From: red

Turin – The ATP Finals began in Turin on November 10th. The tournament is considered the unofficial world championship of tennis. Do you know when it first took place? Who won it for the first time? And who most often? We have put together a few facts for you with which you can shine at your next tennis talk.

The premiere

The year-end tournament first took place over 50 years ago. The top six in the world rankings, which was then called the “Grand Prix Circuit,” qualified for the tournament that took place in Tokyo at the time. It was only three years later that the ATP world rankings were introduced and the competition also received its current name.

The first winner

The winner of this first tournament was the American Stan Smith. He won in the singles and also in the doubles alongside his compatriot Arthur Ashe. Does the name sound familiar to you? Quite possible. A large German sports shoe manufacturer – the one with the three stripes – has named one of its iconic, successful models after the no less iconic tennis player.

Records

Novak Djokovic has the most wins. The Serbian player won seven times. The best win rate goes to Ilie Năstase. The Romanian tennis player, sports official and politician was not only the world’s first number one, he also won 23 of his 26 ATP Finals matches. That corresponds to 88.5 percent. But the record holder among the record holders is the Swiss Roger Federer: 18 tournament participations, 76 games and ten finals, of which he won six.