Former world No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia leads the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027 nominees, with fan voting now open through Sunday, Oct. 25, the Newport-based Hall announced.
Barty is joined on the player ballot by Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, a four-time major champion. Both return to the ballot from previous years.
Shingo Kunieda of Japan is nominated in the wheelchair tennis category, which the Hall considers only once every four years.
Barty won singles majors on three surfaces — the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon and the 2022 Australian Open — and took the 2018 U.S. Open doubles title. She spent 121 weeks at No. 1, including 114 consecutive, won 15 WTA singles titles and 12 in doubles, and was WTA Player of the Year in 2019 and 2021. She retired in 2022 while still ranked No. 1, finishing 305-102 in singles.
Del Potro won 22 ATP titles, beginning with four as a teenager in 2008, when he put together a 23-match winning streak. He beat Roger Federer in five sets for the 2009 U.S. Open title and finished that year as the youngest player in the top 10. In 2016 he led Argentina to its first Davis Cup title and won Olympic singles silver.
Kuznetsova won singles majors at the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open and doubles titles at the 2005 and 2012 Australian Opens. Over 15 years she won 18 WTA singles titles and 16 in doubles, reaching No. 2 in singles and No. 3 in doubles, and won three Billie Jean King Cup titles with Russia.
Kunieda is the most decorated men’s wheelchair player in the sport’s history, with 50 major titles — 28 in singles, 22 in doubles — and 117 singles titles overall. He spent a record 582 weeks at No. 1, won four Paralympic gold medals and is the only wheelchair player to medal at five consecutive Paralympic Games. His 2022 Wimbledon title completed the career Golden Slam, a first for a men’s wheelchair player. He retired in 2023 while ranked No. 1.
Fans can vote at vote.tennisfame.com through Oct. 25. The top three finishers in the fan vote receive bonus percentage points added to their totals from the official voting group of journalists, historians and Hall of Famers — three points for first, two for second, one for third. Candidates need at least 75% of the combined total to be elected.
Fan vote results will be announced shortly after voting closes. The Class of 2027 and the dates of the 2027 induction celebration will be announced later this fall.
