Jannik Sinner reaches third place in the ATP ranking. But when will he become first? Here, you will say, the usual Italians who are never satisfied and do not enjoy the moment. Premise: Sinner has marked a significant evolution in Italian tennis and for this we aim even higher. But what are the coordinates? Despite the challenge for first place seems difficult, Sinner has demonstrated his ability to compete and win against the best players on the circuit, including Djokovic and Alcaraz, showing technical excellence and remarkable mental and physical maturity.
Sinner number one in the world, when and how
Jannik Sinner faces the challenge of proving his worth also on clay, after having achieved excellent results on concrete. His next big opportunity could be at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells in March, but the real test will be the Roland Garros, Sinner's real Achilles heel. His success in clay tournaments will depend on his ability to adapt to this surface, where players like Alcaraz and Djokovic instead show great affinity. The challenge for Sinner, according to many former players, will therefore be to improve his game on clay to compete at best also in this context.
The importance of Roland Garros
In 2023 at Roland Garros Jannik Sinner was eliminated in the second round of the tournament by the German Daniel Altmaier. The match had extended to the fifth set and, after the defeat, Sinner only gained 45 points, a relatively modest number compared to the points offered in the advanced stages of the competition.
This detail has an important implication for Sinner's ATP ranking this year at Roland Garros. Since ATP points are calculated on a "rolling" basis of 52 weeks, players must defend the points earned in the tournaments of the previous year. Having accumulated only 45 points to defend at this year's Roland Garros, Sinner is in an advantageous position: he has little to lose and much to gain.
If Sinner manages to overcome the second round and advance further in the tournament, he will have the opportunity to significantly increase his total points. This point calculation system makes this year's Roland Garros particularly crucial for Sinner, offering him the chance to make a significant leap forward in the ATP ranking with a good result.
How the ATP ranking works
The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) ranking determines the ranking of male professional tennis players worldwide. It is a scoring system based on the results obtained in the tournaments during a mobile period of 52 weeks, commonly known as "rolling year". Here's how it works:
Tournament scores
Tournaments are classified into different categories, each of which assigns a specific number of points to players based on how far they advance in the competition. The main categories include:
- Grand Slam: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The winner receives 2000 points.
- ATP Tour Masters 1000: High profile tournaments with the winner earning 1000 points.
- ATP Tour 500: Series of tournaments with 500 points for the winner.
- ATP Tour 250: Tournaments offering 250 points to the winner.
There are also Challenger and Futures tournaments for lower level players, which offer a smaller number of points.
Ranking calculation
A player's ranking is determined by the sum of the points accumulated in the best 18 tournaments for singles players and 19 tournaments for doubles pairs, played over the last 52 weeks. These include:
The 4 Grand Slam tournaments; The 8 best results in the ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournaments; The best 6 results from the ATP Tour 500, ATP Tour 250, Challenger, Futures, and Davis Cup tournaments, with some specific rules to ensure participation at different levels of events.
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