Reaching the top of the world rankings is a feat that eludes so many elite players throughout their careers, so to achieve it deserves huge praise.
That is, even if they only stay there for a week.
Pat Rafter is the man who actually holds the record for the shortest-ever reign at the top spot, which is a strange achievement to add to what was a hugely successful career.
He won 11 ATP titles across ten years of activity on the ATP Tour, two of which came at the US Open.
His serve-and-volley play style made him uniquely dangerous on the grass of Wimbledon, where he was a two-time finalist as well.
And yet, despite all of these accolades, it is arguably Rafter’s greatest accomplishment that ties directly in with this little-known record.
Pat Rafter: the man with the shortest-ever reign as world number one
Rafter is top of this somewhat unappealing list, which does boast some truly elite-level players.
That should come as no surprise, though. If even for a day, ascending to the top of the world rankings is a feat that should be celebrated.
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The Australian’s sole week only briefly beats Carlos Moyá’s two weeks, with Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Thomas Muster and Marcelo Ríos all tied in third on six weeks.
This leaves Juan Carlos Ferrero on six with eight weeks, Marat Safin on seventh with nine weeks, John Newcombe in eighth with ten weeks and Boris Becker in ninth with 12 weeks.
Roddick completes the top ten, having reached the top spot in the world rankings with just 13 weeks.
Interestingly, Rafter will never be dethroned from this top spot because of the way the rankings work – he can only ever be tied with another.
What happened in all four of Pat Rafter’s Grand Slam finals?
Rafter competed in four Grand Slam finals across his esteemed career, winning in half of these appearances.
In those titanic showdowns, he faced a wide variety of opponents as well, ranging from Pete Sampras, once the greatest male tennis player of all time, to Greg Rusedski, the former British number one.
Rafter’s first appearance actually came against the Canadian-born Brit, in the 1997 US Open final, and he maintained his 100% win rate in major finals the following year when he defended his title.
There, he beat his countryman Mark Philippoussis.
Sadly, this would be his last victory in a Grand Slam final, losing to Sampras in the 2000 Wimbledon final and Goran Ivanišević the following year.
