tennis-db.com Research · Player performance
Zverev's Top 10 Record Is the Worst for a Year-End No. 1 in ATP History
At 3–8, Zverev has the lowest Top 10 win rate among ATP year-end No. 1s. Edberg’s 5–8 in 1991 was the only previous losing season.
Key findings
- Zverev’s 3–8 record gives him a 27.3% Top 10 win rate, the lowest among the 54 year-end No. 1 seasons in ATP rankings history. Including Laver Cup, he is 3–9.
- Edberg finished 5–8 in 1991, a 38.5% win rate. The other 52 previous year-end No. 1 seasons had winning Top 10 records.
- Federer went 18–0 in 2004; Djokovic recorded the most Top 10 wins in a No. 1 season, with 31 in 2015. Borg has the highest career win rate in the cohort, at 71.1%.
Alexander Zverev’s 3–8 record against the Top 10 gives him a win rate of 27.3%, the lowest recorded by an ATP year-end No. 1. Including Laver Cup, his record is 3–9. He has clinched the 2026 year-end ranking and will become No. 1 on November 2.
The comparison includes every year-end No. 1 since ATP rankings began in 1973: 54 seasons and 20 players. Opponents are classified by their ranking at the time of the meeting.
Top 10 records in their No. 1 seasons
The 2026 record is through October 31. The 1973 record begins with the first ATP ranking, published on August 23; all other rows cover full seasons.
| Year | Year-end No. 1 | W-L vs Top 10 | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Ilie Nastase | 9–4 | 69.2% |
| 1974 | Jimmy Connors | 6–1 | 85.7% |
| 1975 | Jimmy Connors | 5–3 | 62.5% |
| 1976 | Jimmy Connors | 20–4 | 83.3% |
| 1977 | Jimmy Connors | 15–9 | 62.5% |
| 1978 | Jimmy Connors | 13–3 | 81.3% |
| 1979 | Björn Borg | 20–3 | 87.0% |
| 1980 | Björn Borg | 18–5 | 78.3% |
| 1981 | John McEnroe | 11–5 | 68.8% |
| 1982 | John McEnroe | 10–6 | 62.5% |
| 1983 | John McEnroe | 11–7 | 61.1% |
| 1984 | John McEnroe | 24–2 | 92.3% |
| 1985 | Ivan Lendl | 22–4 | 84.6% |
| 1986 | Ivan Lendl | 14–5 | 73.7% |
| 1987 | Ivan Lendl | 16–2 | 88.9% |
| 1988 | Mats Wilander | 8–4 | 66.7% |
| 1989 | Ivan Lendl | 11–5 | 68.8% |
| 1990 | Stefan Edberg | 16–7 | 69.6% |
| 1991 | Stefan Edberg | 5–8 | 38.5% |
| 1992 | Jim Courier | 10–8 | 55.6% |
| 1993 | Pete Sampras | 13–6 | 68.4% |
| 1994 | Pete Sampras | 13–7 | 65.0% |
| 1995 | Pete Sampras | 14–7 | 66.7% |
| 1996 | Pete Sampras | 13–5 | 72.2% |
| 1997 | Pete Sampras | 13–1 | 92.9% |
| 1998 | Pete Sampras | 6–3 | 66.7% |
| 1999 | Andre Agassi | 12–6 | 66.7% |
| 2000 | Gustavo Kuerten | 10–4 | 71.4% |
| 2001 | Lleyton Hewitt | 13–3 | 81.3% |
| 2002 | Lleyton Hewitt | 9–4 | 69.2% |
| 2003 | Andy Roddick | 6–5 | 54.5% |
| 2004 | Roger Federer | 18–0 | 100.0% |
| 2005 | Roger Federer | 15–2 | 88.2% |
| 2006 | Roger Federer | 19–4 | 82.6% |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | 17–4 | 81.0% |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal | 17–6 | 73.9% |
| 2009 | Roger Federer | 15–10 | 60.0% |
| 2010 | Rafael Nadal | 11–5 | 68.8% |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | 21–4 | 84.0% |
| 2012 | Novak Djokovic | 24–10 | 70.6% |
| 2013 | Rafael Nadal | 24–5 | 82.8% |
| 2014 | Novak Djokovic | 19–5 | 79.2% |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic | 31–5 | 86.1% |
| 2016 | Andy Murray | 16–5 | 76.2% |
| 2017 | Rafael Nadal | 12–6 | 66.7% |
| 2018 | Novak Djokovic | 15–4 | 78.9% |
| 2019 | Rafael Nadal | 9–5 | 64.3% |
| 2020 | Novak Djokovic | 10–3 | 76.9% |
| 2021 | Novak Djokovic | 14–4 | 77.8% |
| 2022 | Carlos Alcaraz | 9–5 | 64.3% |
| 2023 | Novak Djokovic | 17–5 | 77.3% |
| 2024 | Jannik Sinner | 18–5 | 78.3% |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz | 17–3 | 85.0% |
| 2026 | Alexander Zverev, clinched | 3–8 (3–9 counting Laver Cup) | 27.3% |
Laver Cup falls outside tennis-db.com’s standard main-tour scope and is excluded from the main season records. Zverev’s parenthetical record includes his loss to Alex de Minaur at the event.
Across the 53 previous No. 1 seasons (1973–2025), the mean Top 10 win rate was 73.9% and the median was 73.7%.
Stefan Edberg was the only previous year-end No. 1 with a losing Top 10 season. He finished 1991 at 5–8, a win rate of 38.5%. Zverev’s current rate is 11.2 percentage points lower. Each of the other 52 previous No. 1 seasons produced more wins than losses.
Roger Federer’s 18–0 in 2004 is the only unbeaten record. Novak Djokovic’s 31–5 in 2015 is the largest number of Top 10 wins in a No. 1 season. John McEnroe went 24–2 in 1984 (92.3%), while Pete Sampras finished 13–1 in 1997 (92.9%).
Career records against the Top 10
The same players are listed below by career win rate, using the ATP’s published Win/Loss Index.
| Player | Year-end No. 1 seasons | Career W-L vs Top 10 | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Björn Borg | 1979–1980 | 113–46 | 71.1% |
| Novak Djokovic | 2011–2012, 2014–2015, 2018, 2020–2021, 2023 | 269–122 | 68.8% |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2022, 2025 | 56–26 | 68.3% |
| Jannik Sinner | 2024 | 69–37 | 65.1% |
| Roger Federer | 2004–2007, 2009 | 224–123 | 64.6% |
| Ivan Lendl | 1985–1987, 1989 | 166–92 | 64.3% |
| Rafael Nadal | 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019 | 186–105 | 63.9% |
| Pete Sampras | 1993–1998 | 124–71 | 63.6% |
| John McEnroe | 1981–1984 | 128–94 | 57.7% |
| Andre Agassi | 1999 | 109–90 | 54.8% |
| Jimmy Connors | 1974–1978 | 127–109 | 53.8% |
| Andy Murray | 2016 | 105–96 | 52.2% |
| Gustavo Kuerten | 2000 | 38–36 | 51.4% |
| Mats Wilander | 1988 | 62–67 | 48.1% |
| Lleyton Hewitt | 2001–2002 | 65–73 | 47.1% |
| Stefan Edberg | 1990–1991 | 98–114 | 46.2% |
| Jim Courier | 1992 | 53–73 | 42.1% |
| Ilie Nastase | 1973 | 48–69 | 41.0% |
| Alexander Zverev | 2026, clinched | 61–88 | 40.9% |
| Andy Roddick | 2003 | 37–73 | 33.6% |
Björn Borg has the highest career win rate, at 71.1%; Djokovic has the most wins, with 269. Zverev ranks 19th of the 20 players, ahead of Andy Roddick. Seven players have losing career records against the Top 10. A losing record over a career is therefore considerably more common in this group than one during a No. 1 season.
Conclusion
Zverev’s distinction is his season win rate. Even among the seven players with losing career records, Edberg was the only previous year-end No. 1 to finish his No. 1 season below 50% against the Top 10.
Methodology
The cohort follows ATP year-end rankings from 1973 through Zverev’s clinched 2026 finish. No ATP match-time ranking existed before August 23, 1973; Nastase’s inaugural-season record therefore covers the ranking period only. For 1973–1984, opponents were classified using the latest published ATP ranking before each tournament, rather than reconstructed intermediate weekly rankings. Later seasons use the linked match-time ranking records. Season assignments follow the source’s tournament season. Retirements count; walkovers do not.
Annual records exclude Laver Cup consistently. Official results identify the losses removed from Djokovic’s 2018 and Alcaraz’s 2025 source totals, and Zverev’s additional loss to No. 9 de Minaur. Career figures retain the ATP index’s published historical conventions and ranking-era coverage. Win rate is wins divided by matches. The historical mean and median use the 53 season percentages from 1973–2025, calculated before rounding, with each season weighted equally. The match cutoff is October 31, 2026; historical records were checked on November 1.
Data and attribution
The table rows link to their sources. Historical checks used archived official ATP ranking publications, archived Sackmann match files and Tennis Abstract’s Edberg match list. The data download retains the original source totals, the displayed records and the Laver Cup adjustments.
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