Patrick Rafter begins his lone week at No. 1 in 1999: On This Day

No 1 Club

On This Day: Rafter begins his lone week at No. 1 in 1999

Australian holds a unique place in ATP No. 1 Club history

Clive Brunskill /Allsport Patrick Rafter in action at 1999 Wimbledon, where he secured his rise to World No. 1. By Andy West

Patrick Rafter’s time as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings may have been short, but the Australian’s journey to the top of tennis’ mountain was anything but.

On 26 July, 1999 the then-27-year-old Australian was rewarded for 12 months of hard graft by becoming the 17th man to reach top spot. His stay there lasted just one week: He remains the only man to have such a short reign in the position, while he is also the only man not to contest a single match during his stint as World No. 1.

Rafter’s rise to No. 1 began with his stunning 1998 North American hard-court season, during which he went 25-2. That tally included the Australian becoming just the second man to complete the Canada-Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 double, lifting another ATP Tour trophy in Long Island, and completing his second consecutive title run at the US Open.

Despite a less successful late-season indoor swing and a moderate start to his 1999 season, Rafter remained as high as World No. 4 heading onto the European clay in May. Clay was never the Australian’s favoured terrain, but he excelled at that year’s Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where he defeated Andre Agassi en route to his only Masters 1000 final on the surface (l. to Kuerten).

It was back on the more familiar territory of grass courts where Rafter completed his ascent to No. 1. He reeled off 10 straight wins across ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Wimbledon before falling in the semi-finals of The Championships to Agassi. Despite that loss, it was Agassi who Rafter replaced as No. 1, just under a month later.

After just seven days as No. 1 during which he did not contest a match, Rafter was usurped from No. 1 by the familiar face of Pete Sampras. The Australian’s brief reign was just one feature of a topsy-turvy 1999 at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings: He was one of three (alongside Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov) new World No. 1s that year, which remains a record high. With Agassi and Sampras also holding top spot during 1999, the tally of five different World No. 1s in a calendar year has also never been topped.

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