Who are some great tennis players to never achieve a number 1 ranking?
The previous answer is incorrect. Marat Safin, Thomas Muster and Patrick Rafter have ALL attained the #1 ranking at some point (Pat Rafter just for 1 week). Other than that, the men seem to be covered. Michael Chang and Guillermo Vilas were always my favorite near-#1’s. On the women’s side, it’s more interesting. There has been more domination on the women’s side in the last few decades so virtually every great women’s player has reached #1. The few exceptions include: Mary Pierce, Hana Mandlikova, Conchita Martinez, Jana Novotna and Gabriela Sabatini all of whom won at least one Grand Slam and all of whom got to either #2 or 3 in the world, but couldn’t make that push. Then there are those who had the misfortune of playing the bulk of their careers before the rankings were established such as the outstanding Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong, Margaret Court, Virginia Wade, etc.
Michael Chang, Tom Okker, Manuel Orantes, Sergi Bruguera Vitas Gerulaitis, Yannick Noah, Roscoe Tanner, Rafael Nadal (that may change in the future), Pat Cash, Goran Ivanisevic, Tony Roche, Bob Hewitt, Adriano Panatta, Thomas Muster, Andres Gimeno, Bill Johnston, Marat Safin, Patrick Rafter and many many others. All the players I’ve mentioned have won at least one major championship with the exception of Bob Hewitt. Chang was extremely close to number 1 several times but always seemed to lose the match when that one match meant that he have a chance to be number 1. Incidentally I am talking about end of the year rankings so perhaps some have reach number 1 in the computer rankings I talking about the end the year.
