On September 22, 1997, a boy from Basel who had just turned 16 featured in the ATP rankingsExternal link for the first time – in 803rd place.
Federer would go on to top the list, published by the Association of Tennis Professionals every Monday, for 310 weeks, a record that was only surpassed last year by Novak Djokovic. Federer still holds the record for consecutive weeks spent at No 1 (237, four-and-a-half years).
The last points left in Federer’s account were 600 from the 2019 Wimbledon final, more than the 360 he received for last year’s quarterfinal and still putting him at 97th last week.
The winner of 20 grand slam titles is planning a comeback from knee surgery at the Laver Cup in September and the Swiss Indoors in Basel a month later.
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Is Roger Federer the GOAT, the Greatest of All Time? We want you to decide – after considering the cases of the five main contenders.
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The Basel-born player has held the top spot since February 2, 2004 – a total of 161 weeks. “It is a nice record to have,” said Federer, who extended his career high winning streak to 37 after beating Kristian Pless 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Dubai Open. “I’ll definitely…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.