Carlos Alcaraz must be a tennis magician. The newly crowned US Open champion made a deficit of more than 3,000 ranking points disappear in just two events.
Alcaraz displaced Jannik Sinner as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings released Sept. 8 - a dizzying reversal in just a few weeks. Alcaraz defeated Sinner in the US Open final on Sept. 7. Sinner had 12,030 ranking points to Alcaraz’s 8,600 on July 14 after Sinner’s victory at Wimbledon.
It’s not like Sinner has been in a slump. He reached the final of his two summer hard-court events – the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and the US Open. Alcaraz, however, has been on a post-Wimbledon tear with 13 consecutive wins. He swept the titles at Cincinnati and the US Open – events where he exited early in 2024.
Who moved up the ATP rankings during the summer hard-court season?
Add it all up, and Alcaraz gained just enough ranking points and Sinner lost just enough for Alcaraz to reclaim the No. 1 spot. Alcaraz, who was No. 1 on and off in 2022 and 2023, enters his 37th week at No. 1. Sinner had held the top spot for 65 weeks, already the 12th-best total of all time.
Alcaraz has the edge in the race for the year-end No. 1 ranking, with fewer fall ranking points to defend compared to Sinner.
Ben Shelton reached a new career-high of No. 6 on the strength of his win at the ATP Masters event in Canada. Alex de Minaur moved up four spots after Wimbledon to return to the top 10 at No. 8 – the biggest move within the top 10.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is back up to No. 15 – a 13-spot rise since the end of Wimbledon – after his run to the U.S. Open semifinals. Alexander Bublik won two clay-court events immediately after Wimbledon and then reached the round of 16 at the US Open. That added up to a 15-spot rise from No. 34 to No. 19, the biggest jump within the top 20.
The biggest move within the top 100 was by 37-year-old Adrian Mannarino, who jumped 38 spots to No. 55 on the strength of a fourth-round finish at the US Open.
Who moved down?
Frances Tiafoe had respectable summer results, but not respectable enough compared to his superb summer of 2024 to avoid an 18-spot fall to No. 29.
The tennis ranking system is also unkind to players battling injuries. Grigor Dimitrov, who hasn’t played since sustaining a pectoral injury while leading eventual champion Sinner in the Wimbledon round of 16, fell seven spots during the summer to No. 28. Arthur Fils, who worked his way up to No. 14 in the spring, is down to No. 23 as he battles a back injury.
Who’s about to rise?
Of the players currently ranked outside the top eight, Felix Auger-Aliassime (if he can maintain the form he showed at the U.S. Open) and No. 12 Casper Ruud (if he can rediscover his top form) have the best chances to climb into the top eight in time for the season-ending ATP Finals. Neither has many post-US Open points to defend.
Who could fall?
Current No. 7 Jack Draper, who has been dealing with a left arm injury for several months, likely will fall outside the top eight if he is unable to regain top form for the key fall events. Karen Khachanov has played well of late to earn a return to the top 10. However, he must defend a big collection of ranking points this fall and will need some solid results to avoid a quick slide.
3 years ago this happened
This week in 2022, newly crowned US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings. Alcaraz, who had just won his first major at the US Open, was 19 years and 130 days old when he ascended to the top ranking. He’s the only male teenager to reach No. 1.