Mike Bryan creates history to reclaim No.1 ranking

Published by Leigh Rogers

A NEW TEAM: Mike Bryan and Jack Sock are into the Wimbledon semifinals; Getty Images
There is no stopping 40-year-old American doubles star Mike Bryan – who is returning to world No.1 almost 15 years after he first achieved the feat.

American doubles star Mike Bryan will create history next week, becoming the oldest man to top the ATP rankings.

The 40-year-old, who has previously spent an unprecedented 454 weeks at No.1, sealed his return to the coveted position with victory in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Mike Bryan is making his 20th consecutive appearance at the All England Club this year, but for the first time is not competing alongside twin brother Bob who is sidelined with a hip injury. By reaching the semifinals alongside compatriot Jack Sock – who was seven years old when the Bryan brothers made their Wimbledon debuts – Mike is guaranteed to overtake Croatian Mate Pavic when the new rankings are released next week.

Mike Bryan: A history-making No.1
First reached No.1 8 September, 2003
Last ranked No.1 25 October, 2015
Total weeks at No.1 454
Weeks as co-No.1 with brother Bob Bryan 438
Weeks at No.1 solo 16
Stints at No.1 12

Currently ranked No.8, Mike is the only top 20-ranked doubles player to advance to the final four at the All England Club this year. It puts the American in a strong position to win his first Grand Slam men’s doubles title since the US Open in 2014. A 20-time Grand Slam champion, he has won 16 men’s doubles titles alongside his brother and four mixed doubles titles in his illustrious career.

Mike’s 118 men’s doubles tour-level titles are an Open era record, sharing 116 of these with his twin brother. The only times he has won a title without his brother was with Mark Knowles in Nottingham and Mahesh Bhupathi in Long Island, both in 2002.

INSIGHT: Is serve-and-volley gone forever?

Change is also guaranteed in the women’s doubles rankings, where Timea Babos will end the five-week reign of Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

The 25-year-old Babos, who won the Australian Open title alongside Kristina Mladenovic this year, will become the first Hungarian player to be ranked No.1.

QUIZ: Which grass-court champion are you?

Share this: 
  • Most popular articles

24 May 2016

Preparing your body for clay court tennis

With all eyes on the red clay of Roland Garros, there's plenty that club players can do to... More

29 April 2016

How to beat a better player

Victory was never out of the question when Bernard Tomic faced 17-time Grand Slam champion... More

16 February 2017

Men’s and women’s tennis: as different as believ...

In the first part of our series analysing the similarities and differences between men's ... More

8 June 2016

Pro tips: successfully changing surfaces

Transitioning between surfaces can be one of the biggest challenges in the game. Understan... More