Australian tennis player Matt Ebden says he has achieved a lifelong dream after securing the No 1 doubles rankings for the first time, taking the place of his 43-year-old partner Rohan Bopanna.

The swap between the pair in the top positions will occur when rankings are updated on Monday, and comes despite the Australian Open champions not having played a point since their heroics at Melbourne Park last month.

The 36-year-old West Australian said he was “super happy” to have reached the pinnacle of his sport, and was pleased to have shared the moment with his family in Perth on Tuesday morning.

“Your whole career you have a sort a dreamy life goal,” he said. “To have achieved it with a couple of slams these last couple of years as well, it’s been an incredible blessing and miracle.”

Ebden’s rise to the summit is thanks to the exclusion of results from last year in the 12-month ATP rankings window, and is guaranteed due to the lead he and Bopanna have on their rivals.

The duo have been tied on rankings points since the Australian Open, but the Indian veteran held the No 1 slot on a countback because the Australian had played in more tournaments over the rankings window.

Reaching the pinnacle of men’s tennis is a reward for Ebden’s decision three years ago to focus on the doubles circuit. He reached a career-high singles ranking of 39 in 2018.

“One of my big goals was obviously to win the slams, and get to No 1 in the world,” he said. “I wanted to really go for it and put it all out there, and even at this stage of my career and life, I wanted to only be out there doing it, if it was going to be something major and something great.

“The sacrifice of time and travel, and even with the family and the kids, my young son, travelling – it’s not easy, it’s a lot. But this definitely makes all that that sacrifice worth it.”

The Australian, who also won Wimbledon in 2022 with countryman Max Purcell, is a popular figure on tour, and was elected to the ATP Player Advisory Council this year.

Ebden also paid tribute to Australia’s long line of doubles champions that has come before him, including Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodford, Peter McNamara and Tony Roche, who have acted as coaches and mentors. “To be up there, and share that mantle with them, it’s incredibly humbling, and a little bit surreal,” Ebden said.

Bopanna has enjoyed a hero’s reception in India after he returned with the Australian Open men’s doubles trophy, and was personally congratulated by prime minister Narendra Modi two weeks ago.

Ebden – who was born in South Africa before moving to Perth in his early teens – made special mention of the pair’s achievements. “To be able to get there with a 43-year-old, the oldest guy in history, it’s quite remarkable,” he said.

Ebden’s wife Kim posted a screenshot of the live rankings on Instagram on Tuesday. “So proud of Matt Ebden and of us as a family and team,” she said. “All the years of hard work and sacrifice to get here made this dream come true.”

Ebden said he was proud of himself, but also his family and team. “It really takes a village, it takes a community.”