Jannik Sinner returned to World No 1 by winning the Paris Masters on Sunday, but the Italian will hold top spot over Carlos Alcaraz for just one week before returning to World No 2 at the ATP Tour Finals in Turin.
Sinner defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final to win the Paris title without dropping a set, with the Italian adding his 23rd career tournament and extending his indoor hard court winning streak to 26 matches.
After Alcaraz took World No 1 by winning the US Open in September, Sinner has reclaimed the position from the Spaniard. Both players will have the opportunity to compete for the year-end No 1 spot at the ATP Finals.
Once Sinner’s points from winning last season’s ATP Finals are removed from the 52-week rankings, Alcaraz will enter the tournament with a lead of 1,050 points over the Italian.
At the ATP Finals, players received 200 points for a round-robin win, 400 points for a semi-finals win, and a further 500 for winning the title. An undefeated champion, with five wins, can earn a maximum of 1,500 points.
How Alcaraz can keep World No 1
Alcaraz will be attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and will head into the tournament following his shock second-round defeat to Cameron Norrie in Paris, a result which opened the door for Sinner to reclaim the No 1 position.
The 22-year-old was knocked out in the group stages of last year’s tournament, having been unwell, but will be targeting a deeper run this time to finish what has been the best season of his career in style.
Even if Sinner wins the ATP Finals undefeated, Alcaraz can keep the World No 1 spot by taking at least 500 ranking points from the tournament. This could be done by winning all three round-robin matches, or by winning at least one of his round-robin matches and also winning his semi-final.
How Sinner can reclaim World No 1
Sinner needs to win the ATP Finals to have any chance of catching Alcaraz and even then, as outlined above, it’s not in the Italian’s hands.
A defeat for Sinner during the round-robin would also increase Alcaraz’s chances of finishing top. If Sinner loses one match, Alcaraz would require just two wins; if he loses two matches, Alcaraz would require just one victory.
After winning the title in Paris, Sinner said he would try to focus on himself during the ATP Finals and not worry about trying to catch Alcaraz in the rankings race.
“In Turin, I'm going to do the same. I watch my side and I just play the best possible tennis I can,” Sinner said. “The goal of this week was to go day by day, trying to maximise my potential, which I have done for this week and I'm extremely happy.”
