The achievement John McEnroe managed in his tennis career which he admitted even surprised him and he was never expecting

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John McEnroe achieved plenty of great things in his tennis career.

He is multiple time Grand Slam champion and was one the finest serve and volley players in the history of the game.

The American played every point as though it were his last and his outspoken nature made him one of the most intense players to step on the court.

These qualities helped John McEnroe become one of the greatest of all time, and their particular accomplishment during his career left him stunned.

Which of John McEnroe’s career achievements left him ‘surprised’?

McEnroe won seven Grand Slam titles throughout his illustrious career.

Three of those victories came at Wimbledon, while the other four came at the 66-year-old’s home major of the US Open.

But the one achievement in McEnroe’s career that left him somewhat shocked and overwhelmed at first, was when he became the World number one and he found it hard to fathom ahead of names such as his great rival Bjorn Borg.

“The most important thing when I was playing was who’s No. 1 at the end of the year,” McEnroe said back in 2020. “That was the most important. You were the best overall. Your 12-month results were the best of anyone.

“To look and go, ‘Oh my God, there’s not one person above me is not something when I was growing up that I was expecting to happen. It was quite surprising to look at my name and below it be like Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors.”

How long was John McEnroe the ATP’s World number one?

On March 3, 1980, McEnroe became the World number for the first time.

Later that year, he lost an epic Wimbledon final against Borg before beating him in the US Open final later that summer.

McEnroe was the ATP Tour’s top-ranked player on 14 different occasions between 1980 and 1985.

From 1981, the year he claimed his first Wimbledon title, to 1985, the American finished the season as the top-ranked player.

McEnroe spent 170 weeks as World number one and during his time at the summit of men’s tennis he won 226 matches and lost 34, giving him a win percentage of 86.9%, the sixth-highest of all time.