Follow us on Google Discover Roger Federer broke plenty of records during his tennis career, including ‘number of consecutive weeks ranked number one in the world’.
In February 2007, Federer surpassed Jimmy Connors’ record of 160 consecutive weeks spent at world number one.
The American’s record had stood for 30 years, having held the top spot in the ATP rankings between July 1974 and August 1977.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
During a press conference celebrating Federer’s achievement, he was asked about several other records he had a chance of breaking.
While Federer admitted he hadn’t given it much thought, he insisted there was one record he had no chance of taking.
Roger Federer said he had ‘no chance’ of breaking Martina Navratilova’s record of 354 titles
The Swiss legend was confident that one tennis record would remain untouched by him and the rest of the tour.
“It would be great to be the best ever tennis player, men’s and women’s,” he said.
“But I think we’ll have no chance of ever beating Martina Navratilova’s over 300 titles, you know, singles, doubles, mixed. It’s incredible.
Photo by Derek Hudson/Getty Images
“Also, Margaret Court’s records. I’ve heard about them. Of course, there’s interest, too, in the women’s game. Still, obviously, I’m more focused on the men’s. I didn’t know the streak of the women’s.”
WTA legend Martina Navratilova won a record 354 titles during her career, a number that will take some beating.
Martina Navratilova’s title record
- Singles titles – 167 (Open Era record)
- Doubles titles – 177 (Open Era record)
- Mixed doubles titles – 10
- Total titles – 354 (Open Era record)
With very few players competing in both singles and doubles in the modern game, the chances of someone taking that record from Navratilova are slim.
Federer finished his career with 111 titles in comparison, falling short of Navratilova’s record by some distance.
Roger Federer’s career titles
- Singles titles – 103
- Doubles titles – 8
- Total titles – 111
The Swiss star knew that record was unattainable even back in 2007, but had his eye on a few more ATP Tour landmarks.
“I look definitely at most titles, most Grand Slams won, most weeks at No. 1, these are the really big records, plus the one I’ve won just now,” said Federer.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
“I am dreaming about maybe ever breaking those, but we’ll only know at the end of my career.”
Federer managed to get his hands on two of those records, but has since been surpassed by Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
Most men’s Grand Slam titles
Most men’s singles Grand Slam titles (Open Era)Most weeks at number one
Most weeks spent as ATP number oneMost ATP titles
Most ATP titles won (Open Era)
Those records may have come and gone, but nobody has come close to surpassing Federer’s 237 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings.
Will anyone break Roger Federer’s consecutive weeks record?
After taking the top spot from Connors in February 2007, Federer stayed at world number one until August 2008, when Rafael Nadal finally reached the summit of men’s tennis
His 237 consecutive weeks are the most any ATP Tour player has ever spent ranked number one in the world.
- 1. Roger Federer – 237 weeks (February 2004 – August 2008)
- 2. Jimmy Connors – 160 weeks (July 1974 – August 1977)
- 3. Ivan Lendl – 157 weeks (September 1985 – September 1988)
- 4. Novak Djokovic – 122 weeks (July 2014 – November 2016)
- 5. Pete Sampras – 102 weeks (April 1996 – March 1998)
The current world number one, Jannik Sinner, has only spent one week at the top of the rankings, leaving him with a lot of work to do…
Sinner would need to fend off Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of his ATP rivals for another 237 weeks if he wants to break Federer’s record.
Therefore, Federer’s record is guaranteed to remain untouched until April 2030 at the earliest.
Sinner won’t want to worry himself with Federer’s record just yet, however, as he’ll need a perfect ATP Finals campaign to stop Alcaraz from overtaking him.
The 2025 ATP Finals are scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 9.