Sinner first Italian ever to take over No.1 ranking
LONDON: Janik Sinner’s anticipated rise to world No.1 was officialised on Monday when the ATP released its new rankings, making him the first Italian ever to hold the top spot.
Sinner reached the semi-finals of the French Open where he was beaten by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz who climbs to second, nudging 37-year-old Djokovic, who has been No.1 since last September, down to third.
Djokovic holds the record for the number of weeks spent at No.1 — his tally of 428 is 118 weeks more than next best Roger Federer.
The German Alexander Zverev, who was runner-up to Alcaraz in Paris, remains in fourth place, ahead of Russian pair Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
Meanwhile French Open champion Iga Swiatek cemented her place at the top of the women’s game with her victory at Roland Garros, reinforcing her position as world No.1 when the WTA released its new rankings on Monday.
The 23-year-old Pole beat Jasmine Paolini in a one-sided final on Saturday to claim a fourth French Open title which now puts her 3,707 points ahead of Coco Gauff, the woman she beat in the semi-finals in Paris.
Apart from a few weeks in autumn 2023 when Aryna Sabalenka took over, Swiatek has been at the top of the rankings since April 2022, a total of 107 weeks.
Gauff’s performance, which was an improvement to her quarter-final in 2023, enabled her to leapfrog the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka who slips to third.
Paolini’s run to her first Grand Slam final was good enough to lift her eight places to a career-high seventh while 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who fell to the Italian in the semis, jumped 15 places from 38 to 23.
Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, who reached the semi-finals last year, went down six places to No.20 after going out in the first round this time.
ATP RANKINGS
1. Jannik Sinner (ITA) 9525 pts (+1), 2. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 8580 (+1), 3. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 8360 (-2),
4. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6885, 5. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 6485, 6. Andrey Rublev (RUS) 4710, 7. Casper Ruud (NOR) 4025, 8. Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 3995, 9. Alex De Minaur (AUS) 3845 (+2), 10. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 3775, 11. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 3740 (-2), 12. Taylor Fritz (USA) 3090, 13. Tommy Paul (USA) 2710 (+1), 14. Ben Shelton (USA) 2590 (+1), 15. Holger Rune (DEN) 2540 (-2), 16. Ugo Humbert (FRA) 2250, 17. Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 2150, 18. Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 2.075 (+3), 19. Sebastian Báez (ARG) 2030 (+1),
20. Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 1905 (-1)
WTA RANKINGS
1. Iga Swiatek (POL) 11695 pts, 2. Coco Gauff (USA) 7988 (+1), 3. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 7788 (-1), 4. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 5973, 5. Jessica Pegula (USA) 4625, 6. Marketa Vondrousová (CZE) 4503, 7. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 4068 (+8), 8. Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 4005,
9. Maria Sakkari (GRE) 3980 (-2), 10. Ons Jabeur (TUN) 3748 (-1), 11. Danielle Collins (USA) 3532 (-1),
12. Madison Keys (USA) 3343, 13. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 3318 (-2), 14. Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 3088 (-1), 15. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 2640 (+2), 16. Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) 2360 (-2), 17. Marta Kostyuk (UKR) 2240 (+3), 18. Emma Navarro (USA) 2238 (+6),
19. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 2234 (+2), 20. Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) 2213 (-6)