Every Men’s Tennis No.1 Since 1973

The ATP world No.1 ranking is the highest position a player can achieve in men’s professional tennis.

Since the rankings were first introduced by the Association of Tennis Professionals on 23 August 1973, a total of 29 different players have reached world No.1 in men’s singles.

The rankings are calculated using a rolling 52-week points system, where players earn points based on their results in tournaments such as the Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000 events, ATP 500 tournaments, and ATP 250 tournaments.

The first player to be ranked world No.1 was Ilie Năstase, while Novak Djokovic currently holds the record for the most weeks ranked No.1 in ATP history.

Below is the full list of every player who has reached the ATP world No.1 ranking since 1973.

List of ATP World No.1 Players (1973–Present)

No.	Player	Country	First Became No.1
1	Ilie Năstase	Romania	1973
2	John Newcombe	Australia	1974
3	Jimmy Connors	USA	1974
4	Björn Borg	Sweden	1977
5	John McEnroe	USA	1980
6	Ivan Lendl	Czech Republic / USA	1983
7	Mats Wilander	Sweden	1988
8	Stefan Edberg	Sweden	1990
9	Boris Becker	Germany	1991
10	Jim Courier	USA	1992
11	Pete Sampras	USA	1993
12	Andre Agassi	USA	1995
13	Thomas Muster	Austria	1996
14	Marcelo Ríos	Chile	1998
15	Carlos Moyá	Spain	1999
16	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Russia	1999
17	Patrick Rafter	Australia	1999
18	Marat Safin	Russia	2000
19	Gustavo Kuerten	Brazil	2000
20	Lleyton Hewitt	Australia	2001
21	Juan Carlos Ferrero	Spain	2003
22	Andy Roddick	USA	2003
23	Roger Federer	Switzerland	2004
24	Rafael Nadal	Spain	2008
25	Novak Djokovic	Serbia	2011
26	Andy Murray	Great Britain	2016
27	Daniil Medvedev	Russia	2022
28	Carlos Alcaraz	Spain	2022
29	Jannik Sinner	Italy	2024

First ATP World No.1

The first official ATP world No.1 was Ilie Năstase, who reached the top of the rankings on 23 August 1973 when the ATP introduced its computerized ranking system.

Before 1973, tennis rankings were largely determined by journalists and national federations rather than a unified points-based system.

Youngest ATP World No.1

The youngest player to reach world No.1 in ATP history is Lleyton Hewitt, who became No.1 in November 2001 at just 20 years and 8 months old.

Oldest ATP World No.1

The oldest player to hold the ATP No.1 ranking is Roger Federer, who returned to the top of the rankings in 2018 at the age of 36 years and 195 days.

The Big Three Era of ATP No.1

From the mid-2000s through the early 2020s, the world No.1 ranking was dominated by the three greatest players of the modern era:

• Roger Federer
• Rafael Nadal
• Novak Djokovic

Between them, the trio spent over 900 combined weeks ranked No.1, dominating men’s tennis for nearly two decades.

How the ATP Rankings Work

Players earn ranking points from their results in tournaments across the ATP Tour, including:

• Grand Slams (2,000 points to the winner)
• ATP Masters 1000 tournaments
• ATP 500 events
• ATP 250 tournaments
• ATP Challenger Tour events

Only a player’s best 19 tournament results count toward their ranking total.

You can learn more in our guide to the ATP Rankings system.

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