Jannik Sinner’s relatively poor start to the year has only been highlighted by Daniil Medvedev’s victory in Dubai.
Sinner lost to Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open, while his biggest rival Carlos Alcaraz won the title.
The Italian is yet to win a tournament so far this year, while Daniil Medvedev has already won two titles in 2026.
Medvedev’s latest victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships has really highlighted just how uncharacteristic a start to the year Sinner has had.
Daniil Medvedev has won more ranking points than Jannik Sinner in 2026
Sinner is the current world number two, and leads world number three Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings by a huge 5,120 points.
Despite being comfortably the second best player on the ATP Tour over the past 12 months, Sinner is down in the race to the ATP Finals.
From ranking points earned so far in 2026, Sinner is down in sixth, with Alcaraz and Djokovic leading the race in terms of points so far.
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After winning the Dubai Tennis Championships, Medvedev has earned another 500 points and is now third in the race to the ATP Finals, despite being the world number 11.
Alex de Minaur and Ben Shelton are the other two players who are ahead of Sinner so far this year.
| Live ATP Race | Ranking Points earned so far in 2026 | Position in the live ATP Rankings |
| 1. Carlos Alcaraz | 2,500 | No.1 |
| 2. Novak Djokovic | 1,300 | No.3 |
| 3. Daniil Medvedev | 1,000 | No.11 |
| 4. Alex de Minaur | 985 | No.6 |
| 5. Ben Shelton | 950 | No.8 |
| 6. Jannik Sinner | 900 | No.2 |
| 7. Alexander Zverev | 890 | No.4 |
| 8. Felix Auger-Aliassime | 815 | No.9 |
While this is somewhat alarming for Sinner, he has only played two tournaments so far this year and reached the semifinal of a Grand Slam.
Sinner could even jump up to second with a deep run at Indian Wells next week, as he looks to put his recent defeats behind him.
Where are Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti placed in the race to the ATP Finals?
Although we are still in the early stages of the 2026 season, six of the top eight players in the race to the ATP Finals are also in the top eight of the ATP rankings.
The only two top eight ranked players who are not is Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti, with both having difficult starts to the year.
Fritz reached the Dallas Open final last month, but his physical issues were evident in his fourth round exit from the Australian Open.
As a result, Fritz is 13th in the race to the ATP Finals, but is only 200 points behind eighth placed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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Physical issues have also been a significant problem for Musetti, who suffered a leg injury at the Australian Open and was forced to withdraw from his next two tournaments.
This has subsequently meant that Musetti is down at 17th in the race to the ATP Finals, with just 565 points earned this year.
Musetti is confirmed to return at Indian Wells next week, as both he and Fritz look to improve their position in the race.
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