Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Tennis365
Five incredible stats behind Novak Djokovic’s 428 weeks as world No 1
By Oli Dickson Jefford,
2024-06-11
Novak Djokovic spent 428 weeks as world No 1.
After 428 weeks as world No 1, Novak Djokovic has potentially lost his stranglehold on the top of the ATP Rankings for the last time.
The Serbian is down to world No 3 after the French Open , and doubts about his return from injury, coupled with his tournament scheduling, may mean his time as world No 1 is over.
If it is over, what an incredible ride it has been.
Djokovic’s 428 weeks as the No 1 is unmatched and will likely be one of the most unbreakable records he has set.
As the dust settles on his time at the top, we look at five numbers and stats that define his historic reign.
12 years, 341 days
Djokovic first rose to world No 1 on July 4th 2011, shortly after winning the first of his seven titles at Wimbledon .
The Serbian then spent 10 different spells as the world No 1 across his next career, before his tenth – and potentially final – spell as the best player in the world ended this Sunday – June 9th.
That is a gap of 12 years, 341 days between his first day as world No 1 and currently his last day in the top spot, a gap only eclipsed by Roger Federer in terms of length.
The longest of the Serbian’s 10 spells as world No 1 lasted an impressive 122 weeks, from July 7th 2014 to November 6th 2016.
That is the fourth-longest spell of anyone in an individual spell as world No 1, with only Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl having a longer consecutive reign.
Djokovic also had an 86-week spell, the sixth-longest consecutive spell of all time, while he also had spells of 53, 52, and 48 weeks throughout his legendary career.
275 weeks
Some of Djokovic’s best form has come in the 2020s, but most of his weeks as world No 1 came in the 2010s.
The Serbian spent a staggering 275 weeks of that decade at the summit of the ATP Rankings, with second-placed Rafael Nadal having achieved 159 weeks.
Only Pete Sampras has spent more weeks as world No 1 across an individual decade, with the American spending 276 weeks at the top during the 1990s.
Eight years
One of the greatest achievements possible on the ATP Tour is finishing a season as the year-end world No. 1, something Djokovic has done on eight separate occasions during his time at the top.
After back-to-back year-end No 1 finishes in 2011 and 2012, he went back-to-back again in 2014 and 2015, before doing so again in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023.
That is one of countless records that Djokovic holds, with Sampras in second place with six year-end No 1 finishes across the 1990s.
With Jannik Sinner becoming the first Italian No 1 in ATP history, 15 countries have had a world No 1 singles player on the ATP Tour.
Five countries have produced multiple world No 1 singles players, but Djokovic’s incredible reign at the top puts Serbia second in terms of countries with the most weeks as world No 1.
Despite being Serbia’s only ATP No 1, his 428 weeks is only bettered by the United States, where six players – including Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe – combine for 896 weeks at the top.
Djokovic and Serbia are ahead of every other nation in ATP history, including the other four nations with multiple No 1 players: Spain, Sweden, Australia, and Russia.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0