Jannik Sinner has undoubtedly opened the door for Carlos Alcaraz to catch him in the ATP rankings after being handed a three-month ban.
Nick Kyrgios thinks ‘fairness in tennis does not exist’ following the verdict, while Stan Wawrinka doesn’t ‘believe in a clean sport’ after Sinner’s two positive drugs tests.
Sinner is suspended from February 9 until May 4, and is therefore able to return in time for the French Open.
The world number one just won the Australian Open, with the second Grand Slam of 2025 scheduled to get underway on May 19.
Sinner beat ATP number two Alexander Zverev in the final in Melbourne, while world number three Alcaraz is the French Open defending champion.
Carlos Alcaraz remains focused on number one ranking amid Jannik Sinner ban
The Spaniard has now shared his immediate reaction to the ban, having been asked for his thoughts by SPORT.
“The truth is there’s little to say,” replied Alcaraz. “Whether he is there or not doesn’t influence us. We remain focused on us and our goals.”
And asked if an opportunity has now opened up to return to world number one, Alcaraz replied: “The number one is always a goal.
“As I said, him not being there doesn’t change anything for us. We are trying to get better at what we do and focused on continuing to work to get to number one.”
How many points behind Jannik Sinner is Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Tour rankings?
Alcaraz has, of course, reached the summit of men’s tennis, but Sinner’s dominance in recent times witnessed the Italian climb to the very top.
He achieved that last June and hasn’t let go of the ranking since, while Alcaraz dropped from second to third late last year.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner has equalled Carlos Alcaraz’s record despite not even playing at the Rotterdam Open
But a huge opportunity has, of course, now opened up for both Zverev and Alcaraz with Sinner missing a large chunk of the early season.
Notably, the German and the Spaniard have both started 2025 strongly, with the former reaching the Australian Open final.
The latter meanwhile lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, but immediately bounced back by winning the Rotterdam Open.
Sinner currently finds himself on 11,830 points as he begins his ban, with Zverev and Alcaraz on 8,135 and 7,510 respectively.
| Ranking | Player | Points |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 11,830 |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 8,135 |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | 7,510 |
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