Gustavo Kuerten remains the South American tennis player who has spent the most time at the top of the ATP rankings. The Brazilian held the No. 1 position for 43 weeks, including a run of 30 consecutive weeks, and finished the 2000 season as the world’s top-ranked player—the only South American to do so.
Kuerten, known as Guga, reached No. 1 after defeating Andre Agassi to win the 2000 Masters Cup, now called the ATP Finals. He won Roland Garros three times and collected 17 other titles, including one ATP Finals and five Masters 1000 trophies. He also finished runner-up at nine tournaments.
Across his career, Kuerten won 358 of the 553 matches he played. Against top-10 opponents, he recorded 38 wins and 36 losses. He is ranked 15th on the list of players with the most weeks at No. 1, which is led by Novak Djokovic with 428 weeks. The only other South American to reach the top was Chilean Marcelo Ríos, who spent six weeks there.
Kuerten’s 30-week consecutive run places him 14th on the all-time list for uninterrupted time at No. 1. Roger Federer holds the record with 237 consecutive weeks; Djokovic’s longest run was 122. Among active players listed, Jannik Sinner leads with 95 weeks overall, while Carlos Alcaraz has 66.
Sources: Folha Esporte.