As with any sport, tennis has several metrics for determining which player is the best, such as the number of grand slam victories, Olympic medals, records broken, and total matches won.
However, there is one other indicator that can tell us specifically how good of a tennis player an individual is: Winning percentage.
In essence, it is a ratio of the total number of victories to the total number of matches played.
Here are the top five players:
1. Novak Djokovic- Djokovic recently won the Rolex Paris Masters, which further increased his winning percentage. In the last three years, Djokovic has consistently been in the top five tennis players with the highest winning percentage.
In 2021, Djokovic was in fourth place with 85.9%, and in 2022, he climbed up two spots and landed in second place with 83.2%. And now, in 2023, as the season comes to an end, Djokovic has risen to the top, edging past his two greatest adversaries, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, with 83.68%.
Djokovic currently holds 97 ATP singles titles in his career, including 24 grand slams.
2. Rafael Nadal- In second place is none other than the Spanish phenom Rafael Nadal, with 82.92% winning percentage. Touted as the ‘King of Clay’, Nadal has won 92 ATP singles titles, with 63 of those victories coming on clay.
In 2021, Nadal ranked second in terms of winning percentages, with 87.3%. In the following year, Nadal peaked and took the number one spot with 83.3%.
3. Bjorn Borg- Coming in third is the Swedish tennis player who has won numerous notable matches throughout his career, Bjorn Borg. In 2021, Borg was ranked number 1 with a winning percentage of 89.8%.
In 2022, however, Borg was overtaken by Djokovic and Nadal to fall to third place with a percentage of 82.4%.
Federer an Connors
4. Roger Federer- Federer comes in fourth with 81.98%. Although Federer retired from the sport last year after the Laver Cup, his memory of playing tennis is still very much alive in the minds of tennis enthusiasts.
In October, the 20-time grand slam champion also made a brief appearance at the ATP Rolex Shanghai Masters to receive the “Icon Athlete” award.
In 2021, Federer ranked third with 86.2%, and in the following year, he moved to the fourth spot with 82%.
5. Jimmy Connors- In fifth place is American tennis player, Jimmy Conors with 81.82%. From 1974 to 1977, Connors established a record by being the top-ranked player in the Association of Tennis Professionals for 160 consecutive weeks and a career total of 268 weeks.
In addition, an article from ChaseYourSport wrote that Connor was also the first male player to hold the top spot for more than 200 weeks.
From 2021 to 2023, Connors consistently held fifth place in the winning percentage ranking.
Highest career winning percentage in ATP tennis history:
1.🇷🇸Djokovic 83.68%
2.🇪🇸Nadal 82.92%
3.🇸🇪Borg 82.36%
4.🇨🇭Federer 81.98%
5.🇺🇸Connors 81.82%Novak Djokovic stands alone. pic.twitter.com/B0zHpSdBi4
— Danny 🐊 (@DjokovicFan_) November 5, 2023
Cover Photo: YouTube