Top five lowest-ranked ATP finalists in history ft. Marin Cilic, Lleyton Hewitt & more

The 2014 US Open champion, Marin Cilic is the latest name on the list.

Tennis has been a sport, which always sheds light on the favourites and the underdogs. The ATP tour has seen few players dominate the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events. The last two decades have been massively dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Before them, the ATP Tour had Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. But, these players have also on a few occasions suffered defeats to much lower-ranked players.

The names at the pinnacle in the rankings are ever-changing and at a few junctures, fans get to witness low-ranked stars challenging the front-runners in the summit clash. Hence, without further ado, let’s take a look at the top five lowest-ranked ATP finalists in history:

5. Lleyton Hewitt: 550

Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt won his first ATP title on his home ground at the 1998 Adelaide International, aged 16.

He stunned compatriot Jason Stoltenberg to win the title and interestingly, he entered the tournament as a wildcard, ranked 550 in the world. He also defeated America’s Andre Agassi in the semi-finals.

4. Kevin Ullyett: 572

Zimbabwe’s Kevin Ullyett reached the final of the 1999 Nottingham Open while being 572 in the ATP rankings.

Ullyett enjoyed massive success on the tour as a doubles player, winning two Grand Slams and a total of 32 titles in his professional career. Nevertheless, he lost to Cédric Pioline of France in the final at the 1999 Nottingham Open.

3. Pat Cash: 590

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash was ranked 590th in the world when he reached the final at the Korea Open in 1990.

Cash was a qualifier at the tournament and he took down the likes of fifth seed Milan Šrejber and eighth seed Gilad Bloom to reach the final. However, he lost to Austria’s Alex Antonitsch in the final.

2. Marin Cilic: 777

Marin Cilic is the latest inductee on the list, as he defeated Brandon Nakashima of America to secure a spot in the final at the 2024 Hangzhou Open. The Croatian tennis star was ranked 777th in the world before the tournament started; however, he is a former US Open champion and has also reached the semi-finals of the four Grand Slams in the peak ‘Big 4’ era.

Cilic suffered a hip injury in January 2023 at the Maharastra Open. Due to the injury, he slipped out of the top 1000 rankings. With his performance in Hangzhou, he is set to return to the top 300.

ALSO READ: Top five fastest serves in Grand Slam history on the ATP Tour ft. Nick Kyrgios, Ben Shelton

1. Raemon Sluiter: 866

Former Dutch tennis star Raemon Sluiter was ranked 866th in the world when he reached the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch at the 2009 Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

At the time, the tournament was known as the Ordina Open, while its current name is the Libema Open and the current champion is Alex de Minaur of Australia. Sluiter got a wildcard at the tournament, but lost to qualifier Benjamin Becker of Germany in the final.

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