Jannik Sinner will be counting down the days until he can return to tennis, with the Italian having retained his position as ATP number one despite his three-month ban.
Sinner reached 46 consecutive weeks as world number one earlier this month, despite last appearing at the Australian Open.
He emerged victorious in Melbourne in January, and has since watched Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev fight for the second spot in the ATP rankings.
Alcaraz has been distracted by world number one talk, with the Spaniard missing out on a chance to close the gap on Sinner after withdrawing from the Madrid Open.
The Italian can return to competitive action at next month’s Italian Open in Rome, just ahead of the French Open.
The top 10 players with the most consecutive weeks as ATP number one
And he has now been handed a confidence boost ahead of that return, moving into the top 10 for players with the most consecutive weeks at number one after the latest ATP rankings were released.
10 Jannik Sinner (47 weeks)
With 47 weeks and counting, Sinner is 13th for total weeks as world number one, but has moved past Bjorn Borg into 10th place for consecutive weeks in that position.
9 Andre Agassi (52 weeks)
Andre Agassi will be next in the sights of Sinner, but the American ace can be hugely proud of his stellar spell at the very top of men’s tennis once upon a time.
8 Rafael Nadal (56 weeks)
Spanish icon Rafael Nadal sadly left many fans devastated with his retirement last year, but a huge 56 consecutive weeks as world number one is among his many, many wonderful achievements.
7 John McEnroe (58 weeks)
A controversial figure on the court and indeed off it, John McEnroe spent a superb 170 total weeks at the top of the pile, with 58 successive weeks achieved.
6 Lleyton Hewitt (75 weeks)
Lleyton Hewitt flew the flag for Australian tennis for quite some time, as he spent 75 successive weeks at number one and 80 in total.
5 Pete Sampras (102 weeks)
Pete Sampras outshines all Americans with a monster 286 total weeks at the summit, with the iconic player impressively surpassing 100 successive weeks at the top of the men’s game.
4 Novak Djokovic (122 weeks)
Many tennis fans think Novak Djokovic should retire amid his latest struggles, but he is undoubtedly keen to clinch further success in his glittering career at the age of 37, with his 428 total weeks as number one putting him top of that specific pile.
3 Ivan Lendl (157 weeks)
Ivan Lendl garnered plenty of attention for coaching the likes of Andy Murray, but his fantastic playing career has placed him well among the biggest names in men’s tennis history, both for successive and total weeks as number one.
2 Jimmy Connors (160 weeks)
Yet another American icon, posting a superb record 160 successive number one weeks, Jimmy Connors wants American men to start winning more, having witnessed American women impress in recent times, just like he did on the court.
1 Roger Federer (237 weeks)
Roger Federer enjoyed a simply stunning career on the court, with his phenomenal record of 237 consecutive weeks as world number one very unlikely to be surpassed, having remarkably achieved that feat in his very first spell in that ranking.
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