Year-end World No. 1 battle: Alcaraz vs Sinner, Alcaraz holds the advantage

With his victory at the Cincinnati Masters, Alcaraz now leads the year-end No. 1 race against Sinner. Unexpectedly, the Cincinnati final didn’t see any intense battle, as Sinner was forced to retire due to illness while down 0-5 in the opening set!

This is Alcaraz’s first hard court championship of the season.

So far this year, Alcaraz has claimed six ATP Tour titles:

ATP 1000: Won the Monte Carlo final against Musetti. Clay court.

ATP 500: Defeated Rune in the Barcelona final. Clay court.

ATP 1000: Beat Sinner in the Rome Masters final. Clay court.

Grand Slam: Triumphed over Sinner in the Roland Garros final. Clay court.

ATP 500: Won Queen’s Club against Lehecka. Grass court.

ATP 1000: Cincinnati Masters final victory over Sinner. Hard court.

Alcaraz currently leads Sinner by 1,890 points in the live PIF ATP Turin Finals rankings, maintaining a strong edge in the battle for year-end No. 1.

Before the Cincinnati Open final on Monday, Sinner had a chance to build on his Wimbledon victory over Alcaraz and close the gap in Cincinnati. However, things didn’t go as planned—Sinner retired after just five games due to illness in this highly anticipated match. Alcaraz will head into the US Open with a 1,890-point advantage.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Alcaraz can relax just yet.

Last year at the US Open, Sinner lifted the trophy at the season’s final Grand Slam, while Alcaraz was eliminated in the second round. Sinner earned 1,950 more points than Alcaraz.

Things change with time. Flushing Meadows has also been a lucky place for Alcaraz. Three years ago (2022), he won his first Grand Slam title there, became the 2022 ATP year-end No. 1, and was the youngest ever world No. 1 in PIF ATP history—the 28th player to hold that spot.

One event, three honors—

2022 US Open Champion

2022 ATP Year-end No. 1

28th ATP World No. 1 (2022.09.12)

Alcaraz withdrew from the 2022 ATP Finals due to injury. However, in the following two years, both Alcaraz and Sinner missed out on the year-end Finals crown—Djokovic won in 2023, Sinner in 2024.

(Definitely don’t follow Nadal’s path, who never claimed this trophy in his career. [facepalm])

Now in the 2025 season, Alcaraz aims to repeat his 2022 achievements and become ATP year-end No. 1 presented by PIF for a second time. Among the 29 members of the ATP No. 1 club, only 10 have won the honor multiple times.

Sinner hopes to recover quickly and defend his US Open title. Even if Alcaraz reaches the final, the Italian can regain a significant number of points—650 (2,000 for the champion, 1,350 for the runner-up). Both Alcaraz and Sinner have already qualified for the ATP Finals.

2024 US Open Champion

2024 ATP Year-end No. 1

29th World No. 1 Sinner (June 10, 2024)

Behind these two rivals, other ATP stars are not far apart in the live rankings. Alexander Zverev (4,080 points) in third and Alex de Minaur (2,745 points) in eighth are separated by just 1,335 points.

Ben Shelton, ranked fourth (3,610 points), and Jack Draper, ranked seventh (2,940 points), are both striving for their first ATP Finals appearance. Lorenzo Musetti, ninth (2,670 points), is also in contention for his debut at the year-end Finals, trailing De Minaur by only 75 points.

The US Open champion will receive 2,000 points, making the next two weeks fiercely competitive. Of course, after the US Open, the Asian swing offers plenty more points. The key is: only those in top physical condition will have a chance.

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#Sinner vs Alcaraz#​#Djokovic wins year-end No. 1 for the eighth time#​#Year-end No. 1#​#US Open champion battle#​