Two months after a defeat in the 2025 US Open final ended his reign at world No. 1, Jannik Sinner is back on top of the ATP rankings—though US Open champ Carlos Alcaraz remains in pole position for year-end No. 1 honors.
September's men's singles final in New York doubled as a straight shootout for the No. 1 spot, with Alcaraz's 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory ending Sinner's 65-week debut stint at the summit. Alcaraz strengthened his position with a title in Tokyo later in September, while Sinner kept pace with trophies of his own in Beijing and Vienna, putting him within striking distance of the No. 1 ranking last week at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Alcaraz's opening upset to Cameron Norrie further opened the door in Paris, and Sinner took full advantage at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 event. Beginning his campaign on Wednesday, the day after Alcaraz's ouster, Sinner knew lifting the hard-court title would also lift him back to No. 1.
The Italian never blinked in a dominant trophy run, winning all 10 sets he played and beating Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final three rounds. Auger-Aliassime pushed Sinner the hardest of any opponent, with the Italian earning a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory in Sunday's final—a rematch of the pair's US Open semifinal, won by Sinner in four sets.
“I'm of course happy. I knew from the beginning of the week that there was this chance," Sinner said of his return to No. 1. "But as I said, before the final, before every tournament or before every match, I try to put the best performance I can on the court, and then whatever comes, comes. And this is how I went on court. In Turin, I'm going to do the same. I watch my side and I just play the best possible tennis I can."
Turin is the host site for the ATP Finals, the presitgious year-end tournament contested by the top eight singles players in the world. Sinner will have home-court advantage as the defending champion in his native Italy, but Alcaraz has the advantage in the race for year-end No. 1.
While Sinner leads Alcaraz by 250 points in the 52-week rankings, Alcaraz owns a lead of 1,050 points in the 2025 race. A total of 1,500 points are on offer for an undefeated champion in Turin: 200 for each round-robin win, 400 for a semifinal win and 500 for a final win. Alcaraz will need at least 450 points to guarantee himself the year-end No. 1 ranking.
For Auger-Aliassime, his Paris run moved him into the eighth and final ATP Finals qualification spot—though Lorenzo Musetti could steal the place at the death by winning the ATP 250 title in Athens this week.
The Canadian, who beat Turin competitors Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur to reach his second US Open semifinal this season, has reached at least the quarters at his past five events. Sinner ended his run in three of those tournaments (Cincinnati, US Open, Paris).
“For me, it's not a huge gap. I'm getting closer every match we play against each other,” said Auger-Aliassime, who trails Sinner 3-2 in their head-to-head. “This match was more tight. At the US Open, I managed to win a set and lost the first and the fourth in a difficult way.
“But what we saw today was that it was close. Everything was on the quality of his serve, the quality of his return game. Hats off to him on that point. There's a part of me that says: ‘There are moments where I could play better’. I'm still a bit sour for some moments of the match.”
The rivals could meet again in Turin, where the ATP Finals begin this Sunday. The final set for the following Sunday, Nov. 16.
