What scenario allows Sinner to reclaim the No. 1 spot at the Paris Masters?

Jannik Sinner has the opportunity to take back the top world ranking from Carlos Alcaraz during the ATP 1000 Paris Masters 2025 held this week.

After winning the Vienna Open last week, Jannik Sinner is getting closer to returning to the ATP No. 1 position, but to make it happen, he needs a full victory at the Paris Masters — the final ATP 1000 event of the year currently underway.

Following his win over Alexander Zverev to claim the title in Austria, Sinner is now only 840 points behind Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings. Meanwhile, Alcaraz will lose 100 points as he did not compete in Vienna and only reached the round of 16 at last year's Paris Masters.

Since Sinner did not play in Paris last year, he has no points to defend and can earn up to 1,000 points if he wins this year's tournament. If the Italian player wins the title while Alcaraz fails to advance beyond the quarterfinals, the No. 1 ranking will temporarily change hands.

However, if Sinner regains the top spot, he will immediately need to defend his title at the ATP Finals — the tournament where the 24-year-old is the reigning champion. He must defend 1,500 points, while Alcaraz only has 200 points to defend, meaning the Spaniard has a strong chance to reclaim No. 1 soon.

The year 2025 has seen Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz face off in classic encounters across three Grand Slam finals: Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Alcaraz won two of these, while Sinner secured his first career Wimbledon title. Additionally, they met at the Rome Masters, Cincinnati Open, and the exhibition event Six Kings Slam.

Jannik Sinner's opponent in the second round of the 2025 Paris Masters is Zizou Bergs, who defeated Alex Michelsen in three sets on October 27. Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie, who easily beat Sebastian Baez 2-0, will be Carlos Alcaraz’s first competitor at La Defense Arena this year.

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