rogerfederer.com - 161 weeks: competing with history

161 weeks: competing with history

Dear fans

I have been holding the world No.1 ATP-ranking since February 2nd, 2004. That makes 161 consecutive weeks today – a new record! It was never really one of my goals to achieve this specific record. I had reached my goal in 2004, when I took over the lead in the world ranking. I remember the moment as though being set free somehow; I then suddenly started playing a lot better and gaining more confidence. All these changes have allowed me to stay at the top for this long. So it is rather surprising to me to beat Jimmy Connors’ 30-year-old record today.

161 weeks is a long time and being able to lead this statistic from now on is a terrific feeling. As you can imagine it has taken a lot to come this far. First of all, I would like to mention my love for tennis. I love this sport; it is classy with a great competitive flair to it. I have put a lot of dedication and motivation into every single match I played over these past years. Furthermore, it took a large amount of hard work, a positive attitude and also the luck to always have been supported by such a great team. Of course experience as well as good health are key factors, too. It is vital to follow the signals of the body and plan accordingly: how intensely can I exercise, how much time do I need to plan for regeneration, how many and which tournaments should I play…? And then, last but not least, I would like to mention you fans. You play an important role in my career and in my life in general. Without you, I probably would never have won as many matches as I did. Thank you so much for all your support!

I am profoundly proud of not only being able to compete with my opponents today – but also with history. I am looking forward to many more unforgettable tennis-moments together with you all.

Yours, Roger

The stats

Consecutive weeks at number one

1. Roger Federer (SUI): 161 (between February 2004 and February 2007)

2. Jimmy Connors (USA): 160 (between July 1974 and August 1977)

3. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 157 (between September 1985 and September 1988)

4. Pete Sampras (USA): 102 (between April 1996 and March 1998)

5. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS): 75 (between November 2001 and April 2003)

Total weeks at number one

1. Pete Sampras (USA): 286

2. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 270

3. Jimmy Connors (USA): 268

4. John McEnroe (USA): 170

5. Roger Federer (SUI): 161

6. Björn Borg (SUE): 109

7. Andre Agassi (USA): 101

8. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS): 80

9. Stefan Edberg (SUE): 72

10. Jim Courier (USA): 58

Years ended at number one

1. Pete Sampras (USA): 6 years in series (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)

2. Jimmy Connors (USA): 5 years in series (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)

3. John McEnroe (USA): 4 years in series (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)

3. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 4 years (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989)

5. Roger Federer (SUI): 3 years in series (2004, 2005, 2006)