three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the men’s doubles event, the pair reached the quarter-finals.
He then returned to the Olympic stage three years later at Paris 2024, where he competed alongside Skuspki in the men’s doubles event and Heather Watson in the mixed doubles.
Away from the Olympics, Salisbury also represented the Lexus Great Britain team in seven Davis Cup ties following his debut in 2021.
He signed off his Davis Cup career in style by winning the doubles rubber with Skupski in their 2025 Qualifier first round tie against Japan.
