How Alexander Zverev can become world No 1 without winning a match after Jannik Sinner’s ‘little update’
Alexander Zverev is set to become the 30th ATP world No 1 as he is set to overtake Jannik Sinner at the top after the Italian was forced to end his season early.
Sinner has not played competitive tennis since he beat Zverev in the Wimbledon final in July as he missed the entire North American hard-court swing due to a knee injury before pulling out of the China Open and Shanghai Masters.
There were hopes that he would return at the European indoor season, but the five-time Grand Slam winner has now confirmed he won’t play again this year as revealed in “a little update” that his team have decided he “needs a course of treatment for his knee”.
Sinner’s absence in recent months meant Zverev – who won the French Open and US Open – was able to chip away at the Italian’s massive lead in the ATP Rankings and the German will be able to overtake him without having to lift a racket.
Points Dropping
Sinner, who has been No 1 since April when he overtook Carlos Alcaraz on the back of his Monte Carlo Masters title run, currently sits on 11,000 points on the official rankings with Zverev on 9,720 in second place and Alcaraz a distant third with 5,260.
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But he will drop 3,050 points between now and the end of the season with the bulk of that coming from 2025 ATP Finals as he earned the maximum of 1,500 points for his unbeaten title run while another 1,000 will be removed for his Paris Masters trophy.
Then there are another 500 points for winning the Vienna Open last year and 50 for his third-round appearance at the Shanghai Masters.
Once the 3,050 points are removed, Sinner will be on 7,950 points come the end of the season.
Alexander Zverev’s Chance…
The two-time Grand Slam winner will only drop 980 points [50 in Shanghai, 330 in Vienna, 400 in Paris and 200 in Turin], which puts him on 8,740 [9,720 – 980] without lifting a racket.
That, of course, is the official tally in the ATP Race To Turin as only points earned this year count, with Zverev topping that table with 8,750 with Sinner second on 7,950.
As for Alcaraz, he is mathematically out of it, even if he wins every tournament he enters from now until the end of the year.
The Spaniard could move to 5,560 points if he wins the Japan Open on Tuesday, but he will also lose another 1,010 points from 2025.
Winning the titles at the Shanghai Masters and Paris Masters, as well as winning the ATP Finals undefeated, would earn him 3,500 points and put him on 8,050.
