How close Carlos Alcaraz is to surpassing Jannik Sinner in weeks at world number one

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Carlos Alcaraz took a commanding lead over Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP rankings with his Australian Open triumph.

After Alcaraz emerged victorious in the final Down Under against Novak Djokovic, he is now 3350 points clear of Sinner at the top.

The Spaniard, who was knocked out in the quarterfinal stage of the Australian Open last year, only had to defend 400 points, while the Italian, last year’s champion, left Melbourne Park with 1,200 fewer points due to his semifinal exit.

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Sinner held the top spot in the rankings for the majority of the 2025 season, until Alcaraz overtook him in September.

With the 22-year-old holding firm throughout January, he is now closing in on his rival’s tally of weeks at world number one.

Where Carlos Alcaraz’s tally of weeks at number one now ranks

Sinner’s reign last year saw him surpass a number of legends in weeks at number one, including Jim Courier, Gustavo Kuerten, and Andy Murray.

Despite missing three months of the campaign due to suspension, he also leapfrogged Alcaraz in the all-time list.

Now, however, Alcaraz has a healthy lead at the top and is on the verge of overtaking Sinner once again.

Alcaraz has now spent a total of 57 weeks at world number one, nine fewer than Sinner’s sum of 66.

Djokovic remains the player in history with the outright most total weeks as the world number one.

His longtime rival, Roger Federer, is second, but holds the record for the most consecutive weeks at number one, with 237.

Jannik Sinner will have the chance to close the gap soon

Though Sinner currently trails Alcaraz in the rankings, he may not be second for too much longer, as plenty of points will be up for grabs in the coming months.

Due to his suspension last year, spanning from the ninth of February to the fourth of May, Sinner did not play at any tournaments, and therefore, he will not have any points to defend during the same time period this year.

Alcaraz has already dropped 500 points in February for withdrawing from the Rotterdam Open, a tournament he won last year.

Until the fourth of May, the seven-time major champion will need to defend 100 points in Doha, 400 in Indian Wells, 10 in Miami, 1000 in Monte-Carlo and 330 in Barcelona.

Sinner, meanwhile, will only be adding to his ranking points with each win he seals in the next three months.