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The ATP official tier list: the best and the next of today’s top ATP players

By Brandon Daniels

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain embraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Rally for Relief Bushfire Appeal event at Rod Laver Arena on January 15, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain embraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Rally for Relief Bushfire Appeal event at Rod Laver Arena on January 15, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 17: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with the winners trophy after his singles final match victory against Dominic Thiem of Austria along side ATP CEO Chris Kermode during Day Eight of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 17: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with the winners trophy after his singles final match victory against Dominic Thiem of Austria along side ATP CEO Chris Kermode during Day Eight of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

3. Next Gen Stars

There will soon be a time where the best in the game retire. It’ll then be time for the best young players to step into the limelight. Three players stand out that, as of 2020, are next in line to become the world’s best players: Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev.

I’ve talked a lot about Thiem and how he’s next in line to take over men’s tennis. Currently ranked #3 in the world, he’s already surpassed Roger Federer in the rankings. At 26 years old, he’s reached the finals of 3 major championships and has already collected 16 tournaments in his young career (the same amount as Wawrinka). Thiem has already reached the finals of the Australian Open this year and is well on his way to the top of the world in tennis.

Tsitsipas is Thiem’s main rival on tour; they’ve faced each other in 2019 Nitto ATP Finals with Tsitsipas emerging as the chapmion. He’s reached a career high of fifth in the world and has had success over the top players but hasn’t had the success as a whole conmpared to Thiem; he’s only collected 5 titles since 2016. However, at only 21 years old, he’s going to be a stalwart of men’s tennis for many years to come.

Zverev has had more success over his young career than Tsistsipas but has had some inconsistencies getting through major tournaments. He’s won 3 1000 Series’ and the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals but hasn’t produced as stellar of a campain since. 23 years old shouldn’t have a lot of expectations, but given the success of the current stars, added pressure is going to be a given. Zverev has a lot of potential moving forward and will look to finally break through in major tournaments as Thiem has.

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