document_title: World number 1 ranked male tennis players

question_text: who is the current world's number 1 ranked men's tennis player

question_tokens: who is the current world 's number 1 ranked men 's tennis player

root

text: Rankings before 1973

text: Before the open era of tennis arrived in 1968, rankings for amateur players were generally compiled only for a full year of play. Professional players were ranked by journalists, promoters, and players' associations usually at the end of the year. Even for amateurs, however, there was no single official overall ranking that encompassed the entire world. Instead, nation rankings were done by the national tennis association of each country, and world rankings were the preserve of tennis journalists. It was only with the introduction of computerized rankings in the open era that rankings were issued more frequently than once yearly. Even the end-of-year amateur rankings issued by official organizations such as the United States Lawn Tennis Association were based on judgments made by men and women and not on mathematical formulas assigning points for wins or losses.

tag: p

text: In 1938, for instance, when Don Budge won the amateur Grand Slam, it was easy to conclude that Budge was not only the U.S. No. 1 but also the world No. 1 amateur player. It was far more difficult, however, to decide who was the best overall player, amateur or professional, for that year because both Ellsworth Vines and Fred Perry, now professionals, were still at the top of their form. Two different sources, however, carefully studied the performances of the players for that year and both concluded that Budge was the best overall player, with Vines a close second. For the previous year, 1937, one of these same sources concluded that all three players, Perry, Vines, and Budge, deserved to be called the co-world No. 1 players.

text: In 1946 Bobby Riggs, a professional, had clearly established himself as the best player in the world. In 1947, he was still the best professional player but Jack Kramer had a sensational amateur year. Kramer, having turned professional in November after the Pacific Coast amateur Champs, met Riggs three times in late December on fast indoor courts and Riggs won twice. But at the end of their long series of matches in May 1948, Kramer had led Riggs decisively in head-to-head meetings. It is feasible to argue, therefore, that Riggs and Kramer were possibly the co-world No. 1 players for 1947.

text: 1948 was the last year in which an amateur player turned professional and then went on to beat the defending professional champion. Therefore, it is generally acknowledged that the world No. 1 in every year since 1948 has been the best professional player.[citation needed]

text: Even here, however, some years present difficulties. Kramer was perhaps the world's best player in 1950 and 1951 when he crushed first Pancho Gonzales and then Pancho Segura in head-to-head tours but was dominated in tournaments by those same players. In 1952, there was no long, headline tour. Instead, there were short tours between different players and several professional tournaments, with the result that none of the professionals played extensively. The short-lived Professional Lawn Tennis Association published an end-of-the-year list in which Segura was ranked the best player in the world, with Gonzales second. During the year, however, Gonzales had defeated Segura 4 matches to 1. Segura had also won a number of important tournaments; so, it is probable that Segura and Gonzales were co-world No. 1 players for the year.

text: The following year, 1953, Kramer narrowly defeated the top amateur-turned-professional, Frank Sedgman, in their tour during the first half of the year and so reestablished himself as world No. 1, at least for that period. But then, because of injuries, he did not play the second half of the year. As a result, Kramer was now in semi-retirement.

text: In 1954, there were a number of round-robins as well as shorter tours, from which it is clear that Gonzales had now established himself as the best player in the world, the first year in a run of seven consecutive years as the world No. 1. But, given the spotty and often contradictory record-keeping of the professional results since 1926, it is frequently difficult to make a clear, objective judgment as to who was the best player in any number of years.

text: Professional tennis in Europe before 1926

text: There were numerous teaching professionals, that is, players who gave lessons for money at private clubs and public parks. Because they accepted money in return for their services, they were not allowed to participate in amateur tournaments. They did, however, create a number of relatively small professional tournaments for players like themselves, primarily in Europe.

text: Some of the oldest professional matches known are those between Irish player George Kerr and American Tom Pettitt. In 1889, Kerr beat Pettitt three times in four meetings. In June 1890, Kerr won all three matches against Pettitt in Dublin.

text: In April 1898, a professional, round-robin tournament was played in Paris on covered courts. Both Thomas Burke (tutor of the Tennis Club de Paris, former teacher of Joshua Pim who won Wimbledon twice) from Ireland and Kerr (Fitzwilliam Club) defeated Tom Fleming (Queen's Club), and Burke defeated Kerr 6–2, 4–6, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4.

text: During the 1900 Paris Exhibition, a professional tournament was held on clay, with Burke finishing ahead of both Kerr and the Englishman Charles Hierons.

text: In the spring of 1903 in Nice on clay, Reginald Doherty, the leading amateur, defeated the leading professional, Burke, 1–6, 6–1, 6–0, 6–0.

text: Burke was reportedly as good a player as the leading amateurs,[1] but he is totally forgotten today, as was later Charles Haggett, the best English teaching professional. In 1913, Haggett settled in the United States, invited by the West Side Tennis Club of Forest Hills, New York and became the coach of the American Davis Cup team. In practice matches, he beat the leading amateurs Tony Wilding, Wimbledon winner and Maurice McLoughlin, Wimbledon All Comer's winner.[2]

text: In the 1920s, Karel Koželuh, Albert Burke (son of Thomas Burke), and Roman Najuch were probably the most notable, as well as the best, of these players. The Bristol Cup, held at Beaulieu or at Cannes on the French Riviera and won seven consecutive times by Koželuh, was "the world's only significant pro tennis tournament."[3] Koželuh went on to become one of the very best of the touring professionals in the 1930s; so, it is easy to imagine that he, Burke, and probably other forgotten teaching professionals were among the top 10 amateur and professional players in any given year before 1928, which is the first year for which any of the sources cited here give a ranking for all the top players of that year. All top 10 rankings for the years before 1928 were for amateurs only.

text: The major professional tournaments before 1968

text: Tradition on the pro circuit was non-existent before 1968 because the event hierarchy could change each year. Some major tournaments, however, stood out at different times.

text: Elite events that lasted only a few years (mostly because of financial collapse) included:

text:
Bristol Cup: 1920s,
Queen's Club Pro: 1928
Southport tournament: 1935–1939
World Pro Championships in Berlin: 1932–1933
U.S Pro hardcourt: 1945
Philadelphia: 1950–1952
Tournament of Champions: 1956–1959
Masters Pro Round Robin: 1957–1958
Australian Pro: 1954, 1957–1958
Madison Square Garden Pro: 1966, 1967
Wimbledon Pro: 1967
Bonnardel Cup: 1930s
Kramer Cup: 1961–1963

tag: ul

text: Three major tournaments held a certain tradition and usually had the best of the leading players. They were called "Championship Tournaments." The most prestigious of the three was generally the London Indoor Professional Championship. Played between 1934 and 1990 at Wembley Arena in the United Kingdom, the tournament was unofficially and usually considered the world's championship until 1967. The oldest of the three was the United States Professional Championship, usually called the U.S. Pro, played between 1927 and 1999. Between 1954 and 1962 it was played indoors in Cleveland and was called the World Professional Championships. The third major tournament was the French Professional Championship, played between 1934 and 1968, generally at Roland Garros. The British and American championships continued into the open era but devolved to the status of minor tournaments. The winner and runner-up in each of these tournaments will be shown for the years in which they were played.

text: These three tournaments (Wembley Pro, French Pro and U.S. Pro) through 1967 are sometimes referred to as the professional Grand Slam tournaments by tennis historians. In any particular year, another tournament, such as the Forest Hills Pro or the Masters Pro, could have had a better field. But over the decades, these were the three "majors" that all professional players sought.

text: Sources of rankings and other information

text: Other years dating back to 1913 also present difficulties and ambiguities. There are sometimes contradictions between sources regarding the same information. The rankings below, however, all come from various sources that are as authoritative as can be found. There are eighteen sources:

text:
The United States Tennis Association Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (1981).[4] This book has annual rankings for the top 10 players as compiled every year from 1914 through 1980. These rankings were made annually by various tennis experts at a London newspaper, The Daily Telegraph: Wallis Myers (1913–1938), John Olliff (1939–1951), and Lance Tingay (1952–1967). These rankings, however, included only amateur players. Beginning with the 1920s, some of the best players in the world were professionals. Once they became professionals, as Bill Tilden did in 1931, they were no longer included in these annual lists.
History of the Pro Tennis Wars, by Ray Bowers, is a website[5] associated with the Tennis Server website. In thirteen chapters, Bowers gives a very detailed account of the first twenty years of the professional tennis tours, from a modest beginning in 1926 with Suzanne Lenglen and Vincent Richards as the main attractions, on through 1945. He also gives detailed results of some of the tournaments played by professionals in addition to the main head-to-head tours. In his summing-up for each year since 1928, he gives his rankings for the best players of that year, combining both amateurs and professionals, with the number of players ranked varying from year to year. In all cases prior to 1940, his rankings coincide with those of The Daily Telegraph as far as amateurs are concerned.
Total Tennis: The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia (2003), by Bud Collins.[6] This massive work has year-by-year chapters in which Collins gives a brief summation of the pro tour results, often with personal comments about the players. It also has somewhat more complete rankings from the early years of the Daily Telegraph. The combined amateur-professional rankings for 1968 through 1972 are those of Collins himself. Beginning with 1973, the Association of Tennis Professionals began issuing computer-generated weekly rankings. Collins shows the top 10 players in these rankings for the last week of every calendar year through 2002.
The History of Professional Tennis (2003), by Joe McCauley. This book was published in the United Kingdom and is a year-by-year account of the professional tours and tournaments between 1926 and 1968. The book has 80 pages of year-by-year results for as many tournaments, tours, and head-to-head matches as the author, a long-time writer for World Tennis magazine, could find.
The Concise History of Tennis (2010), by Károly Mazák. This e-book is a year-by-year account of (lawn) tennis between 1877 and 2009. Each page contains a short summary of the major events in that particular year, and combined (amateur and professional) year-end rankings in tabulated form that show the performance of the top players at the major events. Based upon available sources, including contemporary magazine classifications (Pastime, Lawn Tennis and Badminton) and official national rankings, the author has retrospectively created year-end rankings before 1913.
Professional Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA). The PLTA was composed of a group of professional players in the late 1940s and early 1950s and, for several years, issued its own official rankings of professional players at the end of each year. The PLTA was also apparently called the Professional Players Association (PPA) in at least 1946.
The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979), by Jack Kramer.[7] Kramer's autobiography has information about the 1954 professional tour that is somewhat different from the other sources but that must be considered authoritative in that Kramer himself was the tour promoter that year.
Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The ATP has issued its own year-end ranking of the top male players every year since 1973.
Tennis Is My Racket (1949), by Bobby Riggs. Riggs's autobiography has information about the 1946 professional tour that is slightly different from the other sources. He also writes at length about his 1948 tour with Kramer but says nothing about his playing record in 1947, about which there is much conflicting information.
The Last Sure Thing: The Life & Times of Bobby Riggs (2003), by Tom LeCompte.[8] This biography published after Riggs's death jibes with his own information for 1946 but is at odds with other sources about Riggs's record in 1947.
Vainqueurs 1946-2003 (2003), by Michel Sutter (Winners 1946-2003 in English). Apparently based mostly on information drawn from the French sports magazine L'Équipe, this is an updated edition of his earlier book Vainqueurs 1946-1991. Both books list the winners of many professional tournaments and matches for the years shown in their titles, but the earlier book also listed the runner-ups, scores, and the exact dates as well as some commentary, in French and in English, by the author for each year.
Histoiredutennis.com ("History of tennis"). This is a French website that has much interesting information, particularly in its extended chapters with the history of tennis. Some of its information about the professional tour in 1954, however, seems to conflict with other sources. The 1954 information may actually be for 1953.
Der Grösste Meister. Die denkwürdige Karriere des australischen Tennisspielers Kenneth Robert Rosewall (1999), by Robert Geist. This is a detailed account of Ken Rosewall's career with many statistics and, in particular, his annual rankings during his professional career.
Anthony Wilding A Sporting Life (2005), by Len and Shelley Richardson.
Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club: 100 Years in Australian Tennis, by Richard Yallop.[9]
Modern Tennis (1915), by P.A. Vaile (second edition).
Lawn Tennis (1889), by Methven Brownlee (Arrowsmith, Bristol)
Kings of the court. The story of lawn tennis. by E.C. Potter. (Barnes and Company, New York, 1963.) A very good tennis history book, has many details about the pre–World War I players.
Fifty years of Wimbledon. by Wallis Myers. (The Field, London, 1926.) Each year of Wimbledon is examined, although it does not contain Top10 world rankings.

text: Discrepancies in source material

text: A good example of the occasional lack of authoritative material about the early years of the professional players is the somewhat surprising fact that the very existence of the 1936 and 1938 Wembley tournament is in question. Two sources, Collins and McCauley, give results for the Wembley tournament in each year. Bowers, however, is adamant that neither took place and offers some evidence to support his view.

text: Another example is 1947. Collins says that Riggs beat Budge in a tour; McCauley says that there was no long tour, only a short one between Riggs and Frank Kovacs. Tom LeCompte says that there was a small tour with Riggs overcoming Budge 12-6 followed by the short Riggs-Kovacs tour (4-3, but 11-10 according to McCauley).

text: Other examples : the French Pro until 1933. McCauley says that the first year of the French Pro is unknown but begins his list in 1930 whereas Ray Bowers doesn't talk about any French Pro before 1934 (even in 1934 he doesn't use the expression "French Professional Championships" but writes a three-day tournament at (Roland) Garros, September 21–23). For example, in 1933, the supposed Tilden-Cochet final (6-2 6-4 6-2) listed by McCauley was just according to Bowers a singles match (with a slightly different score 6-3 6-4 6-2) of a USA-France meeting (in the Davis Cup format) at Roland Garros (where Cochet defeated Bruce Barnes, Tilden beat Plaa and Cochet and Barnes overcame Plaa and the US won the doubles).

text: The world number 1 and 2 rankings

text: Before 1973, there were no computer rankings, but only journalists or officials (on their personal behalf) or promoters or players themselves who listed their own annual rankings.

text: In 1973 the ATP listed its own rankings every fortnight and some years later (around 1977) every week but they had many imperfections because in the seventies and the eighties they didn’t take into account such events as the Davis Cup, the WCT Finals and the Masters (later called the Singles Championship and in the 2000s the Tennis Masters Cup). Nowadays the Tennis Masters Cup give ATP points. (See : List of ATP number 1 ranked players).

text: Therefore, other rankings proposed by tennis experts or by the players themselves could be more accurate because they included these events : From 1973 to 2006 this list sometimes differs from the ATP list because it shows journalists (or even players) rankings and not computer rankings. In particular Connors has been ranked #1, at the end of the year, from 1974 to 1978 by the ATP but the majority disagreed the computer rankings : for instance in 1975 all the journalists (among them John Barrett, Bud Collins, Barry Lorge, Judith Elian) ranked Arthur Ashe as the number 1 in the world while his ATP ranking was only 4th; in 1977, no one, except the ATP ranking, considered that Connors was the best player in the world, and everyone thought that Borg and Vilas were tennis kings; and in 1978 everyone and in particular the ITF recognized that the Swede was the World Champion. In 1982 and in 1989 respectively Connors and Becker both winners of Wimbledon and the US Open were considered as World Champions even though the ATP ranked respectively McEnroe and Lendl as number 1 and number 2. Since the mid-'90s the ATP rankings had been more or less accepted by many as the official rankings (but in 1999 many considered Sampras as the second best player in the world while the ATP ranked Kafelnikov 2nd). Finally since 1978 the ITF (represented at the beginning by Sedgman, Hoad and Trabert) has designated his World Champion.

text: Before 1913 very few sources are available but Richard Yallop in Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club 100 Years in Australian Tennis stated that Norman Brookes was the champion of the world in 1907 and Len and Shelley Richardson in Anthony Wilding A Sporting Life cite the opinions of A. E. Crawley (an early-twentieth-century British journalist) and Anthony Wilding (the New Zealand tennis player).

text: List

text: Early tennis era rankings are more variable in nature due to limited sourcing.

text: A. = Amateur P. = Professional

text:
Year
Number 1 Player
Runner-up Player
Source of Ranking

1877
Spencer Gore A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
Gore is the Wimbledon champion

1878
Frank Hadow A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
Hadow is the Wimbledon champion

1879
John Hartley A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
Hartley is the Wimbledon champion

1880
John Hartley A. (GB)
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
Hartley wins the only match he plays, against Lawford in the Wimbledon final.

1881
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Herbert Lawford A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, R. Osborn (he ranked the Top7 British players), as reported by Tingay in his encyclopedia
William Renshaw is the Irish and Wimbledon champion.

1882
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Ernest Renshaw A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
William Renshaw is the Irish and Wimbledon champion, his brother Ernest is the challenger both times.

1883
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Ernest Renshaw A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Methven Brownlee: Lawn Tennis
William Renshaw has won the only singles match he played at Wimbledon against Irish champion Ernest Renshaw.

1884
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Herbert Lawford A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. W. Renshaw 2. Lawford
William Renshaw has won the only singles match he played at Wimbledon against Irish champion Lawford.

1885
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Herbert Lawford A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. W. Renshaw 2. Lawford
William Renshaw has won the only singles match he played at Wimbledon against Irish champion Lawford.

1886
William Renshaw A. (GB)
Herbert Lawford A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. W. Renshaw 2. Lawford
William Renshaw has won the only singles match he played at Wimbledon against Irish champion Lawford.

1887
Ernest Renshaw A. (GB)
Herbert Lawford A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-2. Lawford, E.Renshaw
Lawford beat Ernest Renshaw at Wimbledon and lost to him at the Irish. Neither of them has shown as good a form as William Renshaw last year who is absent because of injury.

1888
Ernest Renshaw A. (GB)
Willoughby Hamilton A.
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. E. Renshaw 2-4. W. Renshaw, Hamilton, Lewis
Ernest Renshaw is the Irish and Wimbledon champion. Hamilton is the Irish challenger, and the Northern England champion.

1889
Willoughby Hamilton A. (IRL)
William Renshaw A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-2. W. Renshaw, Hamilton
Hamilton has beaten William Renshaw (once again Wimbledon champion) at the Irish, won the Northern England title as well, but lost at the Wimbledon semis to Harry Barlow.

1890
Willoughby Hamilton A. (IRL)
Joshua Pim A. (IRL)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-2. Hamilton, Pim
Hamilton wins Wimbledon, but loses to Pim in Liverpool and Lewis in Dublin (although he is the Irish champ, he had severe defeats by Pim and G. Chaytor).

1891
Ernest Lewis A. (GB)
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)
Joshua Pim A. (IRL)
all 3 ranked equally
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-3. W. Baddeley, Lewis, Pim
Lewis is the Irish, Baddeley the Wimbledon champion, but they have not met. Both of them have beaten Pim, although Pim also beat Baddeley at the Northern Champ.

1892
Ernest Renshaw A. (GB)
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-2. E. Renshaw, W. Baddeley
Ernest Renshaw is the Irish, Baddeley the Wimbledon champion (in the absence of Renshaw), but they have not met.

1893
Joshua Pim A. (IRL)
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. Pim 2. W. Baddeley
Pim wins Wimbledon, the Irish and Northern England titles as well (no one has won all these three big titles in the same year yet). He twice defeats Baddeley.

1894
Joshua Pim A. (IRL)
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1. Pim 2. W. Baddeley
Pim defends his Wimbledon and Irish titles. Wilfred Baddeley is the Wimbledon challenger and wins the Northern England title beating Pim and also beats him at an international match.

1895
Joshua Pim A. (IRL)
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Pastime classification of British players:
1-2. W. Baddeley, Pim
Pim is the Irish champion demolishing Wilberforce Eaves, but is absent from Wimbledon that Baddeley wins from a weaker field narrowly beating Eaves.

1896
Wilfred Baddeley A. (GB)
Harold Mahony A. (IRL)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis classification of British players (in alphabetical order, foreign and covered court tournaments were not taken into account):
1. W. Baddeley scratch 2. Mahony
Baddeley has beaten Mahony both at the Irish and Northern England Championships, but lost to him at Wimbledon. John Pius Boland won the Olympic gold.

1897
Reginald Doherty A. (GB) - Wilberforce Eaves A. (GB)
Robert Wrenn A. (USA)
all 3 ranked equally
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis classification of British players (in alphabetical order, foreign and covered court tournaments were not taken into account):
1. W. Baddeley, R. Doherty, Eaves scratch US rankings: 1. Wrenn 2. Larned 3. Eaves
There is very little difference between the top players. Wimbledon champion Doherty was beaten by Irish champ Eaves in Dublin, by Baddeley at the Northern England Championships and by Mahony at the international match, however he has beaten all of them at Wimbledon. Wrenn beats Eaves at the US but loses to Larned in Boston.

1898
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Hugh Laurence "Laurie" Doherty A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis classification of British players (in alphabetical order, foreign and covered court tournaments were not taken into account):
1-5. G. Chaytor, L. Doherty (he was probably the most consistent), R. Doherty, W. Eaves, S. Smith
Wimbledon champ Reginald Doherty loses to Irish Mahony in Dublin. Laurie Doherty defeats Mahony at Wimbledon, but loses the challenge round to his brother.

1899
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Sydney Smith A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis classification of British players (in alphabetical order, foreign and covered court tournaments were not taken into account):
1. R. Doherty scratch 2. S. Smith 1/6 US rankings: 1. Whitman
Reginald Doherty wins both the Wimbledon and the Irish titles and has an unbeaten season. Charles A. Voigt from Boston classified the national champions in this order: R. Doherty, Smith (of Wales), Whitman. Whitman wins all the important US tournaments, and according to Potter (in his Kings of the Court book) he played magnificently.

1900
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Malcolm Whitman A. (USA)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, British author Jackson ranked the British players in the American Outing as follows:
1. R. Doherty 2. Smith 3. Gore US rankings: 1. Whitman
Reginald wins both the Wimbledon and the Irish titles. Whitman wins all the important US titles and demolishes Gore in Davis Cup. Laurence Doherty won the Olympic gold.

1901
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Arthur Gore A. (GB)
William Larned A. (USA)
all 3 ranked equally
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis
Reginald (still Irish champ) is in poor health and loses his Wimbledon title to Gore. Larned is the best American in the absence of Whitman.

1902
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Laurence Doherty A. (GB)
William Larned A. (USA)
all 3 ranked equally
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis and Croquet classification of British players (some continental tournaments were also taken into account):
1. L. Doherty, R. Doherty scratch US rankings: 1. Larned 2. Whitman
Irish and Wimbledon champ Laurie was not selected for Davis Cup. US champ Larned was 1-1 with Reginald, who did not play singles anymore in England.

1903
Laurence Doherty A. (GB)
William Larned A. (USA)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Anthony Wilding; DeWitt C. Regrave, Jr. in "World Tennis" November 1955 (Volume 3 Number 6)
Laurie was definitely the best, winning Wimbledon, the US Championship and Davis Cup. Larned nearly beats Laurie at Davis Cup.

1904
Laurence Doherty A. (GB)
Reginald Doherty A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players (by the eminent handicapper Simond):
1. L. Doherty, 2. R. Doherty scratch US rankings: 1. Ward
Wimbledon champ Laurie has only one loss at the end of the season. US1 Ward loses to Larned in Boston. Beals Wright won the Olympics.

1905
Laurence Doherty A. (GB)
Beals Wright A. (USA)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, The Lawn Tennis and Badminton classification of British players and the American and Australian visitors:
1. L. Doherty 2. Wright 3. Brookes 4. Smith US rankings: 1. Wright
Doherty is the Wimbledon champion. US champion Wright twice beats Wimbledon challenger Brookes, but loses to Gore at Wimbledon.

1906
Laurence Doherty A. (GB)
Norman Brookes A. (Aus)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis
Doherty is the Wimbledon champion. Brookes has won the Victorian Championships against Wilding but has not played outside Australia. US champion Clothier loses in Boston.

1907
Norman Brookes A. (Aus)
William Larned A. (USA)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, Richard Yallop
Brookes was undefeated in Great Britain and won there in particular Wimbledon and the Davis Cup preliminary and challenge rounds; DeWitt C. Regrave, Jr. in "World Tennis" November 1955 (Volume 3 Number 6).
Larned is the US and Boston champion in weak fields (without Clothier or Wright).

1908
William Larned A. (USA)
Arthur Gore A. (GB)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis
Larned is the US and Boston and wins his Davis Cup matches. In his book Anthony Wilding judged Brookes the best, however the actual results contradict his assertion. Brookes has lost to US No 2 Wright in Davis Cup and could only narrowly beat Alexander. Gore is the Wimbledon champion in a weak field. Arthur Gore won the Olympic Indoor tennis gold medal, Josiah Ritchie won the Olympic Outdoor tennis gold medal.

1909
William Larned A. (USA)
Anthony Wilding A. (NZ)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis
Larned is the US and Boston and wins his Davis Cup matches. Wilding has defeated Brookes at the Victorian Championships. Gore is the Wimbledon champion in a weak field.

1910
William Larned A. (USA)
Anthony Wilding A. (NZ)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis
Larned is once again US and Boston champ (he was named the best player of the world next April by a British expert, A. Crawley). Wilding wins Wimbledon but Wright nearly beats him in the all-comers’ final.

1911
Norman Brookes A. (Aus)
Anthony Wilding A. (NZ)

Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis', Anthony Wilding
Wilding has barely defended his Wimbledon title. Brookes has won in Davis Cup and won the Australasian Championships (also beating Heath). Larned (US and Boston champ), suffering from rheumatism, lost to Heath. In his book Anthony Wilding judged Brookes the best, but based on their last encounter in 1909 they were probably equal

1912
Anthony Wilding A. (NZ)
Maurice McLoughlin A. (USA)
Karoly Mazak: The Concise History of Tennis, A.E. Crawley listed the world's ten best singles players in three classes : in the first Brookes and André Gobert the two most brilliant stroke makers; second class Wilding; third class five USA players William Larned, Beals Wright, Maurice McLoughlin, William Clothier, R. Norris Williams and two British players Charles Dixon (tennis) and Arthur Gore. Yet Crawley conceded that if the world's best were brought together in a round robin tournament on a perfect court, Wilding would win.
Wilding is the Wimbledon champion, but lost on wood to Gobert and Dixon. McLoughlin, who won the US Championship, is undefeated in America in the absence of Larned. The high placement of Brookes cannot be justified this year as he lost a critical Davis Cup match to Parke (in fact, Brookes has not beaten a world class player since 1907). Gobert was brilliant, but lost at Wimbledon to Gore and in Davis Cup to Dixon. Otto Froitzheim won the World Hard Court Championships (on Clay). Charles Winslow won the Olympics.

text: From 1913 sources are more detailed and better documented.

text:
Year
Consensus world No. 1
Consensus world No. 2
Source of Ranking

1913
Tony Wilding A. (NZ)
Norman Brookes A.
Maurice McLoughlin A. (USA)
Arthur Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Wilding, Brookes & McLoughlin tied for 2nd, Jim Cecil Parke, R. Norris Williams, Percy Dixon, Otto Froitzheim, Stanley Doust, André Gobert, Max Décugis.
Myers must have ranked Brookes that high only on reputation. Brookes only played in Australia and gave a walkover in the final of the Victorian Championships (then the most important tournament in Australia even ahead the Australasian Championship). Wilding won all three of the ILTF's World Championships – Wimbledon, World Hard Court Championships (Clay), World Covered Court Championships (Indoor). Maurice McLoughlin won the US Championships.

1914
Maurice McLoughlin A. (USA)
Norman Brookes A. (Aus.)
Tony Wilding A. (NZ)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were McLoughlin, Brookes & Wilding tied for 2nd, Froitzheim, Williams, Parke, Arthur Lowe, F. Gordon Lowe, Heinrich Kleinschroth, Décugis. P.A. Vaile disagreed, arguing that James Cecil Parke had a stronger claim to the top ranking than McLoughlin's. However, Vaile also credited Brookes with having the greatest season in tennis history up to that time. Norman Brookes won Wimbledon, Tony Wilding won the World Hard Court Championship (Clay). Richard Norris Williams won the US Championship. Parke had no major title wins in 1914.

1915-
1918

World War I, no world rankings

1919
Gerald Patterson A. (Aus.)
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
both ranked equally
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Patterson & Johnston tied for 1st, Gobert, Bill Tilden, Brookes, Algernon Kingscote, Williams, Percival Davson, Willis Davis, William Laurentz. Gerald Patterson won Wimbledon. Andre Gobert won the World Covered Court Championship (Indoor). Bill Johnston won the US Championship.

1920
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Tilden, Johnston, Kingscote, Parke, Gobert, Brookes, Williams, Laurentz, Zenzo Shimidzu, Patterson. Bill Tilden won Wimbledon and the US Championship. William Laurentz won the World Hard Court Championships (Clay). Gordon Lowe won the World Covered Court Championship (Indoor). Louis Raymond won the Olympic Games.

1921
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Tilden, Johnston, Vinnie Richards, Shimidzu, Patterson, James Anderson, Brian Norton, Manual Alonso, Williams, Gobert. Bill Tilden won Wimbledon, the World Hard Court Championships (Clay) & the US Championship. William Laurentz won the World Covered Court Championship (Indoor).

1922
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
Bill Tilden A. (USA)

Capt. H. Liddel Hart who ranked the amateurs as 1. Johnston, Tilden, 3. Vincent "Vinnie" Richards, 4. Anderson, 5. Patterson, 6. Kingscote, 7. Williams, 8. Henri Cochet, 9. Alonso, 10. Gobert; New York Times (1 Tilden, 2 Johnston, 3 Richards, Patterson, 5 Alonso, 6 Williams, 7 Anderson, 8 Pat O'Hara Wood, 9 Kingscote, 10 Gobert); A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph (Tilden, Johnston, Patterson, Richards, Anderson, Henri Cochet, Pat O'Hara Wood, Williams, Kingscote, Gobert). Myers ranked Tilden ahead Johnston because he thought that Tilden was more intelligent on a tennis court than his countryman but Johnston beat Tilden three times in four meetings that year. Henri Cochet won 2 of the 3 International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) designated 'World Championships' - the World Hard court Championships (Clay) and the World Covered Court Championships (indoor). Gerald Patterson won Wimbledon and Bill Tilden won the US Championship.

1923
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Tilden, Johnston, Anderson, Williams, Frank Hunter, Richards, Norton, Alonso, Jean Washer, Cochet. Bill Johnston won 2 of the 3 International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) designated 'World Championships' - Wimbledon and the World Hard Court Championships (Clay). Henri Cochet won the World Covered Court Championships (indoor). Bill Tilden won the US Championship.

1924
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
Vinnie Richards A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Tilden, Richards, Anderson, Johnston, René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Howard Kinsey, Patterson, Cochet, Alonso. The Australasian Championship has now being officially designated by the ILTF as a Major Championship, starting in this year. The champion of this tournament was James Anderson. The US Championships also, from this year, is now being officially designated as a Major Championship by the ILTF (though many viewed it unofficially as a major prior to this). The champion of that tournament was Bill Tilden. Wimbledon was won by Jean Borotra. The Olympic winner in Paris was Vincent Richards.

1925
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
Bill Johnston A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Tilden, Johnston, Richards, Lacoste, Williams, Borotra, Patterson, Alonso, Norton, Takeichi Harada. In the Pro ranks, the two significant tournaments were the Bristol Cup in Menton, France, won by Albert Burke and the World Professional Championship in Deauville won by Karel Koželuh. The French Championships has now being designated as a Major Championship, by the ILTF. From this year it has also become open to international amateur competitors. The winner was René Lacoste who also won Wimbledon. Tilden won the US Championships and the Australasian Championships was won by James Anderson.

1926
René Lacoste A. (Fr.)
Jean Borotra A. (Fr.)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; the top 10 amateurs rankings were Lacoste, Borotra, Cochet, Johnston, Tilden, Richards, Harada, Alonso, Kinsey, Jacques Brugnon; the promoter Charles C. Pyle signed Richards, Harvey Snodgrass, Kinsey, and Paul Féret for the first professional tour, which toured the United States and Canada in the fall of 1926; the headliner, however, was the French female player Suzanne Lenglen (against Mary Kendall Browne) and there are only scattered records of the men's matches. Karel Koželuh won the only significant pro tournament of the time : the Bristol Cup at Cannes.

1927
René Lacoste A. (Fr.)
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; the top 10 amateur rankings were Lacoste, Tilden, Cochet, Borotra, Alonso, Frank Hunter, George Lott, John Hennessey, Brugnon, and Jan Koželuh; Richards beat Kinsey in the first U.S. Pro; Bowers ranks Karel Koželuh, the older brother of Jan Koželuh, and Richards as being tied for #1 among the few professional players, but does not make a joint amateur-professional ranking.

1928
Henri Cochet A. (Fr.)
René Lacoste A. (Fr.)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; Cochet won the French and U.S. Championships, Lacoste won Wimbledon, Borotra won the Aust. Championships; Koželuh, the winner of the Bristol Cup at Beaulieu, def. Richards 15 matches to 5 in a North American head-to-head tour; Richards beat Koželuh in the U.S. Pro; Robert Ramillon beat Edmund Burke at the Queen's Club Pro; Bowers ranks the top eight, in merging his pro list into Myers's amateur list, as being Cochet, Lacoste, Tilden, Koželuh, Richards, Hunter, Borotra, and George Lott, with Koželuh and Richards being the only professionals.

1929
Henri Cochet A. (Fr.)
René Lacoste A. (Fr.)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; Lacoste won the French Championships, Tilden won the U.S. Championships, Cochet won Wimbledon, John Colin Gregory won the Aust. Championships; Koželuh beat Richards in the U.S. Pro and Albert Burke at the Bristol Cup at Beaulieu; Koželuh apparently beat Richards 5 matches to 2 in the course of the year; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Cochet, Lacoste, Borotra, Tilden, Karel Koželuh, Hunter, Lott, and Richards, with Koželuh and Richards being the only professionals.

1930
Henri Cochet A. (Fr.)
Bill Tilden A. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; Cochet won the French Championships, John Doeg won the U.S. Championships, Tilden won Wimbledon, Edgar Moon won the Aust. Championships; Koželuh beat Roman Najuch at Beaulieu; Richards beat Koželuh in the U.S. Pro; Koželuh perhaps beat Albert Burke in the first French Pro (probably not held because Bowers didn't account it); Koželuh apparently beat Richards 4 matches to 2 in the course of the year; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Cochet, Tilden, Richards, Karel Koželuh, Borotra, Doeg, Frank Shields, and Wilmer Allison, with Koželuh and Richards being the only professionals. In October Richards announced his retirement.

1931
Bill Tilden P. (USA)
Henri Cochet A. (Fr.)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; McCauley; Borotra won the French Championships, Ellsworth Vines won the U.S. Championships, Sidney Wood won Wimbledon, Jack Crawford won the Aust. Championships; A. Wallis Myers ranked Cochet #1 amateur thanks to his wins over the British players in the Davis Cup but the French had a relatively poor season with only three tournament wins (Monte Carlo being the most prestigious); Myers strangely ranked Ellsworth Vines only #3 in the amateur ranks though the American won 9 tournaments including the U.S. amateur Championships (comparisons are difficult because that year Vines wasn't invited to play abroad and Cochet didn't quit Europe); Tilden, aged 38, turned professional and, in a head-to-head tour, def. Koželuh either 63 matches to 13 (McCauley) or 50 to 17 according to Tilden himself in the North American part of the tour (see Bowers) but the two players also competed in the first European tour with Martin Plaa, Albert Burke, Frank Hunter and Hans Nüsslein : many results are unknown nevertheless Tilden lost only one match against all these opponents (Koželuh at Amsterdam); Tilden also def. Richards, who had abandoned his retirement, either 12-1 over the year (McCauley) or 10 to 0 (Bowers); Tilden beat Richards in the U.S. Pro; Martin Plaa perhaps beat Robert Ramillon in the French Pro(probably not held because Bowers didn't account it); Koželuh def. Albert Burke at Beaulieu; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Tilden, Cochet, Bunny Austin, Vines, Fred Perry, Karel Koželuh, Richards, and Shields, with Tilden, Koželuh, and Richards being the only professionals; this was the first year a professional was ranked either No. 1 or No. 2.

1932
Ellsworth Vines A. (USA)
Bill Tilden P. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Bowers; Collins; McCauley; Vines, a 20-year-old, won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships; Cochet won the French Championships, Crawford won the Aust. Championships; in the pros Tilden beat Vinnie Richards 12-1 and, according to Collins, was 60-40 against the young German Hans Nüsslein; McCauley mistakenly says Tilden and Nüsslein played about 150 or 160 matches, with Tilden winning "about two-thirds" of them;[10] Koželuh beat Nüsslein in the U.S. Pro and beat Plaa at Beaulieu; Bowers, however, writes that a "tally" made just before their first encounter in 1934 showed that Tilden and Nüsslein had played 163 times to that point (so from their first meeting in 1931 through 1933 included), with Tilden winning 116 matches to 47, so the Collins figure is undoubtedly correct for 1932; Ramillon perhaps beat Plaa in the French Pro, although Bowers is unable to account for this tournament; Plaa won the World Pro Championship tournament in Berlin over Tilden; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Vines, Tilden, Cochet, Karel Koželuh, Borotra, Plaa, Allison, and Nüsslein, with Tilden, Koželuh, Plaa, and Nüsslein being professionals.

1933
Jack Crawford A. (Aus.)
Fred Perry A. (GB)
Bowers; A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Collins; McCauley; Crawford had a sensational amateur year, winning 13 consecutive tournaments, including the first 3 of the Grand Slams, the Aust. Championships, the French Championships, and Wimbledon, finally losing in 5 sets to Perry in the 4th, the U.S. Championships ; the professional picture was murky: Cochet, aged 31, turned pro; neither Tilden, aged 40, Koželuh, 38, nor the younger Nüsslein, Cochet, Richards, or Plaa was able to establish any clear superiority; Richards beat Frank Hunter in the depleted U.S. Pro; Nüsslein won the World Pro Championship tournament in Berlin by far the year's most significant pro tournament; data from more than half of the Tilden-Nüsslein tour in America (January-early May) indicates that Tilden won 2/3 of their meetings; Vines ranked the top pros as being Tilden, Cochet, Koželuh, Richards; Albert Burke, however, ranked them as being Nüsslein, Tilden, Koželuh, and Plaa; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Crawford, Perry, Nüsslein, Tilden, Karel Koželuh, Jiro Satoh, Austin, and Vines, with Nüsslein, Tilden, and Koželuh being the only professionals.

1934
Fred Perry A. (GB)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
Bowers; A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Collins; McCauley; Perry had a sensational amateur year winning the Aust. Championships, Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships, Gottfried von Cramm won the French Championships; Vines, aged 22, turned pro; in their initial head-to-head tour, Vines def. Tilden 11 matches to 9; in subsequent tours Tilden beat Plaa 10-0 and Cochet 8-2 and Vines beat Cochet 10-0 and Plaa 8-2; Bowers says that by the end of May, having played somewhat more than 50 matches, Vines led Tilden by 19 wins; Nüsslein beat Vines and Koželuh in the U.S. Pro; Vines beat Nüsslein in the first Wembley Pro and in the Paris Indoor (not to be confused with the French Pro); Tilden beat Plaa in the French Pro; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Perry, Vines, Crawford, von Cramm, Nüsslein, Tilden, Austin, and Allison, with Vines, Nüsslein, and Tilden being the only professionals.

1935
Fred Perry A. (GB)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
both ranked equally
Bowers; McCauley; A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; Crawford won the Aust. Championships, Allison won the U.S. Championships, Perry won Wimbledon and the French Championships; Vines beat Tilden in the Wembley Pro and in the Southport Pro; Vines beat Nüsslein in the French Pro; Tilden beat Koželuh in the U.S. Pro; Vines beat Les Stoefen 25-1 in a head-to-head tour while Tilden was beating George Lott 20-4 with one tie; after Stoefen fell ill, Vines beat Nüsslein in another tour about three-quarters of the time (and also Tilden in their few meetings); Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Perry and Vines tied for #1, then Crawford, von Cramm, Tilden, Nüsslein, Allison, and Austin, with Vines, Tilden, and Nüsslein, being the only professionals; in April the French amateur tennis association ranked the top six as being identical to Bowers's except that Vines was ahead of Perry.

1936
Fred Perry A. (GB)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
both ranked equally
Bowers; McCauley; A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; L'Auto; Donald Budge; Bill Tilden; Adrian Quist won the Aust. Championships, von Cramm won the French Championships, Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships; in the American tour Vines easily defeated Les Stoefen (finals standings are unknown but on March 29, Vines led 33-5) and in the Asian tour Vines led Tilden 8-1 at the end of the Japanese part of the tour; Joe Whalen beat Charles Wood in a depleted U.S. Pro; Cochet defeated Robert Ramillon in the French Pro without the three top pro players (Vines, Nüsslein, Tilden); Nüsslein won Southport Pro over Cochet; Vines beat Tilden in the Wembley Pro according to McCauley, but Bowers is categorical that the Wembley tournament did not take place that year, cancelled because Vines did not come from California; Bowers also states that a) Vines and Nüsslein never met between the French Pro in 1935 and the Wembley Pro in 1939 and b) Vines didn't enter any tournament from 1936 to 1938 included; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Perry, Vines, von Cramm, Nüsslein, Don Budge, Tilden, Quist, and Cochet, with Vines, Nüsslein, Tilden, and Cochet being the only professionals; Bowers also writes that three evaluators, L'Auto, Budge and Tilden ranked Vines ahead Perry for the year.

1937
Fred Perry P. (GB)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
Don Budge A. (USA)
all 3 ranked equally
Bowers; A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; McCauley; Henner Henkel won the French Championships, Budge won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships, Vivian McGrath won the Aust. Championships; Vines def. Perry in the North American head-to-head tour 32-29 while Perry won a short British Isles tour 6-3; Perry def. Tilden 4-3 in America; Vines and Perry didn't enter any tournament; Koželuh beat Bruce Barnes in a depleted U.S. Pro (also, that year, called the U.S. Open); in the absence of Vines and Perry Nüsslein swept all the big tournaments beating Tilden in the Wembley Pro and in the World 's Pro Indoors at Paris and also winning the French Pro over Cochet; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Perry, Vines, and Budge tied for #1, with von Cramm and Nüsslein being tied for #4, then Henkel, Austin, and Tilden, with Perry, Vines, Nüsslein, and Tilden being the only professionals.

1938
Don Budge A. (USA)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
A. Wallis Myers of London's The Daily Telegraph; McCauley; Bowers; Budge had a sensational amateur year, winning all 4 of the Grand Slams; in the pros, Vines def. Perry 49-35 (or 48-35); the next year, as a pro, Budge narrowly defeated Vines, indicating that even as an amateur he might have been the world No. 1 for 1938; Vines still didn't enter any tournament as probably in 1936 and surely in 1937; Perry played his first (and single in 1938) pro tournament at the U.S. Pro beating Barnes; Nüsslein beat Tilden in the Wembley Pro; Bowers, however, in Chapter IX of his history, says there was no tournament at Wembley; Nüsslein beat Tilden in the French Pro and at Southport Pro; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Budge, Vines, Perry and Nüsslein tied for #3, Austin, John Bromwich, Bobby Riggs, and Tilden, with Vines, Perry, Nüsslein, and Tilden being the only professionals.

1939
Don Budge P. (USA)
Ellsworth Vines P. (USA)
John Olliff of London's The Daily Telegraph; McCauley; Bowers; Don McNeill won the French Championships, Riggs won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships, John Bromwich won the Aust. Championships; Budge def. Vines 22-17 in the North American tour and also def. Perry 28-8; Vines beat Perry in the U.S. Pro; Budge beat Vines and Tilden in the French Pro and beat Nüsslein, Vines, and Tilden in the Wembley Pro; Nüsslein def. Vines and Tilden at Southport; Budge, Vines, Tilden, and Stoefen competed in a spring-summer European tour that was mainly a succession of 4-man tournaments; Budge was the winner, in particular beating Vines 15-5; Bowers ranks the top eight, both amateur and pro, as being Budge, Vines, Nüsslein, Perry, Riggs, Bromwich, Quist, and Tilden, with Budge, Vines, Nüsslein, Perry, and Tilden being professionals, the first time that 5 of the top 8 were pros.

1940
Don Budge P. (USA)
Fred Perry P. (GB)
Collins; McCauley; Bowers; The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis; Quist won the Aust. Championships; McNeill won the U.S. Championships; the French Championships and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; Budge beat Perry in the U.S. Pro; there were no more world rankings by the Telegraph but Bowers ranks the top 4 as being Budge and Perry, followed by the American amateurs McNeill and Riggs, then goes on to say that in spite of uncertainty because of the war the next four are probably the 4 top American amateurs as shown in the Official Encyclopedia, Frank Kovacs, Joe Hunt, Frank Parker, and Jack Kramer; however, he also says that the Australians Bromwich and Quist could plausibly be included in the top 8.

1941
Fred Perry P. (GB)
Bobby Riggs A. (USA)
both ranked equally
Collins; McCauley; Bowers; The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis; Riggs won the U.S. Championships; the Aust. Championships, the French Championships, and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; Both Collins and McCauley say that Budge def. Tilden 51-7 in their head-to-head tour, but Bowers says that by his count the outcome was most probably 46-7 plus one tie, with 49 matches being fully documented for a result of 43-5 plus 1 tie; Perry completely dominated Tilden in a summer tour; Perry won 5 pro tournaments out of 5 including the U.S. Pro over Dick Skeen; Skeen was runner-up to Perry in 4 tournaments; Budge entered 3 tournaments and lost all of them; there were no more world amateur rankings because of the war but Bowers ranks the top 6 as being amateur Riggs and pro Perry in a tie for first place with amateur Kovacs third, while amateur Parker and professional Skeen are tied for fourth; Budge is sixth.

1942
Don Budge P. (USA)
Bobby Riggs P. (USA)
Wayne Sabin P. (USA)
Ray Bowers; Collins; McCauley; The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis; Ted Schroeder won the U.S. Championships; the Aust. Championships, the French Championships, and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; Riggs and Kovacs turned pro; in round robin matches Budge was the winner, 52-18; Riggs was 36-36, Kovacs 25-26, Perry 23-30, Stoefen 2-28; Budge beat Riggs in U.S. Pro; because of the war the only significant amateur rankings were American: Schroeder was #1, followed by Parker, Gardnar Mulloy, Pancho Segura, Bill Talbert, Sidney Wood, Seymour Greenberg, George Richards, Vic Seixas, and Ladislav Hecht; Ray Bowers ranks the top 8 as: Budge, Riggs and Sabin tied for number 2, Kovacs fourth, Perry fifth, the top five pros ahead amateurs Schroeder #6 and Parker #7, professional Skeen being #8 (the USPLTA ranked the best pros as Budge, Riggs, Sabin, and Kovacs in that order).

1943–1944

World War II, so very limited tennis activity

1945
Bobby Riggs P. (USA)
Don Budge P. (USA)
Ray Bowers; Joe McCauley; The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis; 1943 : Joe Hunt won the U.S. amateur Championships (Forest Hills); the Australian amateur Chps., the French amateur Chps., and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; the USLTA ranked the top 10 American amateurs as being Hunt, Kramer, Segura, Talbert, Greenberg, Wood, Bob Falkenburg, Parker, James Brink, and Jack Tuero; in the pro ranks Budge, Kovacs, Skeen and Perry probably didn't play any match because they were under the Army service, after having won an exhibition against Wayne Sabin, Riggs joined in his turn the U.S Navy; the only pro tournament, without all these players, was the U.S. Pro where Bruce Barnes overcame John Nogrady; 1944 : McCauley; The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis; Parker won the U.S. amateur Championships (Forest Hills); the Australian amateur Chps., the French amateur Chps., and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; the USLTA ranked the top 10 American amateur as being Parker, Talbert, Segura, Don McNeill, Greenberg, Falkenburg, Jack Jossi, Charles W. Oliver, Jack McManis, J. Gilbert Hall; there was almost no pro tournament but many matches for War efforts or the Red Cross benefits opposing US professionals and US amateurs only if the pros were in the Army and if the amateurs were authorized by the USLTA to play (in a 1945 meeting with Tilden, Richards, Pauline Betz all pros and amateur Segura, the latter played against major Vincent Richards but couldn't play with or against civilian Tilden) : for instance Budge (pro) met Kramer (amateur) twice in 1944 and each one won a match; 1945 Parker won the U.S. amateur Championships (Forest Hills); the Australian amateur Chps., the French amateur Chps., and Wimbledon were not played because of World War II; the USLTA ranked the top 10 American amateur as being Parker, Talbert, Segura, Elwood Cooke, Wood, Mulloy, Shields, Harold Surface, Greenberg, and McManis; in the pro circuit the business return was slow : Riggs defeated Budge in the biggest pro tournament of the year, The US Pro harcourt Championships held at the Los Angeles Tennis Club; on December 27–30 Riggs won a second tournament, the Santa Barbara Invitational Pro Tournament, California, defeating Perry; Kovacs def. Welby Van Horn in San Francisco; Welby Van Horn def. Nogrady in a depleted U.S. Pro without Riggs nor Budge; in the summer before the soldiers came back to civilian life a 5-meeting series under the Davis Cup format was held between the US Army Air Corps, with Budge (pro) and Parker (amateur), and the US Navy, with Riggs (pro) and Sabin (pro), Riggs overcame Budge 3-2 and amateur Parker 3-2, thus indicating that Riggs was probably the best player in the world in 1945; as Ray Bowers wrote "The limited tennis activity over the last three years of the war dictates a single ranking list covering the entire period" he ranked the best eight players in the world for the entire 1943-1945 period  : 1. Riggs, 2. Budge, 3. Parker, 4. Kramer, 5. Kovacs, 6. Van Horn, 7. Quist, 8. Yvon Pétra.

1946
Bobby Riggs P. (USA)
Don Budge P. (USA)
Bud Collins; Joe McCauley; Bobby Riggs; Collins says Riggs def. Budge 18-16 on the head-to-head tour,[11] while McCauley says Riggs def. Budge 23-21;[12] Riggs himself says twice in his autobiography that he def. Budge 24-22;[13] Tilden organized a series of 31 tournaments: Riggs won 14 of them, Kovacs 7, Perry 4, Budge 3, Van Horn 2, and Skeen 1; Riggs beat Budge in U.S. Pro; the top 10 "Official PPA" rankings for the year were Riggs, Budge, Kovacs, Perry, Van Horn, Wayne Sabin, Carl Earn, Jossi, John Faunce, and Jack March;[14] in the amateur circuit Kramer was undefeated in Davis Cup and won the U.S. Championships, in his book "The Game" page 50 he wrote "...I don't think I was mature enough to beat him (Budge) in '46." Kramer then thinks that Riggs and Budge were probably better than him in 1946.

1947
Bobby Riggs P. (USA)
Jack Kramer A. (USA)
both ranked equally
Joe McCauley; Bud Collins; Tilden was imprisoned for sexual offenses and his series of tournaments fell apart; Collins says that Riggs def. Budge 24-22 on a head-to-head tour,[15] but McCauley disputes that, saying that the only tour was a short USA Challenge Series between Riggs and Kovac that Riggs won 11 matches to 10, while Earn defeated March "easily" in preliminary matches;[16] Kramer had a sensational amateur year, winning 8 of 9 tournaments and 48 of 49 matches (among them his two singles in the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup);[17] Riggs beat Budge both in U.S. Pro and in U.S. Pro Indoor.

1948
Jack Kramer P. (USA)
Bobby Riggs P. (USA)
Collins; McCauley; Kramer def. Riggs 69-20 on the head-to-head tour after being led 8-6 and then having equalized at 14-14; in the preliminary matches Dinny Pails beat Pancho Segura 41-31 according to Kramer;[18] Kramer beat Riggs in U.S. Pro the most important pro tournament by far this year; then the 4 touring men played a short tour in South America in July on slow courts enabling Riggs to win his fair share of matches against Kramer (according to Pails in his book "Set Points"); Kramer ended the year by winning the Australian Pro tour in September–November, with the incomplete standings being as follows : Kramer 19-4 (1 match unfinished), Segura 14-9 (1 unfinished), Riggs 7-17, Pails 6-16 (2 unfinished).

1949
Jack Kramer P. (USA)
Pancho Gonzales A/P. (USA)
Joe McCauley; Bud Collins; in the pro circuit Kramer was clearly the best winning Wembley Pro over Riggs and Scarborough Pro over Budge; Riggs def. Budge in U.S. Pro without Kramer and Segura; in the amateur circuit Ted Schroeder and Gonzales won together Davis Cup and shared the two greatest tournaments Wimbledon for the former and the U.S. Championships for the latter; then Gonzales played his first pro match against Kramer on October 25 on the head-to-head tour (ended on May 21, 1950) : at the end of November Kramer still led 22-4 proving he was undoubtedly the best player in the world.

1950
Jack Kramer P. (USA)
Pancho Segura P. (Ecuador/USA)
both ranked equally
Joe McCauley; PLTA; Kramer finished beating Gonzales on the head-to-head tour ended on May 21 (begun on October 25, 1949) 96-27 (97-26 according to Kramer himself); Segura beat Frank Parker "comfortably" in the head-to-head preliminary matches;[19] Kramer dominated Segura in the next tour begun on October 28 (finished in March 1951) : mid-November Kramer led 10-4; in tournaments Segura beat Kramer in Paris and once again in the semifinals of the U.S. Pro before overcoming Kovacs in the final; Gonzales beat Kramer at Philadelphia Pro and Van Horn in a depleted Wembley Pro without Kramer and Segura; the PLTA released "Official" pro rankings for the year but McCauley writes: "It is difficult to understand how the following rankings were arrived at:" Segura, Kramer, Kovacs, Riggs, Van Horn, Parker, Carl Earn, Jimmy Evert, Nogrady, Joe Fishbach, Jack Rodgers, Joe Whalen, Al Doyle, Robert "Junior" Stubbs, Jimmy Adler, March, Faunce, Vivian McGrath, Pierre Pellizza, Bill Kenney.[20] How indeed Gonzales can be omitted from this PLTA ranking ? McCauley thought Kramer was the number one because of Kramer's domination in tour whereas PLTA probably thought Segura was the best because he had dominated the tournaments circuit and among them the U.S. Pro.

1951
Jack Kramer P. (USA)
Pancho Segura P. (Ecuador/USA)
Joe McCauley; PLTA; Kramer finally def. Segura 64-28 (58-27 according to Kramer in his book, page 187) on the head-to-head tour finished in March (begun on October 28, 1950);[21] Kramer beat Segura and Gonzales in Philadelphia Pro; Segura beat Gonzales in U.S. Pro; Gonzales beat Segura in Wembley Pro; the PLTA "Official" rankings for the year were Segura, Gonzales, Kovacs, Riggs, Van Horn, Earn, Parker, Jimmy Evert, Bob Rogers, Jack Rodgers, Fishbach, Nogrady, Adler, Elwood Cooke, McGrath, Doyle, Harris Everett, Len Hartman, Norman Copeland, Mitchell Gornto; "Kramer and Budge were not ranked due to insufficient data".[22]

1952
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA) - Pancho Segura P. (Ecuador/USA)
both equally ranked
Joe McCauley; Budge in McCauley's book page 57 : "the PLTA ranked Segura #1; Kramer was semi-retired; Budge and Gonzales played only sporadically". In his book McCauley has traced only 9 tournaments and a small US tour, among these 9 tournaments 2 seemed to be domestic Nationals (British Pro and German Pro) so there left 7 tournaments for the leading pros. Segura entered the 7 and Gonzales played 5 of them and won 4 and reached 1 final. Moreover, Gonzales defeated Segura 5 times out of 7 (including some tour matches in Paris in June). In the 1953 July edition of "Sport" magazine Budge declared :"In the past two years Pancho (Gonzales) has won the majority of all the big pro tournaments. He has to be considered the best, at least until somebody proves otherwise." In particular Gonzales def. Segura (and Kramer) in Philadelphia Pro and Gonzales def. Kramer in Wembley Pro; Segura overcame Gonzales in U.S. Pro and in a tour match in Paris; in the amateur circuit Frank Sedgman won the Davis Cup with Ken McGregor and the Australian also reached the four finals of the Grand Slam tournaments, winning the last (chronologically) two, Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships. It is very hard to compare Gonzales, Segura, Kramer with Sedgman the best amateur : next year the Australian, turned pro, was dominated by Kramer and Segura but he defeated Gonzales 3 times (later Gonzales regularly beat Sedgman). Then it is possible that Gonzales and Segura were very slightly superior to Sedgman in 1952 but without any certainty.

1953
Jack Kramer P. (USA)
Frank Sedgman P. (Aus.)
Bud Collins; Joe McCauley; in the course of 1953 Lance Tingay wrote that it was very difficult to establish a hierarchy because Gonzales hadn't still met one of the top pros : in fact a) Kramer retired on July 9 and never met Gonzales that year and b) Gonzales met Segura and Sedgman for the first time of the year only in November. Kramer def. Sedgman 54-41 on the head-to-head tour while Segura def. McGregor 71-25 in the head-to-head preliminary matches; during tour breaks these four men played three 4-man tournaments with Kramer winning two of them; Kramer's whole 1953 record was 56-41 to Sedgman and 1-1 to Segura; the Ecuadorian won 5 tournaments (more than any other pro); Sedgman beat Gonzales in Wembley Pro, in Paris (probably not a French Pro as stated elsewhere) and in Lyon but the Australian trailed Segura 3-7 in head-to-head meetings; Gonzales not chosen for the world tour played until November in tournaments without the three other greats and then won a depleted U.S. Pro over Budge. Knowing that Sedgman won the greatest pro tournament, Wembley, and that he was beaten by Kramer in tour a possible, but not sure at all, 1953 pro ranking is 1) Kramer, 2) Sedgman; Tony Trabert, the best amateur of the time, was probably less good than the four best pros.

1954
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Frank Sedgman P. (Aus.) — Pancho Segura P. (Ecuador/USA)
Joe McCauley; Jack Kramer; in 1953–1954 the sources are still conflicting : it would seem that there was only one Australian tour during these two years and that it happened in November–December 1954 and that Gonzales won it (16-9 to Sedgman; 4-2 to Segura; 15-0 to McGregor); the American also won, the North American tour (January 3 - May 30), a succession of 70 tournaments, all being 4-man events but one, a 3-man event. On June 2 a report stated that Gonzales won 29 tournaments and had an 85-40 win-loss while Sedgman won 21 tournaments and Segura won 20 tournaments. In head-to-head meetings the results aren't 100% sure : Gonzales win-loss record against Segura was about 30-21 (or 30-20) and was possibly exactly equal against Sedgman, 30-21 (or 30-20) too; and Segura would have led Sedgman by the slightest margin, 23-22. Budge won only one match in that tour (against Gonzales in the first round of the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on February 19). Earn apparently won none and Riggs won one against Gonzales on May 20 in Victoria (Canada, British Columbia); in autumn Segura, Gonzales, Sedgman and Kramer, coming back in singles, after his 20-month retirement, toured in the Far East with Segura's record as being Segura-Gonzales 1-1, Segura-Sedgman 2-1 and Segura-Kramer 4-0; in tournaments Gonzales def. Sedgman in U.S. Pro and Sedgman def. Segura in the first Australian Pro of tennis history; the amateur circuit was dominated by the duet Tony Trabert/Jaroslav Drobný, the American won with Seixas the Davis Cup and captured the French Championships while Drobny won at last Wimbledon; nevertheless these two players seemed a little rank below the trio Gonzales-Sedgman-Segura.

1955
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Pancho Segura P. (Ecuador/USA)
Bud Collins; Joe McCauley; even though the USA lost the Davis Cup, Tony Trabert had a sensational amateur year, winning 3 of the 4 Grand Slams, but was never a consistent winner upon turning professional; Gonzales-Trabert head-to-head tour began in Dec and Gonzales overcame Trabert since the first match; Gonzales dominated the pros beating Segura in U.S. Pro; Sedgman has played very little in 1955 and in particular underwent a surgery of appendicitis; Lawn Tennis and Badminton ranked the top 12 professionals as Gonzales, Segura, Kovacs, Sedgman, Riggs, Earn, Budge, Parker, Pails, Perry, Doyle, and Sam Match.[23]

1956
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Frank Sedgman P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley, page 72; Gonzales def. Trabert 74-24 on the American head-to-head tour, Segura def. Rex Hartwig 56-22 (5 even) in the head-to-head preliminary matches; Gonzales beat Segura in U.S. Pro; Gonzales beat Sedgman both in the Pro Tournament of Champions, in Los Angeles, and in Wembley Pro; Trabert beat Gonzales in French Pro; as Trabert in 1955, Hoad made a "Little amateur Slam" but he was probably under the best pros as his pro debut, next year, proved it; Jack March, promoter of the Cleveland tournament ranked the pros as follows : 1 Gonzales, 2 Sedgman, 3 Segura, 4 Trabert, 5 Hartwig, 6 Kovacs, 7 Earn, 8 Riggs, 9 Budge, 10 Pails.

1957
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Gonzales def. Rosewall 50-26 in the World head-to-head tour, Segura def. Dinny Pails 51-8 in the head-to-head preliminary matches; Rosewall probably (to confirm) won a small European tour over Hoad, Segura and Kramer; Rosewall won a South African tour over Hoad, Kramer and Segura and an Australian tour over Hoad, Sedgman and Segura; Segura beat Sedgman in Australian Pro; Gonzales beat Segura in U.S. Pro; Gonzales also won the Pro Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills and the Masters Round Robin Pro in Los Angeles; Rosewall beat Segura in Wembley Pro; in the amateur circuit Hoad won Wimbledon easily, losing just one set and then he turned pro right after, regularly beaten by the best pros in the first three months.

1958
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Lew Hoad P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Jack March; Robert Geist; Gonzales def. Hoad 51-36 in the world tour and in the preliminary matches Trabert def. Segura 34-31; Gonzales beat Rosewall in the Pro Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills; Gonzales beat Hoad in U.S. Pro; Sedgman beat Trabert both in Wembley Pro and in the Australian Pro; Rosewall beat Hoad in French Pro; Jack March's pro ranking : 1 Gonzales, 2 Hoad, 3 Segura 4 Trabert 5 Rosewall 6 Sedgman 7 Parker 8 Kovacs 9 Riggs 10 Pails; Geist's (pro-amateur combined) ranking : 1 Gonzales, 2 Hoad, Rosewall.

1959
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Lew Hoad P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Jack Kramer; L'Équipe; Mal Anderson; Frank Sedgman; Ashley Cooper; McCauley page 97; American round robin results: : Gonzales 47-15, Hoad 42-20, Ashley Cooper 21-40, Mal Anderson 13-48; Hoad, however, def. Gonzales 15-13 during the round robin; Hoad beat Gonzales in the Pro Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills; Gonzales beat Hoad in U.S. Pro; Mal Anderson beat Segura in Wembley Pro; Trabert beat Sedgman in French Pro; Frank Sedgman proposed the following ranking : 1 Gonzales, 2 Hoad, 3 Rosewall; Ashley Cooper confirmed Sedgman's opinion but suggested that Sedgman should be the #4; Mal Anderson writing in World Tennis, stated that Kramer established a tournament points system to decide the best players in the world : 14 tournaments chosen with all the same points which was unfair to the major tournaments more important than others (7 points for the winner, 4 for the runner-up, 3 for 3rd place, 2 for 4th and 1 for each quarterfinalist), the final positions were : 1 Hoad, 2 Gonzales (only 11 tournaments played), 3 Rosewall, 4 Sedgman, 5 Trabert, 6 Anderson, 7 Segura, 8 Cooper; Kramer's own pro ranking (different from the points ranking) : 1 Gonzales, 2 Sedgman, 3 Rosewall, 4 Hoad, 5 Trabert, 6 Segura, 7 Cooper, 8 Anderson, 9 Rose, 10 McGregor, 11 Hartwig; L'Équipe (Robert Roy) pro-amateur combined ranking : 1 Gonzales, 2 Sedgman, 3 Rosewall, 4 Trabert, 5 Hoad, 6 Segura, 7 Kramer, 8 McGregor, 9 Hartwig, 10 Cooper, 11 Rose (for the first time L'Équipe ranked pros and amateurs together); Robert Barne (Kramer's Australian manager) 's pro ranking : 1 Hoad, 2 Gonzales, 3 Rosewall, 4 Sedgman, 5 Trabert, 6 Segura, 7 Cooper, 8 Anderson, 9 Rose.

1960
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
both ranked equally
Joe McCauley; L'Équipe; Robert Geist; McCauley p57 World Series Round Robin matches for the world championship among 4 players: Gonzales 49-8, Rosewall 32-25, Segura 22-28, Alex Olmedo 11-44; just after Gonzales won a small tournament and then shortly retired; Olmedo beat Trabert in a depleted U.S. Pro; Rosewall beat Segura in Wembley Pro; Rosewall beat Hoad in French Pro; once again Kramer ranked Gonzales & Sedgman 1 and 2 for the year but Sedgman didn't win as much as in 1959; L'Équipe ranked Rosewall No. 1 because of European results; in his book "DER GRÖSSTE MEISTER Die denkwürdige Karriere des australischen Tennisspielers Kenneth Robert Rosewall" Robert Geist co-ranked Gonzales & Rosewall #1.

1961
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Pancho Gonzales P. (USA)
Joe McCauley; L'Équipe, Robert Geist; there were 47 World Series Round Robin matches for the world championship among 6 players, followed by 28 head-to-head matches between the top 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 to determine the final champion; Rosewall, however, took several long vacations and played very little in the first half of the year; substitutions were permitted for injured players in the round robin: Gonzales-(Segura) 33-14, Andrés Gimeno 27-20, Hoad-(Trabert, Cooper, Sedgman) 24-23, Barry MacKay 22-25, Olmedo 18-29, Butch Buchholz 16-31; #1 Gonzales then def. #2 Gimeno 21-7, #3 Sedgman (who definitely replaced Hoad) def. #4 MacKay 15-13; in tournaments Gonzales beat Sedgman in a depleted U.S. Pro; Rosewall beat Hoad in Wembley Pro; Rosewall beat Gonzales in French Pro; at the end of the year (October 25) Gonzales retired once again for 20 months (back in the circuit on June 27, 1963); L'Équipe once again ranked Rosewall No. 1 (2) Gonzales, 3) Hoad, 4) Trabert, 5) Segura, 6) Gimeno, 7) Cooper, 8) MacKay, 9) Olmedo, 10) Buchholz, 11) Laver, 12) Anderson, 13) Emerson, 14) Pietrangeli, 15) Santana, 16) Ayala, 17) Krishnan, 18) Sangster, 19) Lundquist, 20) McKinley, 21) Darmon, ... 23) Neale Fraser) primarily because of European results in second half of year; McCauley's 1961 chapter is entitled: Gonzales Still World Champion but says in the text that Rosewall had a good claim to being No. 1;[24] Geist ranked Rosewall #1 alone.

1962
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Lew Hoad P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Ken Rosewall; no American tour, very little tennis for first 6 months; Rosewall had a sensational pro year winning 10 tournaments including the big European tournaments; Butch Buchholz beat Segura in a depleted U.S. Pro; Rosewall beat Hoad in Wembley Pro; Rosewall beat Gimeno in French Pro; Rod Laver had a sensational amateur year, winning with Emerson the Davis Cup, and alone all 4 of the Grand Slams, but was severely beaten for his pro debut in 1963, suggesting that the pros were still the best players; Rosewall announced his Pro rankings at the end of 1962, omitting Segura then semi-retired : #1 Rosewall, #2 Hoad, #3 Gimeno, #4 Laver, #5 Buchholz.

1963
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Frank Sedgman; Rosewall on Australasian grass dominated the new pro recruit Rod Laver, 11 victories to 2 and Hoad was omnipotent, winning 8-0 against Laver; then the World Championship Series was held in the USA with 6 players, two local players Buchholz and MacKay, one Spaniard Gimeno, one Chilean Ayala and only two Australians Rosewall and Laver (if Hoad had been selected there would have been too many Aussies in the US) : in the first phase Rosewall ended first (31 wins - 10 losses) ahead Laver (26- 16), Buchholz (23-18), Gimeno, MacKay and Ayala. In the second (and final) phase Rosewall won the tour, beating Laver 14-4, and Gimeno won 3rd place, beating Buchholz 11-7. Then Rosewall captured five tournaments including the 3 majors of that year and Laver reached the finals of two majors and also won 5 tournaments making him undoubtedly the vice-king; Rosewall def. Laver in U.S. Pro; Rosewall def. Laver in French Pro; Rosewall def. Hoad in Wembley Pro; in January 1964 Sedgman clearly stated that Laver was second to Rosewall and a real threat to his elder.

1964
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
both ranked equally
Joe McCauley; Robert Geist; Laver won 11 tournaments and Rosewall 10; Laver beat Rosewall 15-4 in head-to-head matches; Gonzales unretired and won two great tournaments; Laver, rather modest in his speech, is quoted by McCauley as saying: "I ... would like to be the World's No. 1 ... I am not that yet — Ken is. I may have beaten him more often than he has beaten me this year but he has won the biggest tournaments... I've lost to other people but Ken hasn't";[25] A point system for 19 pro tournaments (excluding at least 10 other tournaments) also resulted in Rosewall being No. 1 to Laver's No. 2 but that system granted each tournament the same points and then was unfair to the big events where Laver was superior to Rosewall : Laver beat Rosewall & Gonzales in U.S. Pro; Laver again beat Rosewall in Wembley Pro; Rosewall beat Laver in French Pro; McCauley's 1964 chapter is entitled: Rosewall Tops Again But Only Just[26] but Robert Geist co-ranked Laver & Rosewall #1 (in his book "DER GRÖSSTE MEISTER Die denkwürdige Karriere des australischen Tennisspielers Kenneth Robert Rosewall").

1965
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; though Rosewall has won 2 of the 3 very major tournaments, Laver was the new undisputed king of tennis, winning 17 tournaments, including Wembley Pro, to Rosewall's 6; Laver also beat Rosewall 13-5 in head-to-head matches; Rosewall beat Laver in U.S. Pro; Rosewall beat Laver in French Pro; Laver beat Gimeno in Wembley Pro.

1966
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; this was the year of the greatest rivalry between Laver and Rosewall; they shared all the major tournaments with Laver slightly ahead : in the world circuit played by the leading pros, Laver won 15 tournaments including Forest Hills Pro, the U.S. Pro and Wembley Pro over Rosewall runner-up the three times, Rosewall won 9 tournaments including Madison Square Garden Pro and the French Pro over ... Laver finalist both times, Gimeno won 6 tournaments, Gonzales won 1; Laver and Rosewall were tied 7-7 in head-to-head matches.

1967
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
Joe McCauley; Laver probably was at the peak of his whole career, at least on fast courts, winning 19 tournaments including all the majors : the Madison Square Garden Pro, the U.S. Pro, Wimbledon Pro, the French Pro and Wembley Pro; Rosewall stayed the n°2 in the world capturing 7 tournaments and reaching 3 majors finals in Madison Square Garden Pro, Wimbledon Pro and Wembley Pro; Gimeno was very close to Rosewall winning 3 tournaments and runner-up in two majors, the U.S. Pro and the French Pro; in head-to-head matches Laver beat Rosewall 8-5 and Gimeno 12-4, Rosewall and Gimeno were equal, 7-7.

1968
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Arthur Ashe A. (USA)
Bud Collins; Joe McCauley; Lance Tingay; first year of Open era; at least 10 open tournaments were played, with professionals winning 8 and amateurs 2; of 244 matches, professionals won 199, amateurs 45.[27] Laver beat Tony Roche in Wimbledon Open; Arthur Ashe beat Tom Okker in the US Open; Ken Rosewall beat Laver in the French Open; Laver beat Rosewall in the Pacific Southwest Open (Los Angeles); Laver beat John Newcombe in U.S. Pro; Rosewall beat Newcombe in Wembley Pro; Laver beat Newcombe in French Pro, the last one of tennis history (again at Roland Garros on clay after a 5-year interval at Stade Pierre de Coubertin on wood); Okker and Clark Graebner shared the Queen's title; in World Tennis magazine, McCauley ranked the top 10, professional and amateur, as being Laver, Ashe, Tom Okker, Rosewall, Newcombe, Tony Roche, Clark Graebner, Cliff Drysdale, Gonzales, Dennis Ralston;[28] Lance Tingay ranked the best players as being Laver, Ashe, Rosewall, Okker, Roche, Newcombe, Graebner, Ralston, Drysdale, Gonzales; and Collins proposed Laver, Ashe, Rosewall, Roche, Okker, Newcombe, Graebner, Ralston, Drysdale, Gonzales; a panel of 17 journalists, mostly Europeans, ranked the best players as being 1) Laver, 2) Ashe, 3) Rosewall, 4) Okker, 5) Newcombe, 6) Roche, 7) Graebner, 8) Drysdale, 9) Ralston, 10) Gonzales

1969
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Tony Roche P. (Aus.)
Bud Collins; Lance Tingay; Laver won 18 tournaments including small events and in particular did the Grand Slam Open with all the best players present at last and he also won the South African Open, the U.S. Pro over Newcombe, Wembley Pro over Roche. Though the latter has won 5 matches over Laver in 9 meetings, Laver has always won the real important ones. That year Laver was the best on every surface; a panel of the SID (Sport Informations-Dienst) by Ulrich Kaiser, with 17 journalists (mostly from European newspapers including Hellberg, Mezzanotte, Grau, Bellamy, Tingay, De Bie, etc..., and also McCauley) proposed the following ranking : 1) Laver (170), 2) Roche (153), 3) Newcombe (134), 4) Okker (109), 5) Ashe (104), 6) Rosewall (87), 7) Gonzales (39), 8) Drysdale (34), 9) Gimeno (33), Stolle (33 tied), 11) Emerson (28).

1970
Rod Laver P. (Aus.)
Ken Rosewall P. (Aus.)
John Newcombe P. (Aus.)
all 3 ranked equally
Joe McCauley; Bud Collins; Lance Tingay; The panel of the 'Martini and Rosso' award; The WCT panel; Robert Geist; in the two most important events of the year Newcombe won Wimbledon (over Rosewall) and Rosewall beat Newcombe and Roche in succession in the US Open; Smith beat Laver in the Masters; where Laver failed in Grand Slam tournaments he succeeded in other significant tournaments as Philadelphia (over Roche), Dunlop Sydney Open (over Rosewall), the Pacific Southwest Open (Los Angeles) (over Newcombe) and Wembley Pro (over Cliff Richey); Roche beat Laver in U.S. Pro. Then with no player really dominating the circuit, different arguable opinions can be given to designate the World Champion : The panel of 10 international journalists for the 'Martini and Rosso' Cup, ranked Rosewall number 1 with 97 points (out of a possible 100) over Laver (89 points) and Newcombe 3rd (81 points); the rest of the top ten were 4. Roche, 5. Ashe, 6. Richey, 7. Okker, 8. Emerson, 9. Nastase, 10. Gimeno; Judith Elian from L'Équipe placed Rosewall first ahead of Newcombe, Roche and Laver; Lance Tingay, Joe McCauley and Bud Collins each ranked Newcombe ahead of Rosewall; the panel of journalists which made the WCT draw for 1971 ranked Laver first, Rosewall second and Newcombe third; and Robert Geist co-ranked Rosewall, Laver and Newcombe No. 1, summarizing all the opinions.

1971
Stan Smith A. (USA)
John Newcombe P. (Aus.)
both ranked equally
Lance Tingay; Bud Collins; Martini-Rossi award; Judith Elian; Ilie Năstase; Newcombe beat Smith in Wimbledon; Smith beat Kodes in US Open; Rosewall beat Ashe in Australian Open; Rosewall beat Laver in the WCT Finals; Laver beat Kodes in the Italian Open; Kodes beat Năstase in the French Open; Năstase beat Smith in the Masters; Rosewall beat Drysdale in U.S. Pro; Ilie Năstase beat Laver in Wembley Pro; Tingay and Collins ranked Newcombe #1 ahead Smith; the Martini-Rossi award, voted for by 11 journalists, was given jointly to Smith and Newcombe; they both received 96 points (out of 110); 3rd was Rosewall with 91 points and 4th Laver with 90 points ; this is very close which is further reflected in the fact that Newcombe, Smith and Laver all received 3 first place votes with Rosewall receiving the other 2; the rest of the top ten were 5. Kodes, 6. Okker, 7. Ashe, 8. Nastase, 9. Drysdale, 10. Riessen ; Judith Elian co-ranked Newcombe and Smith equal; Năstase's ranking : 1) Smith, 2) Newcombe, 3) Kodes; Robeist Geist co-ranked Smith, Newcombe and Rosewall equal.

1972
Stan Smith A/P. (USA)
Ilie Năstase P. (Rom.)
Judith Elian; Lance Tingay; Joe McCauley; Bud Collins; the WCT players were not allowed to play the French Open, Wimbledon, or the Davis Cup because of the ILTF ban; Năstase defeated Ashe in US Open in the only tournament of the year with all the best players in the world; Rosewall def. Laver in WCT Finals (Dallas); Năstase def. Smith in 5 sets in the Masters final. Smith has won the two tournaments with the best fields after the US Open : the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles (Roscoe Tanner runner-up) and Stockholm Open (Okker finalist); Ashe won the Autumn WCT Finals in Rome; Smith def. Năstase in a depleted Wimbledon; Gimeno def. Patrick Proisy in a depleted French Open; Bob Lutz def. Tom Okker in U.S. Pro; Richey def. Clark Graebner in Wembley Pro; Judith Elian, Tingay and McCauley all three ranked Smith #1, Năstase #2 and Rosewall #3; Collins disagreed and ranked Rosewall ahead of Năstase.

1973
Ilie Năstase P. (Rom.)
John Newcombe P. (Aus.)
ATP; Tennis (US magazine); Newcombe def. Kodes in US Open the only tournament of the year with all the best players (except Emerson); Năstase def. Nikola Pilić at the French Open the only other Grand Slam tournament which deserved this label that year; Kodes def. Metreveli in a depleted Wimbledon; Năstase def. Okker in the Masters; Smith def. Ashe in the WCT Finals; about 13 out of the 20 best players in the world tried to be selected in the first Davis Cup Open of tennis history : Laver was undefeated in 4 singles matches (and two doubles); Năstase won 17 tournaments; Jimmy Connors beat Ashe in U.S. Pro; Tennis (US magazine) ranked Năstase #1 and Newcombe #2 as the ATP computer.

1974
Jimmy Connors P. (USA)
John Newcombe P. (Aus.)
Tennis (US magazine); Connors, who has lost only 4 matches, has won Wimbledon and the US Open over Rosewall each time; Newcombe has captured 10 tournaments including the WCT Finals; Björn Borg has won the French Open (Manuel Orantes runner-up), the Italian Open in Rome (Năstase finalist) and the U.S. Pro (Okker runner-up); Guillermo Vilas prevented Nastase to capture a fourth Masters in a row; Tennis (US magazine) ranked Connors #1 and Newcombe #2 as the ATP computer (if every expert undoubtedly ranked Connors #1, the second place was more disputed : Elian ranked Borg #2 while Tingay chose Rosewall and Collins proposed Vilas).

1975
Arthur Ashe P. (USA)
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
Jimmy Connors P. (USA)
Manuel Orantes P. (Spain) probably all equal
Bud Collins; Judith Elian; Barry Lorge; Lance Tingay; World Tennis; Steve Flink; ATP Awards; Ashe, who won 9 tournaments, def. Connors in Wimbledon; Orantes def. Connors in the US Open; Ashe def. Borg in the WCT Finals; Năstase def. Borg in the Masters; Borg beat Vilas at both the French Open and the U.S. Pro; Collins, Elian and Lorge all ranked Ashe #1 and Borg #2; Tingay ranked Ashe #1, Orantes #2, Connors #3, Borg #4; World Tennis ranked Ashe #1, Connors #2, Borg #3, Orantes #4; Steve Flink ranked Ashe #1, Orantes #2, Borg #3, Connors #4 (very different from the ATP ranking) and the ATP itself awarded Ashe "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking.

1976
Jimmy Connors P. (USA)
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
Bud Collins; Lance Tingay; John Barrett; Peter Bodo; Judith Elian; Joe McCauley; ATP Awards; Tennis Magazine (France); Connors won 10 tournaments including the US Open (Borg runner-up), the U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia (Borg finalist), Palm Springs and Las Vegas; Connors has beaten Borg 4 times out of 4; Borg def. Năstase in Wimbledon, Vilas in the WCT Finals and Harold Solomon in the U.S. Pro; Adriano Panatta won the French Open over Solomon and the Italian Open in Rome over Vilas; Collins, Tingay, John Barrett, Peter Bodo, McCauley and Judith Elian all ranked Connors #1 and Borg #2; Collins, Barrett, McCauley, Elian ranked Nastase #3; a minority of journalists ranked Borg #1, among them Tennis Magazine (France) and the ATP itself which awarded Borg "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking.

1977
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
Guillermo Vilas P. (Arg.)
Tennis Magazine (France); Michel Sutter; World Tennis; London Daily Telegraph; Tennis Club Magazine (Rome); Joe McCauley; Bud Collins; John Barrett; ATP Awards; Borg won Wimbledon over Connors who also lost the US Open against Vilas; Connors captured both the Masters beating Borg and the WCT Finals (Dick Stockton runner-up); Vilas also won a partially depleted French Open without Connors, Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Orantes and Stockton (anyway, six of the top-10 players entered the tournament,[29] so it was still an important one); Orantes beat Eddie Dibbs in the U.S. Pro; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Borg #1 because he won Wimbledon and he defeated Vilas 3 times out of 3; Lance Tingay of the London Daily Telegraph, Rino Tommasi of Rome's Tennis Club magazine, Joe McCauley of Tennis Australia, Bud Collins and John Barrett also rated Borg first; a minority of journalists ranked Vilas #1, among them World Tennis and Michel Sutter who considered him the best one because among other reasons he won 46 matches in a row (even 50 including the Rye tournament excluded in ATP statistics) and 16 titles (or 17 Rye included); the ATP itself awarded Borg "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking (Connors N° 1).[30]

1978
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
Jimmy Connors P. (USA)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF (International Tennis Federation); ATP Awards; Borg def. Connors at Wimbledon; Borg def. Vilas at the French Open; Connors def. Borg at the US Open; Vilas won a depleted Australian Open; John McEnroe def. Ashe in the Masters; Gerulaitis won the WCT Finals; Connors won the U.S. Pro Indoor; Orantes beat Solomon in U.S. Pro; the ITF awarded Borg as World Champion; the ATP itself awarded Borg "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Borg #1 and Connors #2.

1979
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
John McEnroe P. (USA)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Borg has done a sort of Little Slam at the time winning Wimbledon (Tanner runner-up), the French Open (Víctor Pecci finalist) and the Masters (Gerulaitis finalist) which was in 1979 the real 4th tournament in the world; the Australian Open having a very weak field without any of the great grasscourt players as Borg, McEnroe, Connors or Tanner (Vilas repeat the victory of 78); McEnroe def. Gerulaitis in the US Open; José Higueras beat Hans Gildemeister in the U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Borg as World Champion; the ATP awarded Borg "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Borg #1, McEnroe #2 and Connors #3.

1980
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
John McEnroe P. (USA.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; not only Borg repeated his performance of the previous year winning again Wimbledon (McEnroe runner-up), the French Open (Gerulaitis finalist) and the Masters (Ivan Lendl runner-up) but he also reached the final of the US Open won by McEnroe (after a dubious call in the fifth set); Dibbs beat Gene Mayer in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Borg as World Champion; the ATP awarded Borg "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Borg #1, McEnroe #2 and Connors #3 as previous year.

1981
John McEnroe P. (USA)
Björn Borg P. (Swe.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; McEnroe won Wimbledon and the US Open beating each time Borg; Borg captured the French Open beating Lendl; Lendl def. Gerulaitis in the Masters; José Luis Clerc def. Gildemeister in the U.S. Pro; after his defeat by Tim Gullikson in October in the second round of Tokyo indoor, Borg semi-retired; ITF awarded McEnroe as World Champion; the ATP awarded McEnroe "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked McEnroe #1, Borg #2.

1982
Jimmy Connors P. (USA)
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
L'Équipe; Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Connors won both Wimbledon (McEnroe runner-up) and the US Open (Lendl finalist); Mats Wilander def. Vilas at the French Open; Lendl made one of his best and strongest performances of his whole career in decisively beating McEnroe in the Masters final and again in the WCT Final; Vilas beat Mel Purcell in U.S. Pro; small anecdote : though retired of the official circuit, Borg played in many invitational tournaments or exhibitions and he was able to win 2 matches out of 6 against Connors and he beat Gerulaitis, McEnroe and Lendl in the Sydney Akai Gold Challenge; ITF awarded Connors as World Champion; the ATP awarded Connors "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking; L'Équipe and Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Connors n°1 player in the world ahead of Lendl n°2 and McEnroe n°3 also strongly contradicting the ATP ranking.

1983
John McEnroe P. (USA)
Mats Wilander P. (Swe.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; McEnroe def. Chris Lewis in Wimbledon; Connors def. Lendl at the US Open; Yannick Noah overcame Wilander at the French Open final; for the first time since 1971 the Australian Open deserved the "Grand Slam tournament" label because great players came back (McEnroe, Lendl and Wilander entered the tournament) : Wilander def. Lendl; McEnroe beat Lendl both in the Masters and in the WCT Finals; Clerc beat Jimmy Arias in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded McEnroe as World Champion (against Wilander); the ATP awarded McEnroe "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked McEnroe #1 and Wilander #2.

1984
John McEnroe P. (USA)
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; McEnroe lost 3 matches in 1984 but two were very important : the final of the French Open won by Lendl and his match against Henrik Sundström in the Davis Cup won by Sweden and moreover McEnroe was deprived of the Australian Open, won by Wilander over Kevin Curren, because of his suspension following his ugly behaviour in the Stockholm tournament; however McEnroe played the best tennis of his life in 1984 : according to his autobiography the best tournament he has ever played was the Brussels tournament in March where he never lost more than 3 games in a set, and his performance in the Wimbledon final against Connors is one of the greatest; McEnroe def. Lendl both in the US Open and in the Masters (the last great win of the US citizen); Aaron Krickstein beat Clerc in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded McEnroe as World Champion; the ATP awarded McEnroe "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) approved it.

1985
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Mats Wilander P. (Swe.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Lendl won the US Open over McEnroe and the Masters over Boris Becker; Mats Wilander beat Lendl at the French Open and Martín Jaite in U.S. Pro; Boris Becker def. Curren in Wimbledon; Stefan Edberg beat Wilander in the Australian Open; Tim Mayotte overcame Scott Davis in the ATP tournament (considered at the time as the 6th tournament in the world (with fields between 96 and 128 players) after the Grand Slam tournaments and the Masters : it was created by Earl "Butch" Buchholz (probably about the sixth or fifth player in the world in 1962 and in 1963) and held at Delray Beach in 1985, at Boca West in 1986, and since 1987 at Key Biscayne (it has become in the 2000s the ATP Masters Series Miami)); ITF awarded Lendl as World Champion; the ATP awarded Lendl "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Lendl #1 and Wilander #2.

1986
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Boris Becker P. (Ger.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Lendl has won a sort of "Little Slam" in winning the US Open (Miloslav Mečíř runner-up), the French Open (Mikael Pernfors runner-up) and the Masters (Becker finalist) because there was no Australian Open that year given the tournament dates had been delayed for one month (from December 1986 to January 1987); Becker def. Lendl in Wimbledon and has won 3 tournaments (Sydney indoor, Tokyo indoor, Paris-Bercy indoor) in 3 weeks on 3 continents; Lendl def. Wilander in the "ATP tournament" at Boca West; Andrés Gómez beat Jaite in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Lendl as World Champion; the ATP awarded Lendl "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Lendl #1 and Becker #2.

1987
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Stefan Edberg P. (Swe.)
ITF; ATP Awards; Lendl won US Open, French Open and the Masters each time against Wilander; Pat Cash def. Lendl in Wimbledon; Edberg def. Cash in the Australian Open; Mecir def. Lendl in the ATP tournament at Key Biscayne; Wilander beat Kent Carlsson in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Lendl as World Champion; the ATP awarded Lendl "Player of The Year".

1988
Mats Wilander P. (Swe.)
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Wilander won the "Little Slam" defeating Cash at the Australian Open, Henri Leconte at the French Open and Lendl at the US Open; Wilander also won the ATP tournament at Key Biscayne over Connors; Edberg def. Becker in Wimbledon; Becker def. Lendl in the Masters; Thomas Muster beat Lawson Duncan in U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Wilander as World Champion; the ATP awarded Wilander "Player of The Year"; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Wilander #1 and Lendl #2.

1989
Boris Becker P. (Ger.)
Ivan Lendl P. (Cze.)
Tennis Magazine (France); ITF; ATP Awards; Becker has been impressive in 1989 by winning Wimbledon over Lendl and Edberg and the US Open over Lendl; Becker was also undefeated in Davis Cup beating such players as Andre Agassi, Wilander and Edberg; Lendl won the Australian Open (Mecir runner-up) and the ATP tournament at Key Biscayne (Thomas Muster runner-up); Michael Chang has become the youngest winner of the French Open (Edberg finalist); Edberg def. Becker in the Masters; Gomez beat Wilander in the U.S. Pro; ITF awarded Becker as World Champion; the ATP awarded Becker "Player of The Year" contradicting its computer ranking; Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Becker #1 and Lendl #2.

1990
Stefan Edberg P. (Swe.)
Andre Agassi P. (USA)
Tennis Magazine (France); ATP Awards; Edberg def. Becker in Wimbledon; Pete Sampras won his first Grand Slam tournament in the US Open over Agassi who also lost the French Open final against Gomez; Lendl def. Edberg who defaulted in the third set of the Australian Open final; Agassi won the Singles Championship (the ex-Masters and the future Tennis Masters Cup) and the ATP tournament at Key Biscayne beating Edberg in both tournaments; Jaite beat Libor Němeček in the U.S. Pro; this is the only time when the ITF award was strongly criticized : the ITF had punished Edberg for he didn't want to play the Grand Slam Cup, a Chatrier's invention to fight the new ATP circuit (the ITF wrongly designated Lendl); the ATP awarded Edberg "Player of The Year" confirming its computer ranking but contradicting the ITF; Tennis Magazine (France) rightly ranked Edberg #1 and Agassi #2 (Lendl was only ranked #3).

1991
Stefan Edberg P. (Sweden)
Jim Courier P. (U.S.)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Michael Stich won Wimbledon (defeating Boris Becker in the final). Stefan Edberg won the US Open (defeating Jim Courier in the final). Courier won the French Open (defeating Andre Agassi in the final) and the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating David Wheaton in the final). Becker won the Australian Open (defeating Ivan Lendl in the final). Pete Sampras won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Courier in the final). The ITF named Edberg as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Edberg "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Edberg first and Courier second. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Edberg finished first, Courier second, and Becker third.

1992
Jim Courier P. (U.S.)
Stefan Edberg P. (Sweden)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Andre Agassi won his first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon (defeating Goran Ivanišević in the final). Jim Courier won the Australian Open (defeating Stefan Edberg in the final) and the French Open (defeating Petr Korda in the final). Edberg won his last Grand Slam tournament at the US Open (defeating Pete Sampras in the final). Boris Becker won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Courier in the final). Michael Chang won the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating Alberto Mancini in the final). The ITF named Courier as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Courier "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Courier first. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Courier finished first, Edberg second, and Sampras third.

1993
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
No consensus among the sources:

Jim Courier P. (U.S.)
Michael Stich P. (Germany)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon (defeating Jim Courier in the final), the US Open (defeating Cédric Pioline in the final), and the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating MaliVai Washington in the final). Sergi Bruguera won the French Open (defeating Courier in the final). Courier won the Australian Open (defeating Stefan Edberg in the final and Michael Stich in the semifinals). Stich won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Sampras in the final and Courier in a round robin match). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Sampras first and Courier second. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first, Stich second, and Courier third. This was the first of six consecutive years that Sampras was the year-end world No. 1 according to the ATP rankings.

1994
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Andre Agassi P. (U.S.)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won the Australian Open (defeating Todd Martin in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Goran Ivanišević in the final), the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating Andre Agassi in the final), and the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Boris Becker in the final and Agassi in the semifinals). Jim Courier defeated Sampras in the French Open quarterfinals, thus ending Sampras's bid to win a fourth consecutive Grand Slam singles title. Sergi Bruguera again won the French Open (defeating Alberto Berasategui in the final). Agassi won the US Open (defeating Michael Stich in the final). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Sampras first and Agassi second. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first, Agassi second, Becker third, and Bruguera fourth.

1995
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Andre Agassi P. (U.S.)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon (defeating Boris Becker in the final) and the US Open (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). Thomas Muster won the French Open (defeating Michael Chang in the final). Agassi won the Australian Open and the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating Sampras in both finals). Becker won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Chang in the final). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Sampras first and Agassi second. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first, Agassi second, Muster third, and Becker fourth.

1996
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Michael Chang P. (U.S.)
International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won the US Open (defeating Michael Chang in the final). Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon (defeating MaliVai Washington in the final). Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the French Open (defeating Michael Stich in the final). Boris Becker won the Australian Open (defeating Chang in the final). Sampras won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Becker in the final). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of The Year." In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first and Chang second.

1997
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Patrick Rafter P. (Australia)
International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon (defeating Cédric Pioline in the final). Sampras beat Carlos Moyà in the Australian Open final and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship final. Gustavo Kuerten won the French Open (defeating Sergi Bruguera in the final). Patrick Rafter won the US Open (defeating Greg Rusedski in the final). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of The Year." In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first and Rafter second.

1998
Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Marcelo Ríos P. (Chile)
Tennis magazine (U.S.); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon (defeating Goran Ivanišević in the final). Patrick Rafter won the US Open (defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final). Carlos Moyà won the French Open (defeating Àlex Corretja in the final). Petr Korda won the Australian Open (defeating Marcelo Ríos in the final). Corretja won the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Moya in the final). Rios won the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). The ITF named Sampras as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Sampras "Player of the Year". Tennis magazine (U.S.), however, ranked Rafter first. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Sampras finished first, Rios second, Corretja third, and Rafter fourth.

1999
Andre Agassi P. (U.S.)
No consensus among the sources:

Pete Sampras P. (U.S.)
Yevgeny Kafelnikov P. (Russia)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon and the year-ending ATP Tour World Championship (defeating Andre Agassi in both finals). Agassi won the French Open (defeating Andrei Medvedev in the final) and the US Open (defeating Todd Martin in the final). Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the Australian Open (defeating Thomas Enqvist in the final). Sampras won four of five matches with Agassi. The ITF named Agassi as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Agassi "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Agassi first, Sampras second, and Kafelnikov third. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Agassi finished first, Kafelnikov second, and Sampras third.

2000
Gustavo Kuerten P. (Brazil)
Marat Safin P. (Russia)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Pete Sampras won Wimbledon (defeating Patrick Rafter in the final). Gustavo Kuerten won the French Open (defeating Magnus Norman in the final) and the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). Marat Safin won the US Open (defeating Sampras in the final). Agassi won the Australian Open (defeating Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final). The ITF named Kuerten as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Kuerten "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) confirmed the ATP year-ending rankings: Kuerten first, Safin second, Sampras third.

2001
Lleyton Hewitt P. (Australia)
Gustavo Kuerten P. (Brazil)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Lleyton Hewitt won the US Open (defeating Pete Sampras in the final) and the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Sébastien Grosjean in the final). Goran Ivanišević won Wimbledon (defeating Patrick Rafter in the final). Gustavo Kuerten won the French Open (defeating Àlex Corretja in the final). Andre Agassi won the Australian Open (defeating Arnaud Clément in the final). The ITF named Hewitt as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Hewitt "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) confirmed the ATP year-ending rankings: Hewitt first, Kuerten second, Agassi third.

2002
Lleyton Hewitt P. (Australia)
Andre Agassi P. (U.S.)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon (defeating David Nalbandian in the final) and the Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final). Pete Sampras won the US Open (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). Albert Costa won the French Open (defeating Ferrero in the final). Thomas Johansson won the Australian Open (defeating Marat Safin in the final). The ITF named Hewitt as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Hewitt "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) confirmed the ATP year-ending rankings: Hewitt first, Agassi second, Safin third.

2003
Andy Roddick P. (U.S.)
No consensus among the sources:

Juan Carlos Ferrero P. (Spain)
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer won Wimbledon (defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final) and the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). Andy Roddick won six tournaments, including three in a row, two Tennis Masters Series tournaments, and the US Open (defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final). Ferrero won the French Open (defeating Martin Verkerk in the final). Agassi won the Australian Open (defeating Rainer Schüttler in the final). The ITF named Roddick as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Roddick "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Roddick first, Ferrero second, Agassi third, and Federer fourth. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Roddick finished first, Federer second, Ferrero third, and Agassi fourth.

2004
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
No consensus among the sources:

Lleyton Hewitt P. (Australia)
Andy Roddick P. (U.S.)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards and year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles: the Australian Open (defeating Marat Safin in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Andy Roddick in the final), and the US Open (defeating Lleyton Hewitt in the final). Federer also won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Hewitt in the final). Gastón Gaudio won the French Open (defeating Guillermo Coria in the final). The ITF named Federer as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Federer "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Federer first, Hewitt second, and Roddick third. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Federer finished first, Roddick second, Hewitt third and Safin fourth.

2005
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer reached all four Grand Slam semifinals, winning Wimbledon (defeating Andy Roddick in the final) and the US Open (defeating Andre Agassi in the final). Marat Safin won the Australian Open (defeating Lleyton Hewitt in the final). Rafael Nadal won the French Open (defeating Mariano Puerta in the final). David Nalbandian won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Federer in the final). The ITF named Federer as its World Champion. The members of the ATP voted Federer "Player of The Year." Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Federer first, Nadal second, Hewitt third, and Roddick fourth. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Federer finished first, Nadal second, Roddick third, and Hewitt fourth.

2006
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer lost only five matches the entire year and won three Grand Slam singles titles: the Australian Open (defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final), and the US Open (defeating Andy Roddick in the final). Federer also won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating James Blake in the final). Nadal won the French Open (defeating Federer in the final). Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Federer first, Nadal second, Nikolay Davydenko third, David Nalbandian fourth, and Roddick fifth. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Federer finished first, Nadal second, Davydenko third and Blake fourth.

2007
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer became the first male player ever to win three Grand Slam singles titles in a year in three different years. He won the Australian Open (defeating Fernando González in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final), and the US Open (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). Federer also won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating David Ferrer in the final). Nadal won the French Open (defeating Federer in the final). The ITF named Federer as its World Champion. Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Federer first, Nadal second, Djokovic third, and Nikolay Davydenko fourth. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Federer finished first, Nadal second, Djokovic third, and Davydenko fourth.

2008
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the fourth consecutive year (defeating Federer for the fourth time in that tournament and for the third time consecutively in the final). He also won Wimbledon (defeating Federer in the final), and he became the first Spaniard male player to win the Olympic Games tennis singles title. Federer won the US Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final) for the fifth consecutive time. Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open and also won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup (defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final). The ITF named Nadal as its World Champion. Tennis Magazine (France) chose Nadal as player of the year and Federer second. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Nadal finished first, Federer second, Djokovic third, Murray fourth and Davydenko fifth.

2009
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Roger Federer became the sixth male player to complete a career Grand Slam and surpassed former Pete Sampras record of 14 tournaments of Grand Slam. He won the French Open (defeating Robin Söderling in the final) and Wimbledon (defeating Andy Roddick in the final). Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open (defeating Federer in the final) and Del Potro won the US Open (defeating Roger Federer in the final). Nikolay Davydenko won the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Del Potro in the final). The ITF named Federer as its World Champion. Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Federer first. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Federer finished first, Nadal second, Djokovic third, Murray fourth and Del Potro fifth.

2010
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Rafael Nadal became the seventh male player to complete a career Grand Slam. He won the French Open (defeating Robin Söderling in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Tomáš Berdych in the final) and the US Open (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). Roger Federer won the Australian Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Nadal in the final). The ITF named Nadal as its World Champion. Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Nadal first. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Nadal finished first, Federer second, Djokovic third, Murray fourth and Söderling fifth.

2011
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final), Wimbledon and the US Open (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final). Nadal won the French Open (defeating Roger Federer in the final). Federer won the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals. The ITF named Djokovic as its World Champion. Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Djokovic first. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Djokovic finished first, Nadal second, Federer third and Murray fourth.

2012
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) year-ending computer rankings. Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Roger Federer in the final). Nadal won the French Open (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). Roger Federer won Wimbledon (defeating Andy Murray in the final). Andy Murray went on to win the Olympic Games, and the US Open, beating Federer and Djokovic respectively. The ITF named Djokovic as its World Champion. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Djokovic finished first, Federer second, Murray third and Nadal fourth.

2013
Rafael Nadal P. (Spain)
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
ATP Champion
ITF Champion
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) awards and year-ending computer rankings. Rafael Nadal won the French Open (defeating David Ferrer in the final) and the US Open (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final) and Nadal won 5 Masters 1000 events. Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final). Andy Murray won Wimbledon (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). The ITF named Djokovic as its World Champion. In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Nadal finished first and Djokovic second. Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Nadal first, Djokovic second, Murray third.

2014
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
Roger Federer P. (Switzerland)
Tennis Magazine (France); International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon (defeating Roger Federer in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (Federer withdrew injured from the final). Stan Wawrinka won the Australian Open (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final). Nadal won the French Open (defeating Djokovic in the final). Marin Cilic won the US Open (defeating Kei Nishikori in the final). In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Djokovic finished first, Federer second and Nadal third. The ITF named Djokovic as its World Champion.

2015
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
Andy Murray P. (United Kingdom)
International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final), Wimbledon (defeating Roger Federer in the final), the US Open (defeating Roger Federer in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Roger Federer in the final). Stan Wawrinka won the French Open (defeating Djokovic in the final). In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Djokovic finished first and Murray second. The ITF named Djokovic as its World Champion.

2016
Andy Murray P. (United Kingdom)
Novak Djokovic P. (Serbia)
International Tennis Federation (ITF); Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final) and French Open (defeating Andy Murray in the final). Andy Murray won Wimbledon (defeating Milos Raonic in the final), Olympic Games (defeating Juan Martín del Potro in the final) and the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). Stan Wawrinka won the US Open (defeating Novak Djokovic in the final). In the ATP's year-ending rankings, Murray finished first and Djokovic second. The ITF named Murray as its World Champion.

text: Number of times players ranked number 1

text: Note: An undisputed number one player for the year (without another player regarded as number one) is shown in bold

text:
Total
World Number One
Years

8 years
 Pancho Gonzales
1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960

7 years
 William Renshaw
1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1889

 Bill Tilden
1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1931

 Rod Laver
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970

6 years
 Reginald Doherty
1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902

 Jack Kramer
1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953

 Ken Rosewall
1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970

 Pete Sampras
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

5 years
 Joshua Pim
1890, 1891, 1893, 1894, 1895

 William Larned
1901, 1902, 1908, 1909, 1910

 Laurence Doherty
1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906

 Fred Perry
1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1941

 Don Budge
1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942

 Roger Federer
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

 Novak Djokovic
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

4 years
 Wilfred Baddeley
1891, 1892, 1895, 1896

 Ellsworth Vines
1932, 1935, 1936, 1937

 Bobby Riggs
1941, 1943-1945, 1946, 1947

 Björn Borg
1977, 1978, 1979, 1980

3 years
 Ernest Renshaw
1887, 1888, 1892

 Anthony Wilding
1911, 1912, 1913

 Henri Cochet
1928, 1929, 1930

 Jimmy Connors
1974, 1976, 1982

 John McEnroe
1981, 1983, 1984

 Ivan Lendl
1985, 1986, 1987

 Rafael Nadal
2008, 2010, 2013

2 years
 John Hartley
1879, 1880

 Willoughby Hamilton
1889, 1890

 Ernest Lewis
1890, 1891

 Malcolm Whitman
1899, 1900

 Norman Brookes
1907, 1911

 Maurice McLoughlin
1912, 1914

 Bill Johnston
1919, 1922

 René Lacoste
1926, 1927

 Pancho Segura
1950, 1952

 John Newcombe
1970, 1971

 Stan Smith
1971, 1972

 Stefan Edberg
1990, 1991

 Lleyton Hewitt
2001, 2002

1 year
 Spencer Gore
1877

 Frank Hadow
1878

 Herbert Lawford
1887

 Wilberforce Eaves
1897

 Robert Wrenn
1897

 Arthur Gore
1901

 Gerald Patterson
1919

 Jack Crawford
1933

 Ilie Năstase
1973

 Arthur Ashe
1975

 Mats Wilander
1988

 Boris Becker
1989

 Jim Courier
1992

 Andre Agassi
1999

 Gustavo Kuerten
2000

 Andy Roddick
2003

 Andy Murray
2016

text: Leading number 1 ranked players by decade

text:
1870s - Spencer Gore, 1877, Frank Hadow, 1878, & John Hartley, 1879
1880s - William Renshaw, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886
1890s - Joshua Pim, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1894, 1895
1900s - Hugh Laurence "Laurie" Doherty, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906
1910s - Anthony Wilding, 1911, 1912, 1913
1920s - Bill Tilden, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925
1930s - Ellsworth Vines, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937 & Fred Perry, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937
1940s - Bobby Riggs, 1941, 1943-1945, 1946, 1947
1950s - Pancho Gonzales, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
1960s - Rod Laver, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
1970s - Björn Borg, 1977, 1978, 1979
1980s - John McEnroe, 1981, 1983, 1984 & Ivan Lendl, 1985, 1986, 1987
1990s - Pete Sampras, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
2000s - Roger Federer, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
2010s - Novak Djokovic, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015