Djokovic makes history with 378th week as World No 1

On Monday, Novak Djokovic surpassed Steffi Graf’s all-time record for the most weeks as the world No 1 tennis player with a total of 378 weeks. Djokovic returned to the top spot five weeks ago after winning the Australian Open and tying Rafael Nadal’s all-time men’s record of 22 majors. This was his first time back at No 1 since June 2020.

Djokovic expressed his pride in being among legendary names, saying “It’s surreal to be that many weeks No 1… I’m proud of it.” The top 5 players with the most weeks as the world No 1 are Djokovic (378), Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), and Roger Federer (310).

Djokovic first reached the No 1 ranking at 24 years old on July 4, 2011, after winning his third grand slam and first at the All England Club by beating Nadal in the Wimbledon final. Since then, Nadal has spent only 107 weeks at No 1 out of a total of 209, compared to Djokovic’s 378. Federer, who holds the record for most consecutive weeks at No 1 with 237 from 2004-08, has been No 1 for only 25 weeks since Djokovic first debuted in the top spot.

Djokovic’s first test after setting this record is the Dubai Championships, where he will face qualifier Tomáš Macháč in the round of 32.