Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – 2026 will close with a new ATP number one. It will be Alexander Zverev, confident of finishing the tennis year as a dominant force after knocking out Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Shanghai Masters 1000 today, Monday, October 12. The Spanish champion's defeat will weigh heavily on his rankings: with Sinner out at the end of the season due to a knee injury, Alcaraz will never be able to reach the top spot again.
And he will finish the season as number two, ahead of the Italian champion (destined to drop to third place) and behind the German, the future king.
What's the current ATP ranking situation? Jannik Sinner leads the way with 11.000 points, but the Italian will lose the crown in the coming weeks due to his absence. The German is currently in second place with 9.720 points, 4.160 more than Alcaraz.
When can he overtake the top spot? Zverev's first opportunity will come on November 2, 2026: to do so, Alcaraz will have to win the Shanghai Masters 1000 and the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 in Vienna. Another chance will come on November 9: in this case, Zverev will need to score at least 500 points across Shanghai, Vienna, and Paris.
If the German fails to collect enough points in the next tournaments, the overtaking will become a reality at the ATP Finals, the last tournament of the season.
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