Generational Rivalry: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner evenly split four majors in back-to-back seasons

Edberg, Courier, Kuerten, Murray, Nastase, Alcaraz, Wilander, Medvedev, Roddick, Becker, Safin, Newcombe, Ferrero, Muster, Rios, Kafelnikov, Moya and Rafter had 397 weeks between them.

ByJohn Berkok

Published Oct 30, 2023

HIGHLIGHTS: N. Djokovic def. C. Alcaraz; Cincinnati F Win

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Novak Djokovic kicks off his 397th week at No. 1 on the ATP rankings today, just three weeks away from a major milestone—his 400th week on top.

But we don’t have to wait until 400 to have our minds blown.

With 397, Djokovic now has as many career weeks at No. 1 as everyone from No. 11 to No. 28 on the list of most career weeks at No. 1 in ATP rankings history, since they began more than 50 years ago.

That’s eighteen—yes, eighteen—different former ATP No. 1s combined.

MOST CAREER WEEKS AT NO. 1 ON ATP RANKINGS (since 1973)
397: Novak Djokovic [all-time record]
310: Roger Federer
286: Pete Sampras
270: Ivan Lendl
268: Jimmy Connors
209: Rafael Nadal
170: John McEnroe
109: Bjorn Borg
101: Andre Agassi
80: Lleyton Hewitt
72: Stefan Edberg
58: Jim Courier
43: Gustavo Kuerten
41: Andy Murray
40: Ilie Nastase
36: Carlos Alcaraz
20: Mats Wilander
16: Daniil Medvedev
13: Andy Roddick
12: Boris Becker
9: Marat Safin
8: John Newcombe
8: Juan Carlos Ferrero
6: Thomas Muster
6: Marcelo Rios
6: Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2: Carlos Moya
1: Patrick Rafter

The math: 72 + 58 + 43 + 41 + 40 + 36 + 20 + 16 + 13 + 12 + 9 + 8 + 8 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 2 + 1 = 397.

Djokovic already holds far and away the most weeks at No. 1 in ATP rankings history—he has 87 weeks more than the next player on the list, Roger Federer, who has 310.

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