Tennis is a fickle sport, with a rankings system that could baffle the average fan.
After all, winning any of the four Grand Slam titles naturally provides the most points, but there are so many other events that make up the end-of-year rankings.
Each Masters 1000 event offers, unsurprisingly, 1000 points, with ATP 500 and ATP 250s helping to supplement that.
Even if one suffers from stage fright at the major level, they can still attain a respectable place in the world rankings should they remain competitive throughout the year.
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The current ATP top ten should exhibit this perfectly, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz having dominated each of the last seven Grand Slams, meaning the other eight players have established their spots without a major title.
However, there was one man who actually managed to climb all the way to the top of the world rankings despite having failed to win a Grand Slam title.
That man was Marcelo Ríos.
Marcelo Ríos: The former world number one who never won a Grand Slam
The Chilean was born in 1975 and turned professional in 1994, aged just 18.
A prodigious talent, he swiftly put his name onto the map as an iconic figure with long, sweeping hair and a unique sense of style.
However, he convinced the world of his talent when pushing Pete Sampras to the brink during his first year on the tour at the French Open.
He continued to improve with each passing year and consistently impressed at majors. However, his first and only Grand Slam final came in 1998, starting his year off well in Melbourne.
It was this run which led to his eventual rise to the top of the world rankings the following March, but he would lose that Australian Open final, and never made it to another at that level.
As such, he became the first and only player in Open Era history to have reached the top of the rankings without winning a major title.
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How Marcelo Ríos troubled the world’s best tennis players
Clearly a supremely gifted player, he was obviously not able to convert that talent into tangible Grand Slam success.
However, he did trouble some of the world’s very best players, boasting wins over some high-profile names.
His first-ever top-ten win came early in 1996, when he beat Wayne Ferreira at Indian Wells.
The closest Marcelo Ríos ever came to a Grand Slam title
This set him up for further success that year, also beating Jim Courier and Boris Becker, two of the sport’s most iconic names.
A few years later, he would enjoy victories over the likes of Gustavo Kuerten, Andre Agassi and Mark Philippoussis, some real legends of the game, and players who all managed to snag coveted Grand Slam titles that he could not achieve.
Ríos retired aged just 27 due to longstanding injuries.