Sinner, Alcaraz Battle for Year-End No.1 to Be Decided in Turin

Jannik Sinner’s return to No.1 highlights this week’s ATP rankings news. The Italian, who stretched his indoor hard court winning streak to 26 by winning the Paris Masters title, vaulted Carlos Alcaraz to return to No.1 for the first time since Alcaraz took the top spot after the US Open. 

Alcaraz and Sinner’s battle will continue until the conclusion of the ATP Finals. When the points come up for last year’s ATP Finals, Alcaraz will return to No.1 next week, and can finish the season at No.1 if he reaches the final at the ATP’s season-ending event. 

The discrepancy is explained as follows: Sinner has to defend 1500 points for winning the Turin title undefeated last year, while Alcaraz drops just 200 points. 

So it will come down to Turin, with Alcaraz holding the advantage as the tournament starts, but Sinner riding in with momentum as the ATP’s best indoor hard court player by far. 

Bublik, Fonseca, Vacherot Hit Career Highs

Alexander Bublik rises to a career-high No.13 in Monday’s ATP rankings, the Kazakhstani talent rising to his current perch all the way from No.82 at Indian Wells in March after earning four titles and reaching his first major quarterfinal at Roland-Garros. 

Bublik was a semifinalist at the Rolex Paris Masters last week. The 28-year-old is closing in on the Top 10, and aims to become the sixth ATP player to achieve the feat for the first time this year, along with Alex de Minaur, Tommy Paul, Jack Draper, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton. 

Joao Fonseca rose another four spots to a career-high ranking of No.24 – the Brazilian is the highest-ranked teenager on the ATP Tour. 

Valentin Vacherot rises another ten spots to No.30 after reaching the Paris quarterfinals. He’s up 174 spots since the start of the Shanghai Masters, and he’s the biggest riser inside the ATP’s Top 50 this week.