Wilander won his fourth major singles title at the age of 20, the youngest man in history to have achieved the feat.

Wilander also won eight Grand Prix Super Series titles (1983–88), the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.

Born in Växjö, Sweden, Wilander first came to the tennis world's attention when he won the French Open junior title, the European under-16 and under-18 championships, and the Orange Bowl under-16 event in Miami.

Wilander made his debut on the professional tour at the clay court tournament in Båstad, Sweden in 1980.

In September 1981, he lost his only career match against Björn Borg, losing in the first round of the Geneva Open in straight sets.

[10] At the end of the semifinal against Clerc he requested replay of the match ball as he did not want to win the game due to a questionable referee decision.

He was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 9 months, a record since broken by Boris Becker and Michael Chang.

In only his third entry in a Grand Slam tournament, Wilander also became the player who needed the fewest attempts to win one, a record since equaled by Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open.

Wilander returned to the French Open in 1983, where he lost to Yannick Noah in the final,[11] after defeating John McEnroe in a quarterfinal.

[14] Wilander won his second Grand Slam title later that year at the Australian Open, played on grass at Kooyong Stadium, where he defeated McEnroe in a semifinal[15] and Lendl in the final.

[16] He won eight other tournaments in 1983, including two Grand Prix Championship Series titles, and finished the year ranked no.

Wilander retained his Australian Open title in 1984, beating Stefan Edberg in the quarterfinals and Kevin Curren in the final.

Wilander partnered with countryman Joakim Nyström to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1986.

The 1987 season saw Wilander unveil a more potent service and a new highly effective one-handed slice backhand, the latter a somewhat remarkable development for a mid-career top-level tennis professional.

Cash again proved to be Wilander's nemesis at Wimbledon, winning their quarterfinal match in straight sets.

Wilander faced another home crowd favourite, Henri Leconte, in the final of the French Open.

In a repeat match-up of the previous year's final, he defeated Lendl in five sets in 4 hours 54 minutes (the longest US Open singles final to that point)[27] and ended Lendl's three-year reign at the top of the world rankings.

He defeated Boris Becker in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open,[28] only to lose to Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the semifinals.

They appealed the initial three-month suspension by the International Tennis Federation, claiming flawed test procedures but withdrew their appeals in May 1997 and on 15 May 1997 received a three-month suspension from the ATP Tour for failing a drugs test.

Wilander last played in Davis Cup in the 1995 semifinals, where he lost to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.

In a July 1982 quarterfinal tie against the United States on carpet in St. Louis, Missouri, Wilander was defeated in the deciding fifth rubber by John McEnroe 9–7, 6–2, 15–17, 3–6, 8–6.

Wilander created a minor controversy during the 2006 French Open when he criticized several top players, including Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters, as lacking the competitive edge to beat their toughest rivals.

"[41] In the aftermath of these comments, fans coined the neologism "Wilanders" as a humorous synonym for "balls", denoting a competitive spirit and tenacity to win.

[44] Wilander, who won $8 million as a pro and more in endorsements, now spends much of his time living on an 81-acre estate in Hailey, Idaho, United States (part of the Sun Valley ski resort) with his wife Sonya (née Mulholland), a South African-born model, whom he started dating in 1985 and married in 1987.

His son Erik suffers from a comparatively mild form of epidermolysis bullosa, which benefits from Idaho's cool and dry air,[45] and Wilander and his wife have worked to raise funds for research into cures for the disease.