Tennis stands apart from nearly every other sport. Its individual nature means all the credit—and all the pressure—falls squarely on one person. Every shot requires a crucial decision. That intensity means not every player enjoys the game, not even when they’re winning. That was the case for this Russian star, who became World No. 1 at a young age after beating Pete Sampras at the US Open.
Marat Safin reached the summit of world tennis on September 10, 2000, at just 20 years old and barely three years into his professional career. In that short time, he had already shown flashes of his immense talent, earning wins over icons like Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten.
His true breakout moment came at the 2000 US Open. That year, Safin delivered a spectacular season, with titles in Barcelona, Mallorca, and Canada—culminating in a commanding victory over Sampras in the final Grand Slam of the season. He followed that with more titles in Tashkent, St. Petersburg, and Paris.
Before his 21st birthday, Marat was officially World No. 1. Not only that—he became the youngest player in history to achieve it, a record later broken by Lleyton Hewitt and Carlos Alcaraz.
Marat Safin after winning the Australian Open 2005.
“For my background, from where I am coming from, becoming a professional was already good enough,” the Russian star said in a recent interview with the official ATP Tour website. “Top 100 was already good enough. Top 10 is even incredible. But No. 1, that’s why it was a little bit shocking.”
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After reaching the top of the ATP Rankings at the end of 2000, Marat Safin held the No. 1 spot for a total of nine weeks across three different stints, finishing in April 2001. That stretch gave him a clear view of the pressures and drawbacks that come with being in the spotlight.
“Everyone wants to beat you because it’s like, you’re No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, and everybody else wants to kick my (expletive) because, ‘Who is this youngster that became No. 1 in the world? We need to put him down’,” Marat explained.
Safin had a short career
After reaching the top so early, Safin’s career didn’t follow a traditional arc. For years, he tried to climb back to the top, but recurring physical issues made it difficult for him to regain his peak form. As a result, he retired in 2009 at the age of 29.
“I didn’t like playing tennis,” Safin admitted in a 2020 interview with ESPN Tennis. “I was tired of this world. I got bored. I had no motivation and was losing to unknown players. If you can’t beat guys like Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal, then what’s the point of being there?”
Today, however, Marat has a more positive outlook on his years as a professional tennis player. “I’m proud of it, of all the things I’ve done. You learn more from the mistakes than the winning situations, but it was a beautiful journey for sure. I think this is the most important thing.”
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