ATP Tour

From Nastase to Djokovic to Sinner: Remarkable facts about every ATP No. 1 Club member

Reaching No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings stands as one of tennis' ultimate milestones, a defining measure of sustained excellence on the sport's biggest stages.

Since the rankings system was officially introduced on 23 August 1973, only 29 players have reached the summit, joining one of the most elusive groups in the sport.

ATPTour.com looks at some of the best facts and records of the ATP No. 1 Club members.

1) Ilie Nastase
The Romanian was the first World No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history, sitting at the top in the first edition of the PIF ATP Rankings on 23 August 1973.

2) John Newcombe
The Australian remains the oldest player to debut at World No. 1, having done so at age 30, on 3 June 1974.

3) Jimmy Connors
The lefty was the first player to earn multiple ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. Connors finished atop the PIF ATP Rankings in five consecutive years, from 1974-1978, which was a record until Pete Sampras finished year-end No. 1 six consecutive seasons from 1993 through 1998.

4) Bjorn Borg
The Swede's first stint as World No. 1 lasted only a week, from 23 August 1977 to 29 August 1977. But he would spend a total of 170 weeks atop the PIF ATP Rankings, eighth of the 29 Club members.

Watch Wilander, Edberg & Becker describe Borg:

5) John McEnroe
McEnroe was the only player to be World No. 1 in both singles and doubles at the same time. The American first achieved the feat on 3 March 1980.

6) Ivan Lendl
Lendl was the first player to become No. 1 before winning a major title. Lendl debuted at No. 1 on 28 February, 1983, but won his first major in 1984 at Roland Garros. He went on to win 94 tour-level singles trophies in his career.

7) Mats Wilander
Wilander was the first player to become No. 1 after winning majors on three different surfaces. Wilander won seven majors from 1982 to 1998, before becoming No. 1 on 12 September 1988, following his US Open triumph.

8) Stefan Edberg
Edberg first became No. 1 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings in 1986, before reaching No. 1 in singles in 1990. The Swede is the most recent player from his country to hold World No. 1.

9) Boris Becker
Becker is the only German player to reach the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings.

10) Jim Courier
Courier remains the only American man to win the Roland Garros title multiple times in the Open Era, doing so in 1991 and 1992.

11) Pete Sampras
Sampras holds the record for the most consecutive year-end finishes as World No. 1. The American finished year-end No. 1 six consecutive seasons from 1993 through 1998.

Watch Sampras share the story of his rise to the top:

12) Andre Agassi
Agassi regained World No. 1 after falling as low as No. 141 in the PIF ATP Rankings in November 1997. Less than two years later, he was back atop the men's tennis mountain.

13) Thomas Muster
Muster suffered a devastating injury in 1989, when a drunk driver hit him, leading to severed cruciate and side ligaments in his left knee. More than six years later, at the age of 28, the lefty reached No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings on 12 February 1996.

14) Marcelo Rios
The Chilean was the first South American player to reach World No. 1 and remains one of only two, alongside Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, to achieve the feat.

15) Carlos Moya
Moya was the first Spanish player to reach the No. 1 ranking, and he later became the longtime coach of another member of the ATP No. 1 Club: Rafael Nadal.

16) Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Kafelnikov is the most recent male to win singles and doubles titles at the same Grand Slam tournament, having done so at Roland Garros in 1996.

17) Patrick Rafter
Rafter had the honour of being World No. 1 for one week from 26 July to 1 August 1999. The Australian also won back-to-back US Open titles in 1997 and 1998.

18) Marat Safin
Safin became ATP World No. 1 nine years before his sister, Dinara Safina, reached WTA World No. 1. They are the only siblings to reach World No. 1 in singles on the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour.

19) Gustavo Kuerten
The Brazilian is the only South American player to finish a season as the World No. 1. Kuerten achieved the feat in 2000.

20) Lleyton Hewitt
Before Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest World No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history aged 19 in 2022, Lleyton Hewitt had been the youngest player to reach World No. 1. The Australian was 20 when he did so in 2001.

21) Juan Carlos Ferrero
Ferrero, who reached World No. 1 in 2003, later coached another Spanish World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who first reached No. 1 in 2022.

22) Andy Roddick
The man known for his booming serve is the most recent American male player to reach World No. 1. Roddick first reached No. 1 in late 2003 for 10 weeks, then again in early 2004 for three weeks before Roger Federer overtook him to begin his 237-week stint as World No. 1.

23) Roger Federer
Federer holds the record for most consecutive weeks at World No. 1. The Swiss held the top spot for 237 consecutive weeks, from 2 February 2004 to 17 August 2008.

24) Rafael Nadal
Nadal is the only male player to hold the World No. 1 ranking in three separate decades. The Spaniard held the No. 1 spot in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.

25) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic holds the record for most weeks at World No. 1 in history, having spent 428 weeks atop the PIF ATP Rankings. The Serbian also owns the record for most ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours with eight.

26) Andy Murray
Murray first became World No. 1 on 7 November 2016, during a 24-match winning streak in which he won five titles. After reaching No. 1, Murray defeated Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals to finish the 2016 season as the year-end World No. 1.

27) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev is the tallest member in the ATP No. 1 Club. The 30-year-old is 6 feet 6 inches tall.

Medvedev shares how he reached the top of the PIF ATP Rankings:

28) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz is the youngest player ever to reach World No. 1. The Spaniard achieved the feat on 12 September 2022, when he was 19 years and 4 months old.

29) Jannik Sinner
Sinner, the most recent member of the ATP No. 1 Club, became the first Italian player ever to reach World No. 1 when he climbed atop the PIF ATP Rankings on 10 June 2024.