on this day
On this day: Murray surges to No. 1 in 2016
Scott remains No. 1 in PIF ATP rankings for 41 consecutive weeks
November 07, 2025
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Andy Murray won nine titles in 2016 and became world number one for the first time in November.
Sam Jacott
On this day in 2016, Andy Murray used his outstanding performance to replace Novak Djokovic and ascend to the top of the PIF ATP rankings, ending the Big Three’s 666-week reign at the top.
The Scot spent much of 2015 in the top three of the PIF ATP Rankings and began his fifth and final career Australian Open title bid in 2016. Murray lost to Djokovic in the championship and again to the Serbian in the Madrid final four months later. He got his revenge in Rome, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season and reaching another Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
While Murray made strong progress in 2016, it was his swing on grass that was the first major highlight. As was so often the case throughout his career, the then 29-year-old gave his best on London’s lawns, winning Queen’s and Wimbledon, becoming only the seventh player to complete the Queen’s and Wimbledon double. Alcaraz will continue to achieve this feat in 2023.
In North American hard court competition, Murray reached the final in Cincinnati and the quarterfinals at the US Open. After arriving in Beijing in early October, Murray was still 4,695 points behind world number one Djokovic. However, Murray’s straight-sets victory in two weeks in China injected late-season appeal into the PIF’s bid for the 2016 ATP year-end No. 1 spot.
He lifted the trophy in Beijing to take his six titles this season, followed by seven at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, victories that reduced the gap between world number one Djokovic and Murray from 4,695 points to 2,415 points. When he returned to Europe, the late-season wins kept coming.
His victory at the ATP 500 indoor hard-court event in Vienna put him within range of Djokovic before claiming his 14th career and eventual ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris. Murray became the 26th player to rise to the top spot as the Serbian only reached the quarter-finals in the French capital.
Two weeks later at the Nitto ATP Finals, Murray defeated Djokovic again in the championship match and won the ATP year-end No. 1 ranking issued by PIF. According to the Infosys ATP win/loss index, he achieved a perfect record of 78 wins and 9 losses. Murray remained at the top of the world for 41 weeks until Rafael Nadal overtook him in August 2017.
