Jannik Sinner will have his eyes set on returning to the top of the ATP rankings next year.
After Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final, his 65-week reign as world number one officially came to an end.
However, it was not long until he would return to the summit again, with Sinner winning the Paris Masters to overtake Alcaraz.
This was only for one week, with Alcaraz now confirmed as the year-end number one, and Sinner now knows when he can next return to the top of the ATP rankings.
When will Jannik Sinner next have the chance to be world number one?
Sinner actually beat Alcaraz to win the ATP Finals, but this was still not enough to return to the top of the rankings as he was the defending champion.
After playing the final tournament of the season, Sinner trails world number one Alcaraz by 550 ranking points.
This may not seem like a lot, but Sinner is now unlikely to return to the top of the rankings until at least February.
Sinner is the defending champion at the Australian Open, and therefore is unlikely to gain any ranking points in January, as he has not played any warm-up tournaments for the Melbourne major since 2023.
Whereas his rival Alcaraz is only defending 400 ranking points at the Australian Open, which could enable him to extend the gap between himself and Sinner even further.
The most extreme example of the Australian Open could see Alcaraz with an over 4000 point advantage over Sinner in the unlikely scenario that he wins the title and his rival loses in the first round.
However, whatever happens in Melbourne, Sinner will certainly have a big opportunity to bridge the gap on Alcaraz after that.
Is Jannik Sinner currently the best player in the world?
Sinner served a three-month ban earlier this year, and as a result has no ranking points to defend after the Australian Open until May.
However, during Sinner’s time away from the ATP Tour, Alcaraz collected 2,340 ranking points and could be under big pressure in the first half of the 2026 season as he looks to hold on to his number one ranking.
| World number one ranking | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner |
| Ranking point total | 12,050 | 11,500 |
| Points defending at the Australian Open | 400 | 2,000 |
| All points defending before the Italian Open | 2,740 | 2,000 |
Jannik Sinner’s biggest ranking point tournaments from 2025
Sinner has only played 14 tournaments in 2025, but 12 of them have seen him either win the title or finish as runner-up.
The Italian’s biggest ranking point earnings have been his two Grand Slam wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, followed by his unbeaten run to the ATP Finals title.
Sinner also won three titles outside of the Grand Slams and the ATP Finals, with victories in Paris, Vienna and Beijing.
| Jannik Sinner’s biggest ranking point tournaments in 2025 | Ranking points he earned | Month where tournament is held |
| Australian Open (W) | 2000 | January |
| Wimbledon (W) | 2000 | July |
| ATP Finals (W) | 1500 | November |
| French Open (F) | 1300 | June |
| US Open (F) | 1300 | September |
| Paris Masters (W) | 1000 | November |
| Italian Open (F) | 650 | May |
| Cincinnati Open (F) | 650 | August |
| China Open (W) | 500 | October |
| Vienna Open (W) | 500 | October |
Most of these big ranking point earnings are in the second half of the season, giving Sinner a real opportunity to close the deficit on Alcaraz.
However, Sinner’s first goal next year will be to win the Australian Open for a third successive year.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
