Biggest ATP Rankings top 20 winners and losers so far in 2023, featuring Marin Cilic and Rafael Nadal
On the back of Nick Kyrgios slipping out of the ATP Rankings and Rafael Nadal on the verge of joining him on zero points, we take a look at the biggest winners and losers in terms of ranking positions for the top 20 players at the beginning of the year.
In case you forgot, Carlos Alcaraz started the 2023 season at the top of the pile after he became the youngest world No 1 following his US Open title run.
He was followed by Rafael Nadal after the tennis great lifted titles at the Australian Open and French Open to move to 22 Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic was down in fifth place as he missed two majors – the Australian Open and the US Open – while he was not handed any points for his Wimbledon title run.
Other interesting names in the top 20 see Felix Auger-Aliassime at a career-high No 6 after he won the Firenze Open and European Open while Pablo Carreno-Busta also sits pretty at No 13 on the back of winning the Canada Open.
The other notable players are Matteo Berrettini, Marin Cilic and Frances Tiafoe inside the top 20 while Kyrgios was just outside at No 22 on 1,870 points.
ATP Rankings Top 20 on January 2, 2023
1. Carlos Alcaraz Spain – 6,820 points
2. Rafael Nadal Spain – 6,020
3. Casper Ruud Norway – 5,820
4. Stefanos Tsitsipas Greece – 5,550
5. Novak Djokovic Serbia – 4,820
6. Felix Auger-Aliassime Canada – 4,195
7. Daniil Medvedev – 4,065
8. Andrey Rublev – 3,930
9. Taylor Fritz United States – 3,355
10. Hubert Hurkacz Poland – 2,905
11. Holger Rune Denmark – 2,888
12. Alexander Zverev Germany – 2,700
13. Pablo Carreno-Busta Spain – 2,495
14. Cameron Norrie Great Britain – 2,445
15. Jannik Sinner Italy – 2,410
16. Matteo Berretini Itally – 2,375
17. Marin Cilic Croatia – 2,105
18. Denis Shapovalov Canada – 2,075
19. Frances Tiafoe United States – 2,000
20. Karen Khachanov – 1,990
22. Nick Kyrgios Australia – 1,870
Biggest losers
Marin Cilic – 594 places dropped
The Croatia veteran had 2,105 points at the beginning of 2023 as he reached the semi-final of the French Open last year and also finished runner-up at the Tel Aviv Open.
But this year has not been kind to the 2014 US Open winner as he has played only two matches.
Cilic is currently down at No 611 with only 55 points to his name.
Rafael Nadal – 241 places
The tennis great has played only four matches this year – winning just one of them – and he has been inactive since the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.
Nadal slipped to No 254 and he has only 255 ranking points to his name with most of that coming off in just over a month at the ATP Finals so he will slide even further.
The Spaniard is set to end the year on 45 points and that will put him at about 660 in the rankings.
Pablo Carreno-Busta – 203 places
Carreno-Busta surged up the rankings following his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open while he also reached the fourth round of the US Open.
But the 32-year-old has played only four matches this year due to an elbow injury and has a 1-3 record with his only win coming at the Australian Open.
He currently sits at No 216 with 281 points.
Matteo Berrettini – 47 places
The Italian won two titles in 2022 and also reached the semi-final of the Australian Open and last four at Flushing Meadows to start the year inside the top 20.
However, he is currently at No 63 after playing only 24 matches this year.
Denis Shapovalov – 27 places
Not too bad from Shapovalov as he currently sits at No 45 in the rankings with 995 points after playing only 26 matches in 2023.
The bad news for the Canadian is he will drop another 390 points before the year is out.
Players just outside the top 20
Nick Kyrgios – roughly 2,044 places
Kyrgios won the Citi DC Open last year and also reached the quarter-final of the US Open and was at No 22 in the rankings, but he has played only one match in 2023 – a defeat – and has slipped out of the rankings as he has zero points.
For context, Argentina’s Lucio Ratti is the last player on the current ATP Rankings list at No 2,066 with one point so Kyrgios will have tumbled 2,044 places to disappear off the list.
Current ATP Rankings Top 20
1. Novak Djokovic Serbia 11,045 points
2. Carlos Alcaraz Spain 8,805
3. Daniil Medvedev – 7,355
4. Jannik Sinner Italy 5,000
5. Andrey Rublev – 4,765
6. Holger Rune Denmark 4,605
7. Stefanos Tsitsipas Greece 4,360
8. Casper Ruud Norway 3,685
9. Alexander Zverev Germany 3,460
10. Taylor Fritz United States 3,410
11. Hubert Hurkacz Poland 2,900
12. Tommy Paul United States 2,705
13. Alex De Minaur Australia 2,650
14. Frances Tiafoe United States 2,355
15. Karen Khachanov 2,340
16. Grigor Dimitrov Bulgaria 2,195
17. Felix Auger-Aliassime Canada 2,100
18. Cameron Norrie Great Britain 1,985
19. Ben Shelton United States 1,865
20. Lorenzo Musetti Italy 1,845
Biggest winners
Ben Shelton – 77 places
Having only made his professional debut in 2022, the American youngster started the year at No 96 and he enjoyed incredible success at the Australian Open as he reached the quarter-final and also made it to the semi-final of the US Open.
The 21-year-old currently sits at a career-high No 19 in the ATP Rankings with 1,865 points compared to the 584 he had at the beginning of 2023.
Tommy Paul – 20 places
American Paul started the season at No 32 and cracked the top 20 for the first time at the beginning of March.
He is now on the verge of breaking into the top 10 as he sits at No 12 on the back of reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open in January and the last four of the Canadian Open in August.
The rest of the players in the top 20 were there or thereabouts the previous year.
Those just outside the top 20
Nicolas Jarry – 131 places
The Chilean was at No 152 at the beginning of the year, but currently sits at a career-high No 21.
Jan-Lennard Struff – 123 places
The German was at No 150 in January, but now sits at No 27 after finishing runner-up at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open and the Stuttgart Open.
Chris Eubanks – 91 places
The American started his 2023 season at No 123, but a run to the Wimbledon quarter-final and a maiden title at the Mallorca Open sees him at No 32.
Tallon Griekspoort – 70 places
The Dutchman was at No 95 at the beginning of 2023, but has surged up to No 25.