7 American men to finish in top 10 of ATP ranking for three straight years ft. Taylor Fritz, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors
Taylor Fritz will end another season inside the top 10 of the ATP ranking after ensuring his berth in the semifinals of the 2024 ATP Finals. With this feat, Fritz will become the seventh American man to finish in the top 10 for three or more consecutive years.
Taylor Fritz has been the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour for several years. In 2024, he continued to raise the American flag high on tour with titles at the Delray Beach Open and Eastbourne International. Moreover, Fritz became the first American man to reach the singles Grand Slam final since 2009, when he finished runners-up at the 2024 US Open.
Thanks to these results, Taylor Fritz is set to finish in the top 10 for a third consecutive year. Here's a complete rundown of seven American men who ended the season inside the top 10 for three or more years in a row:
#7 Taylor Fritz - 3 years
Taylor Fritz is set to finish in the top 10 of the ATP ranking, currently at World No. 5, for the third consecutive year in 2024. He achieved the feat for the first time in his career in 2022, when he finished year-end World No. 9 after winning his maiden Masters-1000 title in Indian Wells. In 2023, Taylor Fritz's form dipped slightly, but two ATP 250 titles and a Masters-1000 semifinal appearance helped the American hang on to the World No. 10 spot.
Taylor Fritz is currently competing at the 2024 ATP Finals, where he has made it out of the group stage and reached the semifinals. The 27-year-old could improve his ranking by overtaking Daniil Medvedev at the World No. 4 spot if he wins the year-end championships.
#6 Jim Courier - 3 years
Jim Courier finished as the year-end World No. 2 and inside the top-10 for the first time in his career in 1991, when he won his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open and finished runners-up at the US Open. He did one better in 1992, finishing year-end World No. 1 on the back of a title run at the Australian Open and a successful defense at the French Open.
Courier attained another year-end top 10 ranking in 1993 when he held the World No. 3 spot. He reached three Grand Slam finals that year, winning the Australian Open and ending runners-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships.
#5 Michael Chang - 6 years
Michael Chang was ranked in the top 10 of the ATP ranking for six consecutive years. The streak began in 1992 when he finished World No. 6 and completed the Sunshine Double. In 1993, Chang was ranked World No. 8, followed by World No. 6 finish in 1994.
Chang bettered his year-end ranking in the next three years, holding the World No. 5 spot in 1995, No. 2 in 1996 (with runners-up finishes at the Australian Open and US Open), and No. 3 in 1997 (with triumph at Indian Wells Masters).
#4 Andy Roddick - 9 years
Andy Roddick etched his name in this list after achieving a year-end World No. 10 ranking in 2002. This marked the beginning of a nine-year streak of Andy Roddick finishing the season inside the top 10 of the ATP ranking. In 2003, the American attained his only year-end World No. 1 ranking thanks to his triumph at the US Open, Canadian Open, and Cincinnati Open.
He maintained top 3 finishes in the next two years, with World No. 2 in 2004 and World No. 3 in 2005. While he suffered a slight dip in ranking in the following five years, he maintained a top-10 presence, with World No. 6 in 2006 and 2007, No. 8 in 2008, No. 7 in 2009, and again No. 8 in 2010.
#3 Pete Sampras - 12 years
Pete Sampras attained his first-ever year-end top-10 finish in 1990 when he was ranked World No. 5 after winning his maiden US Open title. In 1991 and 1992, Sampras stayed inside the upper echelons of the ATP ranking, holding World No. 6 and No. 3, respectively.
Then, Sampras completely dominated the men's tennis world, finishing at year-end World No. 1 from 1993 to 1998, winning 10 Grand Slam titles during this period. The American fell to the World No. 3 spot in the year-end ranking in 1999 and 2000, with the World No. 10 finish in 2001.
#2 Andre Agassi - 16 years
Andre Agassi is the only American player with multiple three-year+ streaks of year-end top 10 finishes on the ATP Tour. The first such streak began in 1988, when Agassi finished World No. 3 after reaching two Grand Slam semifinals, and ended in 1992 when he finished year-end World No. 9 on the back maiden Major title at Wimbledon.
The second streak lasted three years, from 1994 to 1996, and Agassi was ranked year-end World No. 2 in two of those. After a deeply troubled 1997 season, when he fell to World No. 110, Agassi stitched his third and final streak.
In 1998, he was ranked World No. 8 and attained year-end World No. 1 for the first time in 1999. Agassi maintained a top-10 year-end finish on the ATP ranking for six more years until 2005.
#1 Jimmy Connors - 16 years
Jimmy Connors holds the record for the longest streak of any American man for having a top-10 position on the ATP ranking. Connors turned professional in 1972 and, in 1973, held the year-end World No. 3 spot. This began a 16-year-long period of the American in the top 10. With three Grand Slam titles, Connors ended the 1974 season as the year-end World No. 1 and held on to the spot till 1978.
From 1979 to 1988, Jimmy Connors was a mainstay in the top-10 ATP ranking. He was ranked in the top 3 from 1979 to 1984 and inside the top 10 till 1988. During this period, he won three more Grand Slam titles and reached numerous Major semifinals.