Players with most weeks at number one in the ATP rankings all-time 1973-2023

Since their inaugural year in 1973, Novak Djokovic has spent the longest total time at the top of the ATP World Rankings. As of 2023, the Serbian had been world No. 1 in men’s tennis at various periods for a total of 405 weeks.

What are the ATP World Rankings?

The Pepperstone ATP Rankings, colloquially called the ‘world rankings’, are a historical objective merit-based method used for determining entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The ranking considers the results of the immediate past 52 weeks, with lists usually issued each Monday except during the duration of the four Grand Slam tournaments and the events in Miami and Indian Wells. The tournaments taken into account for the ranking are the four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP 500, ATP 250, the Challenger and the futures tournaments. As of September 2023, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz trailed Djokovic in second place in the ATP rankings.

How many men’s tennis players have been world number one?

Since the ATP introduced its computerized ranking system in 1973, 25 men have been ranked as world number one. Roger Federer, who won the most Grand Slam titles during his career, spent a total of 302 weeks over three separate periods at number one. Remarkably, one of these periods at the top of the ATP rankings lasted 237 weeks, which was the longest consecutive run as number one in the ATP rankings as of August 2023. Djokovic’s longest run, meanwhile, was 122 weeks.