u/Great_Catch5756

In this series of posts, I've been attempting to rank the top 3 tennis players of every year in the 21st century - with this last post being about the 2020s. You can also check out the post about the 2000s and the 2010s.

The rankings are based on things like stats, year-end rankings/points, titles and H2H matchups. I tried leaning towards the players who I thought were actually playing the best that year - not necessarily who had the best season - but ultimately it's a combination of the two. If that makes sense.

Durability has also been a factor. If a player has played too few matches in a season, they will not be considered, no matter how good they were.

My rankings for the 2020s are:

2020

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Dominic Thiem

Djokovic gets an easy #1 here in a weird covid year. He won 41 out of 46 games though, winning a grand slam and 2 Masters titles in the process.

 

2021

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Daniil Medvedev

3. Alexander Zverev

Novak with another easy #1 as he won 3 grand slams, and reached the final in the US Open. Zverev won both the ATP Finals and the Olympics, but I have Medvedev over him as he beat Novak in the US Open final, had a higher winning percentage, and won 3 out of 4 of the matches they played against each other this year.

 

2022

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Carlos Alcaraz

3. Novak Djokovic

Yet another weird covid year, but Nadal takes the #1 here as he wins 2 grand slams with a 22-1 record. Novak would probably have been #1 had he played more tournaments. Alcaraz also makes his first appearance in the top 3 with an impressive US Open win, 2 Masters titles and finishing as the year-end no. 1.

 

2023

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Carlos Alcaraz

3. Daniil Medvedev

Another easy #1 for Djoker as he wins 3 grand slams (27-1 record), 2 Masters titles (14-2 record), and the ATP Finals.

 

2024

1. Jannik Sinner

2. Carlos Alcaraz

3. Alexander Zverev

Sinner gets his first #1 spot after winning 92,4% of his games, winning 2 grand slams, 3 Masters titles and the ATP Finals. He was more consistent than Alcaraz throughout the year, which is why he gets it after losing all three matches they played against each other. I can’t really argue against someone giving it to Alcaraz based off of those H2H matches though (plus the silver medal at the Olympics).

 

2025

1. Carlos Alcaraz

2. Jannik Sinner

3. Novak Djokovic

Alcaraz’s fourth year in the top 3, and his first #1 spot for me. It’s a fairly close one again though, and would probably be even closer if it hadn’t been for Sinner’s 3-month ban. But as this year is still really fresh in my mind, I will say that I thought Alcaraz’s highs were higher than Sinner’s, even though Sinner might have been a bit more consistent – Alcaraz gets it for me.

I've added an overview here of how all the different players did in my rankings of the 21st century, sorted in order of most finishes in the top 3:

https://preview.redd.it/j7pmiligqr0h1.png?width=1424&format=png&auto=webp&s=f2465b7230fdc97e6d1dd3bae2466a33c01d24db

In this series of posts, I'm attempting to rank the top 3 tennis players of every year since the year 2000 - with this post being about the 2010s. Check out the post about the 2000s here.

The rankings are based on things like stats, year-end rankings/points, titles and H2H matchups. I tried leaning towards the players who I thought were actually playing the best that year - not necessarily who had the best season - but ultimately it's a combination of the two. If that makes sense.

Durability has also been a factor. If a player has played too few matches in a season, they will not be considered, no matter how good they were.

My rankings for the 2010s are:

2010

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Roger Federer

3. Novak Djokovic

This is an easy #1 for Nadal as he dominated this year with the highest winning percentage (87,7%), 3 grand slams, 3 Masters titles and ended up as year-end no. 1.

 

2011

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Roger Federer

Another easy #1 as Djokovic has one of his best years ever, winning 3 grand slams, 5 Masters titles and a winning percentage of 92,1%.  

2012

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Roger Federer

3. Andy Murray

Djokovic takes the #1 again in a year where he beat Nadal in one of the greatest grand slam finals ever, won 3 Masters titles, won the ATP Finals and was only knocked out of major competitions (grand slams and Olympics) by either Nadal, Federer or Murray. Also ended up as the year-end no. 1.

Murray comes in at #3 after winning the US Open and beating both Federer and Djokovic to win gold at the Olympics. There's a good case that Nadal would have been above him this year though if he didn't get injured. He was playing at a very high level before his injury, and even had the highest winning percentage with 87,5% (although from a smaller sample size than the other candidates).

 

2013

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Novak Djokovic

3. Andy Murray

Nadal reclaims the #1 spot in a very impressive year despite missing the AO. He won 2 grand slams (14-1 record) and 5 Masters titles (35-3 record), and was the year-end no. 1. He also had the highest winning percentage with 91,5%.

2014

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Roger Federer

3. Rafael Nadal

Novak takes the #1 in a year where he had the highest winning percentage (88,4%), best grand slam record (22-3), most Masters titles (4), won the ATP finals, and was the year-end no. 1.

 

2015

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Roger Federer

3. Andy Murray

Novak had maybe his best year ever in 2015. He had a winning percentage of 93,2%, won 3 grand slams (reached the final in the remaining one), won 6 Masters titles (39-2 record), and won the ATP finals. He absolutely dominated and gets one of the easiest #1 spots yet.

 

2016

1. Andy Murray

2. Novak Djokovic

3. Milos Raonic

I'm very conflicted on this one, and it's basically 50/50 for me between Murray and Djokovic. I'm gonna try and make the case for Murray here though, and maybe someone else can make the case for Novak in the comments.

Murray played 13 more games than Djokovic and still had a higher winning percentage. He won Wimbledon and reached two other grand slam finals (losing to Novak though), won the ATP finals (beating Novak in the final), had more total titles than Novak (9 against 7), and finished as the year-end no.1. In a normal year I would have maybe have given it to Novak, but this was an Olympic year, and Murray won gold while Novak lost in straight sets in the first round to Del Potro. The olympic gold makes me lean towards Murray for now, but could definitely be convinced to give it to Djokovic.

2017

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Grigor Dimitrov

Federer gets his first and only #1 spot in the 2010s in a year where he won 91,5% of his games, won 2 out of 3 grand slams he participated in, and won 3 Masters titles (20-1 record). He finished behind Nadal in the year-end rankings, but won all 4 H2H matches between the two this year.

2018

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Novak Djokovic

3. Roger Federer

This is a tough one between Nadal and Djokovic. Nadal only played 49 games this year, but he also only lost 4 of them. He won 1 grand slam, reached 1 final and had to retire in a QF and SF in the two remaining. He also won 2 Masters titles with a 17-1 record. When he played, he was incredible. I definitely see a case for Djokovic this year though.

 

2019

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Novak Djokovic

3. Roger Federer

Nadal takes the #1 spot again after having the highest winning percentage (89,2%), best grand slam record (24-2), best Masters record (22-2), and finishing as the year-end no. 1.

In this series of posts I'm gonna attempt to rank the top 3 tennis players of every year since the year 2000 - starting with the 2000s in this post. I did a similar project with football players in another subreddit, which started some great discussions and also helped me refine my rankings.

The rankings are based on things like stats, year-end rankings/points, titles and H2H matchups. I tried leaning towards the players who I thought were actually playing the best that year - not necessarily who had the best season - but ultimately it's a combination of the two. If that makes sense.

Durability has also been a factor. If a player has played too few matches in a season, they will not be considered, no matter how good they were.

Before we get into the rankings, I want to mention that I'm far from an expert on tennis. I know a lot more about football, but I love tennis and wanted to do something similar to my last project, and found it a lot easier to rank players in an individual sport compared to a team sport.

These rankings are also subjective of course, and the purpose of this is to hopefully start an interesting discussion, and I would love to have my mind changed on some of them if possible.

Here are the rankings from 2000-2009:

2000

1. Pete Sampras

2. Marat Safin

3. Gustavo Kuerten

This is pretty much a 50/50 for me between Sampras and Safin, but Sampras' more impressive grand slam season gives him the edge for me. Could easily be convinced to put Safin #1 though.

2001

1. Lleyton Hewitt

2. Gustavo Kuerten

3. Andre Agassi

I have Hewitt #1 this year, just as he was also the year-end no. 1 after playing 98 games and winning both the US Open and the ATP Finals.

2002

1. Lleyton Hewitt

2. Andre Agassi

3. Marat Safin

One of the last great Agassi years, but Hewitt takes the #1 for me again after finishing as year-end no. 1, winning Wimbledon and the ATP Finals, and winning 2 out of 3 matches against Agassi.

2003

1. Roger Federer

2. Andy Roddick

3. Juan Carlos Ferrero

The first great Federer year. Roddick finished ahead of him in the year-end rankings, but Federer wins in basically every other aspect.

2004

1. Roger Federer

2. Lleyton Hewitt

3. Andy Roddick

This is when Federer truly became Federer. He won 3/4 grand slams, the ATP Finals, 3 Masters titles and had a 92,5% winning percentage. The easiest #1 yet.

2005

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Andy Roddick

Federer is still dominating, but this is when Nadal starts to become a worthy competitor. Federer had a 24-2 record in the slams this year though, so he's still the clear #1.

2006

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. James Blake

Federer wins 3/4 grand slams again (27-1 record), and also wins 4 Masters and the ATP Finals. Another easy #1 for him.

2007

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Novak Djokovic

Once again Federer wins 3/4 grand slams (26-1 record) + the ATP finals, and takes the #1 spot again. This is the year Djokovic really announces himself though, and he comes in at #3 after winning 2 Masters titles and getting knocked out of every slam by either Federer or Nadal.

2008

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Roger Federer

3. Novak Djokovic

In 2008 Nadal finally dethrones Federer as the best player in the world, and he does so after having the highest winning percentage (88,2%), winning 2 grand slams (24-2 record), 3 Masters titles, and the gold medal at the Olympics. Also won against Federer in one of the best matches ever in the Wimbledon final. The more interesting discussion is who takes the #2 spot, but Federer was better than Djokovic in the Majors and won 2 out of 3 H2H matches, so he gets the edge for me.

2009

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Novak Djokovic

Federer reclaims the #1 spot in 2009 after winning 2 grand slams (26-2 record), 2 Masters titles, and finishing as year-end no. 1. I think there's a really good argument for Andy Murray to get the #3 spot over Djokovic though. They were pretty even and had the same grand slam record (15-4), but Murray had the highest winning percentage of anyone that year (85,7%) and won the only match they played against each other that year. Djokovic though, finished above him in the year-end rankings and also did slightly better against Federer and Nadal than Murray did. I've gone with Djokovic for now, but could easily be convinced otherwise.

In this series of posts I'm gonna attempt to rank the top 3 tennis players of every year since the year 2000 - starting with the 2000s in this post. I did a similar project with football players in another subreddit, which started some great discussions and also helped me refine my rankings.

The rankings are based on things like stats, year-end rankings/points, titles and H2H matchups. I tried leaning towards the players who I thought were actually playing the best that year - not necessarily who had the best season - but ultimately it's a combination of the two. If that makes sense.

Durability has also been a factor. If a player has played too few matches in a season, they will not be considered, no matter how good they were.

Before we get into the rankings, I want to mention that I'm far from an expert on tennis. I know a lot more about football, but I love tennis and wanted to do something similar to my last project, and found it a lot easier to rank players in an individual sport compared to a team sport.

These rankings are also subjective of course, and the purpose of this is to hopefully start an interesting discussion, and I would love to have my mind changed on some of them if possible.

If you're interested, you can find the posts about the football player rankings here.

Here are the rankings from 2000-2009:

2000

1. Pete Sampras

2. Marat Safin

3. Gustavo Kuerten

This is pretty much a 50/50 for me between Sampras and Safin, but Sampras' more impressive grand slam season gives him the edge for me. Could easily be convinced to put Safin #1 though.

2001

1. Lleyton Hewitt

2. Gustavo Kuerten

3. Andre Agassi

I have Hewitt #1 this year, just as he was also the year-end no. 1 after playing 98 games and winning both the US Open and the ATP Finals.

2002

1. Lleyton Hewitt

2. Andre Agassi

3. Marat Safin

One of the last great Agassi years, but Hewitt takes the #1 for me again after finishing as year-end no. 1, winning Wimbledon and the ATP Finals, and winning 2 out of 3 matches against Agassi.

2003

1. Roger Federer

2. Andy Roddick

3. Juan Carlos Ferrero

The first great Federer year. Roddick finished ahead of him in the year-end rankings, but Federer wins in basically every other aspect.

2004

1. Roger Federer

2. Lleyton Hewitt

3. Andy Roddick

This is when Federer truly became Federer. He won 3/4 grand slams, the ATP Finals, 3 Masters titles and had a 92,5% winning percentage. The easiest #1 yet.

2005

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Andy Roddick

Federer is still dominating, but this is when Nadal starts to become a worthy competitor. Federer had a 24-2 record in the slams this year though, so he's still the clear #1.

2006

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. James Blake

Federer wins 3/4 grand slams again (27-1 record), and also wins 4 Masters and the ATP Finals. Another easy #1 for him.

2007

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Novak Djokovic

Once again Federer wins 3/4 grand slams (26-1 record) + the ATP finals, and takes the #1 spot again. This is the year Djokovic really announces himself though, and he comes in at #3 after winning 2 Masters titles and getting knocked out of every slam by either Federer or Nadal.

2008

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Roger Federer

3. Novak Djokovic

In 2008 Nadal finally dethrones Federer as the best player in the world, and he does so after having the highest winning percentage (88,2%), winning 2 grand slams (24-2 record), 3 Masters titles, and the gold medal at the Olympics. Also won against Federer in one of the best matches ever in the Wimbledon final. The more interesting discussion is who takes the #2 spot, but Federer was better than Djokovic in the Majors and won 2 out of 3 H2H matches, so he gets the edge for me.

2009

1. Roger Federer

2. Rafael Nadal

3. Novak Djokovic

Federer reclaims the #1 spot in 2009 after winning 2 grand slams (26-2 record), 2 Masters titles, and finishing as year-end no. 1. I think there's a really good argument for Andy Murray to get the #3 spot over Djokovic though. They were pretty even and had the same grand slam record (15-4), but Murray had the highest winning percentage of anyone that year (85,7%) and won the only match they played against each other that year. Djokovic though, finished above him in the year-end rankings and also did slightly better against Federer and Nadal than Murray did. I've gone with Djokovic for now, but could easily be convinced otherwise.