Andy Murray’s Unique Milestone: The Average Tennis World Number 1 Analysis

Andy Murray’s reign as World number 1 hit a very special point on Sunday (23rd April) – according to new research, on this day he surpassed the average duration at the top of the ATP World Tour rankings.

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Research by vouchercloud: http://bit.ly/andy-murrays-unique-milestone

Full Data: http://bit.ly/world-number-1-data-tennis

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In fact, since the ATP Rankings system was introduced in 1973, the average reign of a World number 1 has been a rather healthy 168 days – just under 24 weeks – according to research by money-saving website vouchercloud.

Murray, who suffered a shock defeat to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte Carlo Masters after returning from injury this week, has managed to hold onto the top spot despite the always consistent pressure from rival Novak Djokovic, who has held the World number 1 spot for 223 weeks across three stints during his career.

That being said, Djokovic’s impressive career still only leaves him 4th in the all-time list – Roger Federer inevitably tops the tables with 302 total weeks as World number 1, while Murray currently lies in 15th in the list of 26 past and present World number 1s.

However, Murray has a long way to go before he surpasses the average career duration at World number 1, which sits at almost 88 weeks – over triple the average duration of a single stint.

Federer’s domination across his career also means that Switzerland sits at second for weeks at World number 1 when it comes to the countries. The USA, with six previous world number 1s, including Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors, dominates the list with 896 weeks. While Switzerland (302), Czech Slovakia (270) and Serbia (223) lag behind (though this is thanks to Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Novak Djokovic single-handedly carrying their respective nations).

Vouchercloud’s data also revealed the players who, perhaps, had the easiest ride to World number 1 – Andy Roddick, Ivan Lendl, Lleyton Hewitt and Marcelo Rios all became World number 1 without having to win a single grand slam. Mats Wilander, on the other hand, had to claim 7 majors before claiming the top spot for the first time, while John Newcombe claimed 6, and Rafael Nadal and Boris Becker 5, before they each led the pack.

In fact, on average, you’ve got to claim at least two grand slams before staking a claim to the World number 1 spot – Andy Murray won three before earning his spot in November.

The data also showed the longest individual stints at World number 1, with Roger Federer famously claiming the top spot (237 weeks). Jimmy Connors (160) and Ivan Lendl (157) still lead Djokovic (122), who will be unlikely to surpass that total throughout the rest of his career.

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were to blame for many of the shortest stints, stealing the top spot from each other with stunning regularity. In fact, there were 11 individual one week stays at World number 1 – McEnroe owns four, Connors owns two, and Ivan Lendl also owns two.

The average World number 1 will actually sit at the top of the rankings almost 4 separate times (3.65 average), so there could be a long way for Murray to go yet.

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Notes

Data and calculations collated by Vouchercloud, using data from the ATP World Tour.

Full data is available via the link below:

http://bit.ly/tennis-world-number-1-data

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Career Weeks at World Number 1

National Weeks at World Number 1

Career Slams before becoming World Number 1

Longest Stays at World Number 1

Shortest Stays at World Number 1