Taylor Fritz vs Tommy Paul vs Ben Shelton vs Sebastian Korda: Battle for US No 1 heats up after Korda’s surge
No country has a battle to be their national No 1 on the ATP Tour quite like the United States.
For months, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton have been slugging it out, the three always remaining close to each other as they look to claim domestic bragging rights.
Now, they have been joined in that battle by Sebastian Korda, who has dramatically risen inside the top 20 in recent weeks.
Ahead of a massive summer of US tennis, we look at how the battle for US No 1 could pan out.
As it stands: Korda surges into contention
Korda’s decision to skip the Olympic Games in Paris raised a few eyebrows, though it has undoubtedly paid off.
Over three years after winning his first ATP title in 2021, Korda finally won his second ATP title on home turf in Washington D.C. last week, beating Frances Tiafoe and then Flavio Cobolli to claim the title.
That was immediately backed up by another strong run in Montreal this week, where the US star shocked world No 4 Alexander Zverev on his way to a semi-final showing.
Those two runs have sent the 24-year-old flying up the ATP Rankings, and he is now world No 15 – after only making his top-20 debut earlier in the summer.
However, he is still only the US No 4 – with Fritz, Paul, and Shelton all directly ranked above him.
Fritz is currently ranked 12th and has spent most of the year as the national No 1, with Shelton and Paul both only able to usurp him in short spells.
Paul was the No 1 until Monday when 310 ranking points dropped off following his failure to back up last year’s semi-final run in Canada – allowing Fritz back in front.
Shelton has stayed as the world No 14, gaining five points after his appearance in Montreal.
However, things are tightly poised between the four – with just 665 points separating Fritz in 12th and Korda in 15th.
All eyes on Cincy
Attention now turns to the biggest hard-court event held in the US in the run-up to the US Open – the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.
All four men will unsurprisingly be in action, and it could provide the perfect opportunity for Korda to gain ground on his three compatriots.
The 24-year-old was beaten in round one a year ago, meaning he has only 10 points to defend and needs to just win one match to start gaining a rankings advantage.
In contrast, Fritz was a quarter-finalist in 2023 and has 180 points to defend, meaning there is a little bit of pressure on him coming into this week.
Paul and Shelton reached the third and second rounds respectively twelve months ago, so face less pressure than Fritz.
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Blockbuster US Open
The US Open could be huge for all four men this season, with expectations and attention on them likely to be higher than ever before; they are all likely to be considered sleeper picks to win the title.
But it will also play a crucial juncture in the battle to be the national No 1, in particular for one player.
Shelton embarked on a dream run at the tournament a year ago, defying his unseeded status to progress to the last four – where he was beaten by eventual champion Djokovic.
That means there is significant rankings pressure for him in the build-up to his home major, with 720 rankings points to defend.
Current No 1 Fritz was also beaten by Djokovic in New York last summer and has 360 points of his own to defend, though that is noticeably less than Shelton – who is currently 335 points behind him.
Having lost to Shelton in the round of 16, Paul has 180 points to defend, though Korda was beaten in round one.
That means he again has an advantage and could be well-placed to be the US No 1 by the end of the summer.
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