Great Britain is set to have only its third-ever world No 1 tennis player, with Joe Salisbury to follow in the footsteps of both Andy and Jamie Murray. Salisbury will move to the top of the world doubles rankings following this week's action at the Miami Open.
This comes after he reached the quarter-finals of the doubles tournament in Miami alongside partner, Rajeev Ram. The pair saw off Feliciano Lopez and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 7-6 to move into the last eight of the competition.
Victory in his last 16 clash alongside Ram means Salisbury has now done enough to ascend to the top of the world rankings. His crowning will become official next Monday following the conclusion of the Miami Open
The partnership of Salisbury and Ram has proved an impressive one in recent years, having won six titles across three seasons. This includes two Grand Slams in the 2020 Australian Open and last year's US Open title in New York.
The Brit will replace Croatia's Mate Pavic at the top of the world following the ranking update next Monday. This comes after Pavic’s Miami Open came to an early end, after he and his partner Nikola Mektic were knocked out by Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov.
Salisbury becomes just the third Brit to head to the top of the world rankings, and the first not to come from the Murray family. Older Murray sibling Jamie was the first player from the British Isles to become world No 1 after he topped the doubles rankings in 2016.
What is your favourite Joe Sailsbury moment on his way to the top? Let us know in the comments section below.
He was then followed to the top by his brother Andy, who moved to the top of the men's singles world rankings that same year after winning the ATP Tour Finals over Novak Djokovic. Following his Miami Open victory on Sunday, Salisbury described moving to the top of the world as ‘pretty special’.
He commented: "It seems a bit crazy, to be honest, but yeah, so happy. This week, we're focusing on doing as well as we can, trying to win this tournament in Miami.
'But obviously very satisfied. What we've done as a team, with Rajeev, to be number one in the team rankings as well now, it's pretty special."
