| As of 1 January 1981 |
| Rk |
Name |
Nation |
| 1 |
Björn Borg |
|
| 2 |
John McEnroe |
|
| 3 |
Jimmy Connors |
|
| 4 |
Gene Mayer |
|
| 5 |
Guillermo Vilas |
|
| 6 |
Ivan Lendl |
|
| 7 |
Harold Solomon |
|
| 8 |
José Luis Clerc |
|
| 9 |
Vitas Gerulaitis |
|
| 10 |
Eliot Teltscher |
|
| 11 |
Brian Gottfried |
|
| 12 |
Brian Teacher |
|
| 13 |
Eddie Dibbs |
|
| 14 |
Roscoe Tanner |
|
| 15 |
Wojtek Fibak |
|
| 16 |
John Sadri |
|
| 17 |
Victor Amaya |
|
| 18 |
Johan Kriek |
|
| 19 |
Balázs Taróczy |
|
| 20 |
Vijay Amritraj |
|
|
| Year-end rankings (December 1981) |
| Rk |
Name |
Nation |
Points |
High |
Low |
Change |
| 1 |
John McEnroe |
|
|
|
|
+1 |
| 2 |
Ivan Lendl |
|
|
|
|
+4 |
| 3 |
Jimmy Connors |
|
|
|
|
= |
| 4 |
Björn Borg |
|
|
|
|
–3 |
| 5 |
José Luis Clerc |
|
|
|
|
+3 |
| 6 |
Guillermo Vilas |
|
|
|
|
–1 |
| 7 |
Gene Mayer |
|
|
|
|
–3 |
| 8 |
Eliot Teltscher |
|
|
|
|
+2 |
| 9 |
Vitas Gerulaitis |
|
|
|
|
= |
| 10 |
Peter McNamara |
|
|
|
|
+10 |
| 11 |
Roscoe Tanner |
|
|
|
|
+3 |
| 12 |
Yannick Noah |
|
|
|
|
+11 |
| 13 |
Johan Kriek |
|
|
|
|
+5 |
| 14 |
Sandy Mayer |
|
|
|
|
+38 |
| 15 |
Balázs Taróczy |
|
|
|
|
+4 |
| 16 |
Brian Teacher |
|
|
|
|
-4 |
| 17 |
Víctor Pecci |
|
|
|
|
+18 |
| 18 |
Wojtek Fibak |
|
|
|
|
–3 |
| 19 |
Brian Gottfried |
|
|
|
|
–8 |
| 20 |
Mark Edmondson |
|
|
|
|
+82 |
|