Guillermo Vilas: The rightful No.1

(Getty/Ricardo Ceppi)

Throughout part of the 1970s, Guillermo Vilas was the best tennis player in the world.

Fifty years ago, he should have begun the 1976 season as men's world No.1 tennis player. And yet decades on, he's still yet to be recognised with the title.

I've asked family and colleagues about Vilas in this era. Aside from memories of that hair, he was understandably an icon: a man who elevated tennis' status among global sports and one who brought South America into the tennis limelight.

Vilas – a boy from Buenos Aires – always dreamed of being the best. He first became the junior champion in Club Náutico Mar del Plata, then won the U16 Orange Bowl, and then became the best in Argentina. From there, his sights were set on the most renowned position in tennis: the global number one.

It was an ambitious goal. No Argentine man or woman had achieved it before him. And none have since.

But for a period of at least seven weeks, Vilas should have stood as the outright world No.1. The ATP made an error. They've never corrected it. And the error may have remained buried in history if not for Eduardo Puppo dedicating over a decade of his life to proving it.

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Puppo, an Argentine journalist, began researching Vilas' claim for the No.1 in 2007, shortly after the WTA announced Evonne Goolagong as the rightful No.1 from 31 years prior.

Vilas himself had already filed ranking complaints to the ATP during his playing days, in 1975, 1977, and 1982. But Puppo wanted to prove it beyond doubt.

Alongside Romanian mathematician Marian Coulson, he recalculated the 1970s ATP rankings and definitively proved Vilas' place at the top. But despite years of back and forth with the tour, no change has yet been made.

Puppo spoke to The First Serve about Vilas and the case - one which remains in court to this day.

"His goal was always to reach world No.1," Puppo said of Vilas.

"Not as an obsession – according to him – but as a logical objective for someone so meticulous: to be the best in school, the best in juniors, the best in the senior ranks, and ultimately the best in the world."

It was for this reason that Vilas could not control his emotions when Puppo first broke the news that they'd proved his place as No.1 - and the ATP could not refute it.

"What you see in the Netflix documentary (Guilermo Vilas: Settling the Score) – when he breaks down emotionally – corresponds to the moment in 2016 when the ATP gave its first positive response. That was the culmination of his path to the top."

That moment in 2016 came after Puppo submitted a 1200-page document to the tour, one backed by statistical evidence of draw sheets, newspapers and more.

The report proved that there were seven weeks where Vilas would have been number one if the rankings had been updated weekly.

It's also worth mentioning here that under today's rankings, the Argentine would have spent many more weeks at the top.

These seven official weeks spanned 1975 and 1976. However, in 1977, Vilas won another 16 titles – more than half the events he entered – including two Grand Slams, and was clearly the best player on the planet. But the rankings punished players for competing in lower-tier events, so Vilas, who played and won most of them, remained at No.2.

Despite acknowledging the correctness of Puppo's report, the ATP ultimately did not confirm it; they delayed the process, and that is when the legal matter began – an issue that continues to this day.

"The ATP has never been able to refute any part of the study. We have repeatedly asked them to do so, but the fact is they cannot: what happened on the courts – the results, the points, the bonuses, everything we reconstructed – is real," he explained.

"That is why the ATP said three separate times that everything was correct and even set a date to deliver the official No. 1 trophy. However, they later reversed their position and firmly maintained that stance. That remains the situation today."

Former ATP CEO Chris Kermode told Puppo that "[they are] not missing any weeks at No.1" and that "in 1975, 13 (weekly) rankings were published, and those are the only ones that count."

Puppo does not believe that logic holds up with their records. "In 1975, they awarded Jimmy Connors 52 weeks as No.1, including the 39 weeks that were never published. For that reason, the ATP's argument is not consistent," he said.

"That is why we continue through the judicial route, which is extremely complex and lengthy."

The ATP's rankings changes in this era were without process. It means that many players hold a claim to a higher-career ranking than officially stated – and they do not want to open the floodgates by altering history.

But in an individual sport, the number one is sacred. It's the highest honour available in tennis, and rightfully acknowledging Vilas' place in that elusive category is a unique and isolated change.

Puppo told The First Serve that Vilas is now battling "serious health problems". And being recognised as the world's best tennis player would hold significant meaning for Guillermo and those around him.

"The word is restitution: returning something to its original state. Vilas, although never officially recognised as No.1, was No. 1 in the averages, and that reality was never publicly reflected," said Puppo.

"It is simple: that is what actually happened on the courts, and the ATP did not publish it. We found all the missing numbers and presented them to the ATP. The ATP confirmed they were correct, but it does not wish to correct the wrongly written history of world tennis. And that is not right.

"Restitution would mean that everyone who worked with Vilas to reach that goal truly did so and genuinely achieved it. Many of them will never see that moment because they have already passed away. But sooner or later, the ATP will have to acknowledge the truth – and those who remain will be witnesses that Vilas' effort and determination truly had meaning."

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