Tennis: US Open: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Jannik Sinner of Italy pose together during the Men’s Singles Final match at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Flushing, NY 9/7/2025 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164770 TK1)

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Carlos Alcaraz regained the world No. 1 ranking from Jannik Sinner following Sunday’s U.S. Open title triumph. With Alcaraz returning to the top of the ATP rankings after nearly two years, we take a look at how the tour’s ranking system and points structure work.

The 2025 ATP Rankings and What They Reveal

The ATP Rankings – known colloquially by fans as ‘the world rankings’ – is the ATP’s historical objective merit-based method used for determining entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles, except as modified for the ATP Finals.

As per the 2025 ATP rankings released on September 8, Spaniard Alcaraz is the No. 1 player on the men’s tour followed by Italy’s Sinner in second spot.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev is third-ranked, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia is fourth and American Taylor Fritz rounds up the Top 5.

Who’s No. 1 in the 2025 ATP Rankings?

Six-time major champion Alcaraz is the new No. 1 in the latest 2025 ATP rankings.

After lifting the U.S. Open trophy for the second time, Alcaraz’s point tally reached 11,540 – ahead of his nearest rival Sinner who is on 10,780 points.

Alcaraz and Sinner are the only two players who have crossed the 10,000-point mark in the current rankings, with the former having played 20 tournaments during the current ranking period, while the latter featured in 17.

Zverev has 5,930 points, Djokovic has 4,830 and Fritz has 4,675.

Top 5 Players to Watch in the ATP Rankings

World No. 1 Alcaraz and No. 2 Sinner are arguably the best players on the current men’s tour. All four major championships this year were won by the duo, who are nicknamed “Sincaraz”.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner started the year by winning the Australian Open before Alcaraz beat him to win the French Open.

Later, Sinner beat Alcaraz to win at Wimbledon before Alcaraz beat Sinner to win the U.S. Open.

Third-ranked Zverev was the finalist at the Australian Open, while fourth-ranked Djokovic reached the semifinals of all four major this year. Fritz, who won two ATP 250 titles this year, was a semifinalist at Wimbledon.

Major Tournaments and Their Impact on the ATP Rankings

Players earn ranking points by winning matches and tournaments, which are divided by class. The four Grand Slams deliver the most points, while all the other tournaments are categorized by how many points the winner collects.

For example: at the Grand Slams, the winner earns 2000 ranking points, 1300 goes to the finalist, while semifinalists earn 800 points. The quarterfinalists earn 400, the round-of-16 earns players 200 while a third-round exit gives them 100 points and a second-round exit offers 50 points. A first-round loser earns 10 points.

At ATP 1000 events – also known as Masters 1000s — the winner earns 1000 points while the finalist earns 650, whereas winning an ATP 500 event gives players 500 points and a final finish earns them 330.

The ATP Finals, where the top eight players feature, awards a maximum of 1500 points to an undefeated champion.

Comparing 2025 ATP Rankings to Last Year

The latest 2025 ATP rankings feature a number of changes from last year’s rankings.

According to the rankings dated 30th December 2024, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov were all among the Top 10. But this year, they have dropped further down the list.

Medvedev, the former U.S. Open champion, has dropped from fifth to 18th, while Denmark’s Ruud slipped from sixth to 12th. Russian Rublev, who was eighth last year, is currently 14th and Bulgaria’s Dimitrov slipped from 10th to 28th.

Their spots were taken by Shelton, Draper, Musetti and Khachanov, who are the notable movers this year.

Shelton jumped from 21st to sixth, Draper climbed from 15th to seventh, Musetti moved from 17th to ninth and Khachonov made his way up from 19th to 10th.

How the ATP Rankings Affect Player Seedings and Matchups

ATP rankings are used to seed players at major tournaments. The top 32 at Grand Slam events and most ATP 1000 tournaments are decided by the rankings, while at smaller tournaments, seedings decide the top 16 or top eight.

The seedings are counted from the ATP rankings around a week before the tournament begins.

What the 2025 ATP Rankings Mean for Men’s Tennis

After his U.S. Open triumph and World No. 1 ranking achievement, Alcaraz is in great position to claim ATP Year-End No. 1.

In the Live Race to Turin, where the ATP Finals will be held, Alcaraz leads the standings, owning a 2,590-point advantage over Sinner. No other player is within 6,000 points of the Spaniard.

With two ATP Masters 1000 events (Shanghai and Paris) and the ATP Finals among the tournaments remaining in 2025, Alcaraz is in a perfect position to end the year as the No.1 player for the first time in three years.

Only 10 players have finished as year-end No. 1 in the ATP rankings more than once, and Alcaraz can join Rafael Nadal (five) as the second Spaniard to accomplish the feat.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/manasipathak-1/2025/09/09/atp-rankings-2025-all-to-know-about-the-top-mens-tennis-players/

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