Oldest Players in Main Draw

At the top of the Open Era list for oldest players in an ATP main draw stands Gardnar Mulloy, who appeared at Miami 1977 aged 63 years and 77 days, the oldest recorded men’s singles main-draw appearance of the Open Era. In that match, Mulloy faced John Whitlinger in the opening round, losing 6-0, 6-1 on clay — a result that turned Miami 1977 into the ultimate longevity milestone rather than a competitive benchmark. Mulloy dominates the very top of this record: he also appears at Fort Lauderdale 1971 aged 57 years and 56 days, Jacksonville 1970 aged 56 years and 123 days, and several other late-career main draws in 1968–69.

Behind him come other early Open Era veterans such as Frank Parker, aged 55 years and 30 days at Hampton 1971; James McArdle, aged 54 years and 67 days at Dublin 1974; and Pancho Segura, aged 52 years and 249 days at Carlsbad WCT 1974.

A separate modern reference point is Jimmy Connors: unlike the older one-off veterans of the early Open Era, Connors remained a genuine tour icon deep into the ATP computer era, making his final ATP singles main-draw appearance at Atlanta 1996 against Richey Reneberg, when he was 43.

In this record, the milestone is simply entering the draw: Mulloy set an almost untouchable ceiling at 63 years, while Connors represents the elite-career version of the record — a former No. 1 still appearing in ATP main draws more than two decades after his first tour-level breakthrough.