Kodes never played the Australian Open but he was twice the runner-up at the US Open, in 1971 and 1973.
Kodes reached his highest tour ranking of World No. 5 in September 1973. During his career, he won a total of 8 top-level singles titles and 17 doubles titles.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1990.
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1970 | French Open(1) | Zeljko Franulovic | 6–2, 6–4, 6–0 |
| 1971 | French Open (2) | Ilie Nastase | 8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 |
| 1973 | Wimbledon | Alex Metreveli | 6–1, 9–8, 6–3 |
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1971 | U.S. Open(1) | Stan Smith | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6 |
| 1973 | U.S. Open (2) | John Newcombe | 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 1970 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Zeljko Franulovic | 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2. | 1971 | Catania, Italy | Clay | Georges Goven | 6–3, 6–0, 6–2 |
| 3. | 1971 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Ilie Nastase | 8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 |
| 4. | 1972 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 5. | 1973 | Cologne WCT, Germany | Carpet | Brian Fairlie | 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 |
| 6. | 1973 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Alex Metreveli | 6–1, 9–8, 6–3 |
| 7. | 1975 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Adriano Panatta | 5–7, 2–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 8. | 1976 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet | Jiri Hrebec | 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 1970 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Ilie Nastase | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3, 8–6 |
| 2. | 1971 | Nice, France | Hard | Ilie Nastase | 10–8, 11–9, 6–1 |
| 3. | 1971 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Rod Laver | 7–5, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 4. | 1971 | U.S. Open, New York City | Grass | Stan Smith | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6 |
| 5. | 1971 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Arthur Ashe | 6–1, 3–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4 |
| 6. | 1972 | Nice, France | Clay | Ilie Nastase | 6–0, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 7. | 1972 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 4–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–2 |
| 8. | 1973 | Vancouver WCT, Canada | Other | Tom Gorman | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 |
| 9. | 1973 | U.S. Open, New York City | Grass | John Newcombe | 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 10. | 1973 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | Clay | Jiri Hrebec | 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 7–5 |
| 11. | 1975 | Hampton, U.S. | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 3–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
| 12. | 1975 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 3–6, 6–2, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1 |
| 13. | 1975 | Düsseldorf, Germany | Clay | Jaime Fillol | 6–4, 1–6, 6–0, 7–5 |
| 14. | 1975 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Adriano Panatta | 2–6, 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 15. | 1976 | Nice, France | Clay | Corrado Barazzutti | 6–2, 2–6, 5–7, 7–6, 8–6 |
| 16. | 1976 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 7–6, 6–2, 7–6 |
| 17. | 1977 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 5–7, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |