New UTR ratings reignite Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic world No 1 debate

Kevin Palmer
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Novak Djokovic is No 1
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz top the rankings

Carlos Alcaraz has returned to the top of the ATP rankings and will be the No 1 seed at Wimbledon, yet few tennis experts doubt that Novak Djokovic is still the man to beat.

Djokovic came out on top in his first best-of-five-set battle with Alcaraz at the French Open last month, with the young Spaniard admitting cramping issues in the third set were due, in part, to the pressure he felt taking on the Serbian great.

Alcaraz’s win at The Queen’s Club last month ensured he returned to the top of the ATP rankings, but the UTR rankings have served up a different view.

Djokovic retains his position at the top of the alternative tennis rankings system, with Alcaraz in second place and Daniil Medvedev in third place.

Norway’s Casper Ruud is in fourth spot on the ATP rankings, but he is down in fifth behind Jannik Sinner in the UTR ratings. That is a big leap for Italian Sinner, who is eighth in the latest ATP list.

Nick Kyrgios – who pulled out of Wimbledon with a wrist injury on Sunday evening in London – retains his place in the top ten of the UTR ranking in No 9, with Taylor Fritz completing the top ten list.

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In the women’s UTR rating, re-crowed French Open champion Iga Swiatek is narrowly ahead of her great rival Aryna Sabalenka in the top two spots.

Those positions could be reversed if Sabalenka shines at Wimbledon, where she has a better record than Swiatek.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is in third spot on the UTR ranking list, with Karolina Muchova in fourth position.

That rating for Muchova is a big uplift on her WTA ranking, where the Czech star is currently down in 16th place.

The out-of-form Ons Jabuer does not make the top ten of the UTR rankings, even though she is No.6 on the WTA list.

There is also a similar demotion for America’s Coca Gauff, who is No.7 on the WTA lost and doesn’t make the top ten in the UTR rankings.

HOW THE UTR RATING WORKS

UTR by Universal Tennis is a global rating system that promotes fair and competitive play across the tennis world. All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.

Benefits of UTR Rating

UTR Rating provides a real-time view of a player’s true skill level. Having a UTR enables you to track your progress, find level-based play, and expand your tennis network to play with people across age and gender.

Who Has a UTR Rating?

Every tennis player can have a UTR Rating. UTR provides an accurate measurement of a player’s true skill level, whether you are a recreational, junior, high school, college, or pro player.

Verified UTR Rating vs. UTR Rating

The rating counts all results, including matches played in verified tournaments/events and non-verified matches. Verified UTR Rating counts match results played in only verified tournaments and events.

For example, USTA league/tournament matches count toward Verified UTR and UTR Rating. Casual/practice matches and self-posted scores count only toward UTR Rating.

How is the Rating calculated?

The rating is calculated by an algorithm using a player’s last 30 eligible match scores from the last 12 months. For each eligible match, the algorithm calculates a match rating and a match weight; a player’s UTR is the weighted average of all the match ratings.

READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios reveals Wimbledon fate and casts huge doubts over his tennis future

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