Jannik Sinner set to pass greats John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal for No 1 feat
Jannik Sinner is currently in his 46th week at No 1 in the ATP Rankings and, with results going his way in recent months, he looks set to stay at the top until after the French Open.
That means he is on course to surge up several places on the list for most consecutive weeks spent at No 1 in the rankings in the coming months.
Sinner first rose to No 1 on June 10, 2024 as he became the first Italian to top the list when he replaced all-time great Novak Djokovic following Roland Garros.
The Italian’s 46 weeks puts him in joint-19th place with Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg for consecutive weeks at No 1 in the ATP Rankings.
Although he is not yet close to breaking into the top 10, he is set to overtake John McEnroe and and Nadal’s best-ever tallies for longest spells at No 1.
McEnroe spent 58 weeks in a row at No 1 from August 3, 1981 to September 12, 1982, which puts him in 11th place.
Nadal is just behind him as the Spaniard’s best total is 56 weeks, which he achieved from June 7, 2010 until July 3, 2011 during the peak of the Big Three era as he overtook Federer and was then replaced by Djokovic at the top.
But Sinner is set to move past those legends.
With Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz fumbling their chances of overtaking the Italian during his three-month suspension from tennis, Sinner is on course to stay top until after Roland Garros for a full 52 weeks at No 1.
Alcaraz had a slim chance of overtaking him if he did the Madrid Open-Italian Open double, but his withdrawal from the Spanish event put an end to his hopes.
There is further good news for Sinner ahead of the grass-court season as he is in a better position than his two closest challengers.
The Italian is dropping 900 points during the grass-court campaign, Zverev 400 and Alcaraz 2,050.
That means he will more than likely still be at No 1 by the time Wimbledon is done and dusted.
If he does indeed stay top until after the grass-court Grand Slam, then he will overtake McEnroe and Nadal, but he still has some way to catch up to those in the top 10.
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Roger Federer holds the all-time record as he spent an astonishing 237 weeks in a row at No 1 from February 2, 2004 until August 17, 2008.
In case you are too lazy to count, that is more than four years at No 1 and the Swiss is the only man to have spent more than 200 weeks consecutively at the top.
The great Jimmy Connors is next best with 160 weeks (July 29, 1974 until August 22, 1977) and he is followed by Ivan Lendl’s 157 (September 9, 1985 until September 11, 1988), Djokovic’s 122 (July 7, 2014 – November 6, 2016) and Pete Sampras’ 102 (April 15, 1996 until March 29, 1998).
Top 10 Most Consecutive Weeks at No 1:
1. Roger Federer 237
2. Jimmy Connors 160
3. Ivan Lendl 157
4. Novak Djokovic 122
5. Pete Sampras 102
6. Novak Djokovic (2) 86
7. Jimmy Connors (2) 84
8.Pete Sampras (2) 82
9. Ivan Lendl (2) 80
10. Lleyton Hewitt 75
