Djokovic, Auger-Aliassime, Shelton: Who had 3rd-best 2025 season after Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner?

Ewan West 25 Nov 2025 2:30 PM

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the two best players on the ATP Tour in 2025 by a massive margin, but who had the third-best campaign?

Former American stars Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and John Isner gave their answers to this question following the conclusion of the 2025 ATP Tour season.

Ben Shelton received two votes, while Felix Auger-Aliassime and Novak Djokovic also got some backing from the retired ATP pros.

How did Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Novak Djokovic perform in 2025?

Shelton will finish the year as the world No 9, having amassed a 40-24 (62.5%) record. He won the biggest title of his career at the Toronto Masters in August and was a runner-up at the ATP 500 in Munich in April.

The 23-year-old American also reached the Australian Open semi-finals and the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and he qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time.

Auger-Aliassime ended the campaign at a career-high ranking of world No 5 after compiling a 50-24 (67.6%) record.

The 25-year-old Canadian won three ATP 250 titles, and was a runner-up at the Paris Masters 1000 and the ATP 500 in Dubai. He was also a semi-finalist at the US Open and the ATP Finals in Turin.

Djokovic finished the season as the world No 4, having won 39 of his 50 matches (78%). The 38-year-old Serbian won two ATP 250 titles, reached the final at the Miami Masters and the semi-finals at all four Grand Slams.

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Who do Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and John Isner think had the third-best season in 2025?

Here is what Sock, Johnson, Querrey and Isner said about who had the third-best season in 2025 on an episode of the Nothing Major podcast.

Jack Sock

“I’m gonna go with Felix… just finishing at your career-high ranking, making it to the year-end finals, playing at the level he did to close out the year.

“Yeah, I don’t know what it is about him in general, where like, sometimes I just don’t think he’s maybe consistently at that high, high level, but then you look back at his year and it was incredible, and he finished five in the world.

“So yeah, I’m going to go with Felix and hopefully he can back it up and keep going and keep playing like this going into next year after a good pre-season.”

Steve Johnson

“I’m gonna break it down for you. Ben Shelton had the third best year. Finished 2024 [ranked] 21 in the world. Still kind of an unknown, had some really good results in big tournaments.

“2025, will finish the year top 10, number nine in the world. Got a Masters 1000 title, that’s not easy to come by.”

Sam Querrey

“Mine is also Ben Shelton. I 100% agree with Stevie. Ben steps up at the majors.”

John Isner

“I’m gonna say Novak had the third best year. He played 12 tournaments. He made the semi-finals of all four Slams. And doing this at 38 years old. I think the answer is Novak. I think that’s a pretty easy answer.

“He was ridiculous this year, what he did at 38. We haven’t seen this before, ever. And he’s still going.”

Why John Isner is right about Novak Djokovic’s season

While Shelton and Auger-Aliassime had impressive 2025 campaigns, Isner was right to name Djokovic as the man who had the third-best year.

Despite playing only 13 events this season, Djokovic — who turned 38 in May — defied Father Time as he finished as the world No 4.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is just 330 points behind third-ranked Alexander Zverev — who played 24 tournaments that contributed to his ranking.

Djokovic’s outstanding win rate of 78% and his remarkable feat of reaching the last four at all four majors makes his campaign better than any player not named Alcaraz or Sinner.