Henri Kontinen is the newest doubles No. 1 in the ATP tour rankings, becoming the first player from Finland to reach the top spot.
Kontinen rose to No. 1 when the Bryan brothers, also contenders to return to the top spot, fell in the semifinals of Miami.
The 26-year-old, along with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, is the youngest player in a doubles Top 10 that’s dominated by players in their 30s. He won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, but says the No. 1 ranking had not been a specific goal.
"You always try to improve and string together results to build up confidence,” he told ATPWorldTour.com. “But it’s pretty cool to know I’ve got to No. 1.”
Now a doubles specialist, Kontinen moved to the Czech Republic as a 15-year-old to train, and reached the boys’ singles final at Wimbledon in 2008. But two knee surgeries and two wrist surgeries at age 21 put his career in doubt.
"It was hard to take, and [they were] certainly the toughest moments of my career," he said.
He added that he "worked hard on my fitness" to get back on tour.
Having reached a singles ranking of No. 220 before undergoing surgeries, he switched to doubles upon his return.
"I love the sport, watch it and study it," he said. "When I turned my focus to doubles [in 2013] ... I had to learn and get used to where to position myself."
Nicolas Mahut was previously No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings.
