Kenneth “Ken” Randall, a former professor and dean at the University of Alabama School of Law, is the president and chief executive officer of iLaw and iLawGlobal in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Beyond his professional activities, Kenneth Randall enjoys staying active by playing tennis.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) standardized its ranking system in 1973. Since that time, 26 male players have held the number one ranking. American Jimmy Connors, the third player to reach the top of the ATP rankings, put together the tour’s first extensive number one reign. Beginning in July of 1974, Connors held the top position for 160 consecutive weeks. He ultimately held the top spot for 268 weeks over the course of nine reigns spanning nearly a decade.
In July of 1999, 16 years after Connor’s last stint as world number one, American Pete Sampras finished his ninth run as the top ranked player on tour, a three week stay that brought his career total to 270 weeks, surpassing Connor’s record. Sampras finished his career with 286 weeks as the world’s top ranked male player, completed over about eight years.
The third and most impressive run as world number one began in February of 2004. Roger Federer of Switzerland spent 237 consecutive weeks as the world’s best player, the longest consecutive streak ever seen at the top of the game. Federer would relinquish the number one ranking to rival Rafael Nadal for 46 weeks between 2008 and 2009, but would add runs of 48 and 17 weeks, bringing his career total and the all-time ATP record to 302 weeks.
