Zverev secures number 1 spot after Sinner's withdrawal
The German tennis player will fulfill another of his dreams after Sinner announced that he will no longer play in 2026.
Alexander Zverev is going to achieve another one of his dreams in a somewhat bittersweet way. A few minutes ago, Jannik Sinner shared a video revealing that he will not return to play for the rest of the season, which will cause him to lose quite a few points and result in the German tennis player becoming the number 1 in the world before the year ends.
Beyond the ATP points he has already lost since winning the title at Wimbledon, Sinner still had to defend the title in ATP Beijing, the second round at the Shanghai Masters 1000, and the titles in Vienna, Paris, and the ATP Finals. Zverev, for his part, is defending the second round in Shanghai, the final in Vienna, the semifinals in Paris, and just one victory in the group stage at the ATP Finals, so sooner or later he will ascend the ATP ranking throne depending on his results in the upcoming tournaments.
Currently, Sinner has 11,000 points in the ranking, while Zverev is at 9,720. Therefore, if the German tennis player performs well in Shanghai, he could even be number 1 in Vienna in a few weeks, as Sinner will lose another 500 points at once. Surely 'Sascha' would have preferred to reach the top of the ranking in a different way, but it is not entirely up to him. That said, he has already received some criticism for having won two Grand Slams without facing top names, so he will once again be in the media spotlight without deserving it.
Alcaraz also closes in on Sinner
On the other hand, Zverev has also secured finishing the year as the number 1 of the Race, so he will receive his number 1 trophy during the ATP Finals in Turin as the grand finale to the season. The German tennis player is experiencing the best year of his tennis career, and the reward has been maximized with two Grand Slams in his pocket and the number 1 secured.
Carlos Alcaraz, for his part, is still far from Sinner's 11,000 points, as he currently has 5,390, but if he manages to finish the season well he could once again close in on the number 1 now that his main rival will be out of action for a few months. In fact, if he achieves good results from now until the end of the season he could get very close to the player from San Cándido.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev se asegura ser número 1 tras la baja de Sinner