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Becoming World No.1 is one of the most difficult achievements in tennis, perhaps bested only by winning Grand Slam titles. Only 25 men have achieved the #1 ranking since the inception of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings system in 1973. Roger Federer does of course hold the recordfor the longest reign as #1 (302 weeks), while Patrick Rafter has had the shortest reign as #1: one week in July of 1999.The accomplishments of those who never made it to the pinnacle of the rankings are rarely highlighted though. Some of them were outstanding athletes in their own right and were a tad unfortunate. Here are the 10 best male tennis players who never achieved the ATPs #1 ranking (players no longer active) along with their peak ranking and earnings (adjusted for inflation).
#10 Manuel Orantes / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $6 Million
Despite being of only average height (he was called “Manuelito” or “Little Manuel” for his boyish demeanor), his accomplishments in the world of tennis from the late 60s to the early 80s can in no way be described as “little”. Despite “just” winning one Grand Slam singles title, he was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. He reached as high as No.2.
In the 1975 US Open, in the semis against Guilermo Vilas, Manuel completed one of the greatest comebacks in tennis. At 26 years old, Orantes had dropped the first two sets of the best-of-five sets match and was down 0-5 in the fourth. In fact, fans had begun to rush from the stadium to the parking lot in order to beat the exiting traffic. But Manuel had other ideas: he turned the match around and won 4-6, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
And again, in the final, no one gave Orantes a chance against Jimmy Connors, who was the best player in the world at that time. He registered an overwhelming 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win!
#9 Magnus Norman / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $6.4 Million
Sweden’s Magnus Norman would have probably accomplished more in his career had he not been hampered and forced into a premature retirement by hip and knee injuries. Nevertheless, his peak of #2 in the world in June of 2000 is a testament to Norman’s determination as he was never considered among the most talented players of his era. In fact, he didn't even win a Grand Slam singles title and reached only one Slam final: the 2000 French Open, where he lost in four sets to Gustavo Kuerten.
Today, Magnus is a successful tennis coach who is engineered Stanislas Wawrinka’s awesome transformation into a world beater. He also helped Thomas Johannson win the 2002 Australian Open and coached Robin Soderling for some time during which he became the only man to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open. That record stands till date.
#8 Arthur Ashe / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $6.9 Million
Ashe too went as far up as #2 in the world, but many tennis pundits consider him to be among the best American tennis players of all time. In fact, Ashe was the first African-American player ever selected to the US Davis Cup team and is the only black man to ever win the singles titles at the US Open (1968), the Australian Open (1970), and Wimbledon (1975).
Unfortunately, in 1979 Arthur suffered a heart attack which surprised the tennis world because of Ashe’s high level of fitness. He had to undergo a quadruple bypass operation as a result and had another heart operation four years later.
Tragically, five years after the second operation, Ashe was discovered to be HIV positive, with the doctors believing that Arthur had contracted the virus from blood transfusions during his second operation.
Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
#7 Rod Laver / Peak Rank: #3 / ATP Earnings: $10 Million
Rod Laver owns the record for the most singles titles won in the history of tennis (200), but surprisingly, he was never ranked #1 in the ATP rankings.
That is a little misleading, however, as Laver was World #1 for seven straight years from 1964 to 1970 and two years from 1961 to 1962, both coming before the creation of the ATP ranking system in 1973.
Rod is the only tennis player to have achieved the calendar Grand Slam (winning all four majors in the same year) twice (1962, 1969), and is the only player to have won a Grand Slam in the Open era.
Centre court at Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open, is named the “Rod Laver Arena”, and it’s often said that no GOAT (greatest of all time) discussion is ever complete without the mention of this Australian tennis legend.
#6 Vitas Gerulaitis / Peak Rank: #3 / ATP Earnings: $10 Million
In 1980, Vitas Gerulaitis ended a run of 16 consecutive defeats against Jimmy Connors. When he was asked how he had finally managed to beat his nemesis, the American famously replied, “Because nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”
That lighthearted response characterized the easygoing attitude that Gerulaitis displayed throughout his personal life. He was known for partying hard, a little too hard, in fact. But he was also very serious about his tennis.
His hard work netted him Australian Open in 1977, his only Grand Slam singles title.
#5 lex Corretja / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $15 Million
Àlex Corretja never won a Grand Slam singles title, but he did finish runner-up twice at the French Open (1998, 2001). The most important tournament he won in his career was the season-ending ATP Tour World Championship, which the Spaniard took in 1998. Àlex reached his career-high singles ranking of #2 in February of 1999 and later helped Spain to its first-ever Davis Cup title in 2000.
After retirement in 2005, he coached Spain’s Davis Cup team in 2012 and 2013.
#4 Michael Stich / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $21 Million
Germany’s Michael Stich is best remembered for winning Wimbledon in 1991. It was an especially impressive feat since he had to beat then World #1 Stefan Edberg in the semifinals and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in the the final en route to the title.
Stich also won other noteworthy titles, including the Men’s Doubles Wimbledon Championship (1992 with John McEnroe), and the Olympic Men’s Doubles gold medal (1992 with Boris Becker). Michael also won the 1993 year-end ATP World Tour Championship. In fact, in the 90s, Stich was the only player to claim the title while remaining undefeated throughout the tournament.
#3 Guillermo Vilas / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $21.4 Million
This one is a little dubious.
In 1977, Guillermo Vilas won an amazing seven consecutive titles after Wimbledon: Kitzbühel, Washington, Louisville, South Orange, Columbus, the US Open, and Paris — all on clay. That amounted to a match-winning streak of 57 matches. In total, the Argentinian won a record 16 ATP singles titles that year.
Despite that amazing performance, Vilas was officially listed only as #2 in the world that year, denying him the honor of ever achieving the top ranking in his career. Instead, Jimmy Connors, who won the Masters and six other titles in 1977, was named that season’s year-end World #1.
It was widely believed that the official rankings placed more weight on the tournaments that Connors won over those of Vilas, hence the rankings.
Nevertheless, Vilas’ four Grand Slam singles titles (1978 and 1979 Australian Open, 1977 French Open, and 1977 US Open) qualify him to be mentioned among the sport’s greatest names.
#2 Michael Chang / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $29.4 Million
Michael Chang was only able to win one Grand Slam singles title throughout his career, but the manner in which he won it probably had a role in convincing voters that he deserved a place in the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008. In fact, the drama during the 1989 French Open peaked not in the final, but during 15th seeded Chang’s fourth round encounter with then World #1 Ivan Lendl, the winner of the tournament in three of its previous five editions.
A 17-year-old Michael provided considerable resistance against Lendl, but still lost the first two sets 4-6, 4-6. However, Chang battled back to take the third and fourth 6-3, 6-3 despite suffering from terrible leg cramps during the fourth set. In the fifth, in order to overcome cramps, Michael hit moon balls into the air and ate bananas and drank water at every opportunity. Then, at 15-30 on his own serve, Chang attempted to get away with an unconventional serve, an underarm serve.
That point sealed the deal for Chang, who eventually won the match, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3, in 4 hours and 37 minutes. He went on to win the final against Stefan Edberg to become the youngest male player ever to win a Grand Slam title.
#1 Goran Ivanisevic / Peak Rank: #2 / ATP Earnings: $29.6 Million
For a while, it looked like Goran Ivaniševi would remain a three-time Wimbledon runner-up, but never the champion. He had made the final of the Championships in 1992, 1994, and 1998, but lost each one, first to Andre Agassi then twice to Pete Sampras.
By the summer of 2001, it looked certain that Goran would never win Wimbledon as his ranking had slipped to #125. In fact, his ranking was so low that he had to be awarded a wildcard to be able to play Wimbledon. Then, in an almost fairytale run, he reached his first final in three years and went on to defeat Patrick Rafter, 9-7 in the decider, in an epic match, to become the lowest-ranked player and the first wildcard entry to win Wimbledon.
He was never World #1, when you've won the most important tennis title in the world as the #125-ranked player, entering as a wildcard, the rankings don't really matter much.
