Jannik Sinner has continued his rise up the ATP Rankings, after winning the event in Rotterdam following his maiden Grand Slam triumph.

Sinner was playing the first tournament since his Australian Open victory last month, cruising to the ATP 500 title by dropping only one set.

As a result, the 22-year-old has overtaken Daniil Medvedev to rise up to No.3 in the rankings and has therefore become the highest ranked Italian singles player in ATP history.

Thank you Rotterdam! I always enjoy my time here, a great week and amazing support. Another awesome battle @alexdeminaur ????????

Forza ????#12 pic.twitter.com/kLvdS7QdLy

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) February 18, 2024

Another tournament that took place this week was on the hardcourts of Delray Beach, Florida, but due to rain the final between Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul has been postponed to later today.

Big Movers

The biggest upward mover inside the top 100 this week was the champion in Buenos Aires, Facundo Diaz Acosta, who claimed his first ATP title at his hometown event.

Diaz Acosta received a wildcard for the tournament, where his best previous performance was reaching the second round, and did not drop a single set all week in the Argentine capital.

As a result of beating Nicolas Jarry in the final, Diaz Acosta has risen 28 places upto a new career high of No.59.

Other significant climbers this week are Emil Ruusuvuori (+12 to No.43), Marcos Giron (+8 to No.44), Alexander Shevchenko (+12 to No.45) and Federico Coria (+21 to No.85).

Stefanos Tsitsipas has only fallen one place in the rankings this week, but it means that the 25-year-old is now outside of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2019.

The Greek is back in action in Los Cabos this week, but is the defending champion so can only defend points and not gain any.

Some of the more vast fallers in the ATP rankings this week are Max Purcell (-10 to No.51), Miomir Kecmanovic (-14 to No.54), Mackenzie McDonald (-12 to No.61), Stan Wawrinka (-7 to No.67), Yoshihito Nishioka (-7 to No.84), Bernabe Zapata Miralles (-15 to No.93), Thanasi Kokkinakis (-24 to No.103) and Juan Pablo Varillas (-23 to No.108).

ATP Rankings Top 20 (19/02/24)

Here is the most recent update of the current top 20 ranked ATP players:

For a full list of the rankings, visit the official ATP website

Race to the ATP Finals in Turin (19/02/24)

The ATP Finals are a highly anticipated event that take place at the end of each year, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams from the tennis season.

Jannik Sinner has utilised Daniil Medvedev’s absence to extend his lead at the top of the race, with Rotterdam runner-up Alex de Minaur also climbing a few spots:

1. Jannik Sinner – 2500 points

2. Daniil Medvedev – 1300 points

3. Alexander Zverev – 1135 points

4. Novak Djokovic – 860 points

5. Alex de Minaur – 795 points

6. Andrey Rublev – 750 points

7. Grigor Dimitrov – 715 points

8. Hubert Hurkacz – 700 points

—————————————————-

9. Taylor Fritz – 610 points

10. Tommy Paul – 565 points

Next week

This week sees ATP action taking place across three continents, with tournaments in Rio de Janeiro, Doha and Los Cabos.

Carlos Alcaraz is the top seed at the South American clay court event, as he looks to avenge his final defeat last year and return to form after being beaten in straight sets by Nicolas Jarry last week in Buenos Aires.

Enhorabuena a Nico por el partido y suerte en la final! ???????? Gracias ???????? por el cariño de esta semana! ????????????????????

???? Getty pic.twitter.com/94ENFeumH2

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 18, 2024

Also looking to return to form is three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who has lost his last four consecutive matches and is defending runner-up points in Doha from last year.

READ MORE – Tennis on TV Next Week: How to watch WTA Dubai, ATP Doha and more!

ATP Rankings rules

ATP rankings track and rank all the players on tour over a 52-week period. Points are awarded for performance, with the biggest tournaments giving out the most points over the course of the year.

Those rankings are then used to determine a number of things, such as seedings at tournaments and deciding who qualifies for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

ATP rankings points awarded/tournament

The following points are awarded for the different tiers of tournaments on the ATP Tour, with some slight alterations made for the 2024 season:

Admissible tournaments

To prevent players from manipulating the rankings by playing a large amount of smaller tournaments, only 19 tournaments are admissible over the course of the year to make up a ranking.

That number does not include the ATP Finals, with that treated as an extra earned opportunity to win rankings points. However, the bigger and most prestigious tournaments are considered ‘mandatory’ entries. For example, if a player lost in round one of a Grand Slam, they would not be permitted to omit it from their ranking in favour of an ATP 250 which earned them more points.

Therefore, players who compete at all the mandatory events in a season will have the following breakdown of admissible rankings points:

• 4 Grand Slams
• 8 Masters 1000
• 7 ‘Best Other’ performances

The rankings always cover the previous 52-week period, so any points won further back than that are deducted from a player’s total. That player will, though, have the chance to ‘defend’ their points by repeating or improving upon their previous performance.

An example would be a player who was a defeated finalist at the US Open in 2023 will have 1200 points deducted from their ranking following the 2024 final. Those points would then be replaced by those won at the 2024 tournament.

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Ons Jabeur has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Tennis Championships, revealing that her knee injury has become too painful to compete with. 

Jabeur has been dealing with issues related to her right knee for a while, and the Tunisian underwent surgery on it last year that forced her to miss the Middle Eastern swing.

When playing in the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals this year, Jabeur broke down in tears against Beatriz Haddad Maia, to which she later revealed was due to her recurring knee troubles.

Despite this, Jabeur travelled to Doha for the Qatar Open, suffering a straight sets defeat to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.

And now the two-time Wimbledon finalist has confirmed her withdrawal from the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, “Dear friends and family, I wanted to share with you all that my knee is not holding, it’s been unbearable to play with the pain and not being able to give my best on the court is frustrating.

“After consultation of my doctors and team we have decided that I will have to withdraw from Dubai this week and go for more medical treatments. Looking forward to reconnect with all on the courts for the US swing. Thank you for your continuous support. Love you, Ons.”

Jabeur has since been replaced by lucky loser Cristina Bucsa, and the tournament has now released a statement of its own on the world No.6’s exit, “Regrettably Ons Jabeur has had to pull out of this year’s tournament. We know how much this event means to her, playing in front of a strong Arab support.

“We wish her all the best in her recovery from injury and look forward to seeing her back in Dubai very soon.”

Jabeur is next entered to compete at Indian Wells in California, which begins on Sunday 3rd March.

Inside the baseline…

Since the start of the season, it has been clear that Ons Jabeur has not been feeling right and this has shown in the Tunisian’s form, having won only two of her five matches. Jabeur should probably not have played the Middle East swing, but after missing it last year probably felt more pressure to at least try and give it a go. Hopefully Jabeur can use this time to recover, but it is quite concerning that surgery does not seem to have fixed the issue.

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There is another WTA 1000 event taking place this week in Dubai, as well as three ATP tournaments across Asia, North and South America.

And we, at Tennishead, have got all the information on how you can watch all the hard-hitting action:

How can you watch WTA Dubai?

Aryna Sabalenka is set to play her first tournament since retaining the Australian Open this week, as she looks to claim victory in Dubai fo the first time.

The Belarusian will be joined by world No.1 and Qatar Open champion Iga Swiatek, who will be looking to avenge her final defeat from the tournament last year.

While the event will be without last year’s champion Barbora Krejcikova, who withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury, there are still two former winners in Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko.

We are ready for a star-studded week of world-class action for the WTA 1000 event tomorrow!#DDFTennis @wta pic.twitter.com/V2Hhszl03Z

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 17, 2024

You can watch the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.

For more information on how to watch the WTA 1000 tournament in your location, visit the official website here.

READ MORE – Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 Preview (WTA): When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?

How can you watch ATP Rio de Janeiro?

Clay court action is set to continue in South America with the biggest event yet, as Carlos Alcaraz headlines the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

Alcaraz won the title back in 2022, but was beaten in the final last year by Cameron Norrie, who is also returning.

Not only will Alcaraz be looking to bounce back from last year’s defeat, but also last night after he was beaten by Nicolas Jarry in the Buenos Aires semi-final.

Other former champions in the draw are Laslo Djere and Cristian Garin, who claimed victory at the tournament in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

You can watch the action in the Brazilian capital on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide.

For more information on how to watch the clay court action in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

How can you watch ATP Doha?

The first ATP tournament of the year in the Middle East has taken a bit of a knock, with defending champion Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the event in Doha.

I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament team, as well as the amazing Qatar fans have always supported me greatly. Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and I won’t be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable win… pic.twitter.com/U4GUvIITcr

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 14, 2024

However, the ATP 250 event still features eight top 30 ranked players, with 2020 champion Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov as the top two seeds.

Despite the defending champion not returning to Doha in 2024, last year’s runner-up and two-time champion Andy Murray will be looking to regain form after a rough spell of four consecutive defeats.

Two-time winner Roberto Bautista-Agut is also returning, with two French former champions in Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet receiving wildcards.

You can watch the action in Doha on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide. For more information on how to watch the tournament in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

How can you watch ATP Los Cabos?

The final main tour ATP event of the week takes place on the hardcourts of Los Cabos, Mexico, with Alexander Zverev as the top seed.

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also returns to the high altitude event, as he looks to make an immediate comeback into the top 10 after falling out for the first time in five years.

Alex de Minaur, who was the runner-up in 2023, is set to feature in Los Cabos, but is playing in the Rotterdam final later today leaving his participation up in the air.

There is one other former champion in the draw in Diego Schwartzman, who will be hoping to recreate his success from 2019 after a spell of poor form.

You can watch the action in Los Cabos on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis TV worldwide.

For more information on how to watch the Mexican hard court tournament in your location, visit the official ATP website here.

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Iga Swiatek has become the first woman in history to win the Qatar Open title three times, and the world No.1 has revealed how ‘proud’ she is of herself for this achievement.

Swiatek played Abu Dhabi champion Elena Rybakina in the final, who had beaten the Pole in three of their four previous meetings.

And it was the Kazakhstani who got off to the better start, going up 4-1 in the first set with a double break.

However, Swiatek showed her fighting capabilities and claimed the opener in a tie-break, despite Rybakina having a set point.

And the four-time Grand Slam champion gave credit to her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, for this, “I was just making too many mistakes and I was kind of panicking at the beginning not knowing what I should change.

“But the coach really had a nice idea and I just kind of trusted him and stuck to his idea and his words. I wasn’t really thinking much myself because it was hard for me to analyse perfectly. So I just trusted him and it worked.”

Swiatek continued this momentum to beat the 2022 Wimbledon champion, 7-6(8) 6-2, becoming the first woman to win a WTA title three years in a row since Serena Williams at the Miami Open in 2015.

The 22-year-old revealed how much this achievement played on her mind prior to the match, “You don’t even know how hard it was not to think about it. I came here and I was just pretty stressed because of that because I felt the expectations.

“But I wanted to just do everything step by step as I always do and again it worked. So thank you to my team also for keeping me on the ground and focusing on the right stuff, because achieving that is great. I’m really happy and really proud of myself.”

Swiatek is the youngest woman to win seven WTA 1000 titles prior to turning 23, and will bid for an eighth next week with a tight turnaround for the event in Dubai.

As the top seed, Swiatek receives a bye to the second round, where she will play the winner of Sloane Stephens and Clara Burel.

So so happy! ????
Thank you Team ????????#TeamSwiatek pic.twitter.com/HKZ8ehxFbs

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) February 17, 2024

Inside the baseline…

Iga Swiatek continues to just showcase her dominance in Doha, where the slow hard courts really seem to suit her game that has been so impressive on clay in recent years. Swiatek did not drop a set all week, which is even more impressive considering her disappointing performance at the Australian Open where she faced an early exit to Linda Noskova in the third round.

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The Middle Eastern swing is set to reach a climax next week, with the second WTA 1000 event of the year taking place at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

And we, at Tennishead, have got everything you need to know ahead of the stacked tournament:

When is the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

The Dubai Tennis Championships main draw will begin on Sunday 18th February, finishing with the singles and doubles finals on Saturday 24th February.

On most days play will begin at 11am local time (7am GMT), with night sessions kicking off at the later time of 7pm in Dubai (3pm GMT).

Qualifying is currently underway and will be concluded on Saturday 17th February.

Where are the Dubai Tennis Championships held?

The WTA tournament is held once again at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre, which has hosted the event since its first edition in 2001.

There are multiple courts on this complex, headlined by Centre Court which can hold a maximum of 5,000 people.

Game. Set. Love. ????#DDFTennis @wta @atptour pic.twitter.com/Q8Kc52dgnp

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 14, 2024

Who is playing at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

As mentioned, the WTA 1000 event in the United Arab Emirates has a stacked field, featuring eight of the top 10 players including both Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.

World No.1 Swiatek will have a quick turnaround after playing in the Doha final, whereas Sabalenka is coming in fresh from her title defence in Melbourne.

Only 2 days to go!????

The sensational Aryna Sabalenka, reigning @AustralianOpen champion is back in Dubai!????#DDFTennis @WTA pic.twitter.com/YnwgSVPO1T

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 16, 2024

Other top seeds in Dubai are Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Qinwen Zheng, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari.

Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova has withdrawn from the tournament due to a back injury, but the event will still feature two past winners in Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko.

Main draw wildcards have been awarded to the returning Shuai Zhang, Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska, Ashlyn Krueger and Lulu Sun.

Main draw at Dubai (WTA 1000), where Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina are the top seeds.

Sabalenka set to play her 1st tournament since Melbourne. #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/IMI9Drbx8g

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 17, 2024

How many ranking points are on offer at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

It is another great opportunity for players to gain big ranking points this year, with Aryna Sabalenka trying to close down the gap on world No.1 Iga Swiatek.

Here is the full breakdown of ranking points in Dubai:

What is the prize money for the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024?

Like in Doha, the total amount of prize money on offer in Dubai is $3,211,715, and here is a breakdown of that for both singles and doubles tournaments:

Previous winners of the Dubai Tennis Championships

Over the past 10 years, the women’s event in Dubai has alternated between a WTA 500 and WTA 1000, however this year they have broken that trend and it has remained as the latter.

In last year’s final, the aforementioned Barbora Krejcikova stunned top seed Iga Swiatek to win her first title at this level.

The most successful singles player at the event is the now retired Justine Henin, who claimed victory four times at the tournament.

Here are the past 10 singles and doubles champions at the event in Dubai:

How can you watch the Dubai Tennis Championships?

You can watch the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland or on Tennis Channel in the United States of America.

For more information on how to watch the WTA 1000 tournament in your location, visit the official website here.

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The Queen’s Club tennis tournament is an iconic part of the British grass court summer, with the first edition being held all the way back in 1881! And we know four unique reasons for you to grab tickets to visit this historic, fun event in 2024.

Biggest ATP event in Britain

With the grass court season coming and going very quickly every year, the United Kingdom only has a few weeks to showcase itself ahead of Wimbledon.

Queen’s is a sparkling example of that, as the only ATP 500 event in the British Isles, producing some scintillating tennis every year.

This is highlighted by the winner’s circle, that includes Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Carlos Alcaraz, John McEnroe and many other big names on the ATP Tour.

Alcaraz participated at the event for the first time last year, winning the title in impressive fashion before going on to end Novak Djokovic’s streak and claim the Wimbledon crown.

Multi-award winning tournament

As the only ATP 500 grass court tournament in the United Kingdom, many top singles and doubles tennis players are attracted to playing at the luxurious Queen’s club so fans with tickets know they are in for a treat.

This is proven by the fact that Queen’s has been voted as the ATP 500 tournament of the year five times, including in both 2022 and 2023.

Great for @QueensTennis to be recognised by the @ATPTour players as their ATP 500 tournament of the year! ????#cinchChampionships

— LTA (@the_LTA) December 15, 2023

Even before it was promoted to an ATP 500 event back in 2015, Queen’s was chosen as the best ATP 250 tournament in both 2013 and 2014.

Queen’s tennis tickets open to general public

One of the big barriers for fans wanting to visit the most prestigious tennis tournaments is the lack of accessibility to tickets.

However, tickets for Queen’s Club are offered in a much more accessible method and are available for sale to the general public.

That being said, the event is very popular and tickets for finals weekend disappear within a flash almost every year!

But, if you are not able to access tickets via the general sale you can always indulge and purchase tickets through exclusive hospitality partner, Keith Prowse. This route means a guaranteed seat on Centre Court, award-winning hospitality with features including tasting menus, rooftop bars and lounges overlooking the practice courts and takeaway drinks to sip during play.

The Queen’s tournament begins over Father’s Day weekend in the United Kingdom, so what better way to treat your Dad than to some quality tennis, great food and maybe even sunny weather!

Central London location 

The Queen’s Club is in West Kensington, Central London, so it’s the perfect location for you to access even if you don’t live in the capital.

You can visit the prestigious tournament via either the Piccadilly, District or Overground lines, with Barons Court tube station only a short two-minute walk away from the grounds of the pristine grass courts.

If you wanted to make a trip out of it, you could spend the day at the tennis and see the sights of London all in one – what could be better?

For us, the peace of mind together with the guarantee of a good view, the ease of purchase and on site location plus the sheer indulgence of the catering make this an option to be very carefully considered when planning your trip to The Queen’s Club this year.

For more information on VIP experiences with Keith Prowse at the cinch Championships in 2024, visit the Keith Prowse website or give them a call to discuss in person, on 02039 938 455.

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The post 4 epic reasons to book your Queen’s Club tickets for the cinch Championships! appeared first on Tennishead.

Rafael Nadal has provided a major update on his immediate future, with the 22-time Grand Slam champion heavily suggesting that 2024 is going to be his ‘last year’ on the ATP Tour.

Nadal has spent the majority of the past year on the injury sidelines, having picked up a serious tear to his psoas muscle at the 2023 Australian Open.

After undergoing arthroscopic surgery and falling to his lowest rank since 2002, Nadal returned to action at the Brisbane International last month.

The 37-year-old won his opening two matches at the ATP 250 event, before being beaten by Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.

It was in this match that Nadal later revealed he had obtained a ‘minor tear’ in a muscle, but reassured fans that it was nowhere near as serious as the one he had picked up a year before.

Nadal consequently withdrew from the Australian Open, but was set to return to the matchcourt next week in Doha, although he has since withdrawn after revealing he is ‘not ready’.

And when speaking to Cope, Nadal has spoken about how his schedule has altered compared to what he was hoping for, “What I want to play and what I am going to play is very different. What I wanted my calendar to be is not going to be. It will be what it can be.”

The former No.1 continued, “My hope is to play the dirt [clay] season in acceptable conditions and today’s decision is aimed at that. I’m talking about being healthy, not being competitive.

“There are many very exciting tournaments on land and I hope to visit Madrid. I will play what I can within my reality and within an objective vision that I cannot lose sight of that I want to play Roland Garros. I will assume the minimum risks to be able to play Roland Garros in an optimal way.”

Nadal has heavily suggested that this year will be his last and reiterated that once again, but says he will make an official announcement before his most dominant Grand Slam.

“This is going to be my last year but I don’t confirm it 100%,” revealed Nadal. “I will go day by day. I’ll say it before Roland Garros. I give myself a few months of caution. You know that things can happen, so I can’t define things months in advance after a year without competing.”

I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament team, as well as the amazing Qatar fans have always supported me greatly. Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and I won’t be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable win… pic.twitter.com/U4GUvIITcr

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 14, 2024

The now ranked No.646 has won Roland Garros a record 14 times, and while he has admitted it will be ‘very difficult’ to claim a 15th he has not shut down the idea, “Today it is impossible for me to answer you, today it is very difficult to think that I can win Roland Garros, but I am excited to be able to arrive and enjoy playing Roland Garros. If I thought I had zero chance of winning, I would be doing other things.”

Nadal is next expected to compete in an Netflix special exhibition match against compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, before returning to official tour action at Indian Wells.

Inside the baseline…

It must have been a very frustrating last year or so for Rafael Nadal, who has spent so much time away from the matchcourt. Especially as when he did return there was a lot of good signs, even in the match that he lost, as he had three match points against Jordan Thompson. Hopefully Nadal can play as much as possible during the clay court swing, as that is the least he deserves for such a legendary career.

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Venus Williams has been confirmed to make her return at Indian Wells, with the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion set to play in the desert for the first time since 2019.

Williams last played a competitive match at the 2022 US Open, facing her heaviest ever defeat in the first round to qualifier Greet Minnen.

The American had been struggling with injuries throughout the season, which only allowed her to play a total of 10 matches, winning just three.

A knee injury curtailed Williams’ 2023 season, but now it seems as though the former No.1 is ready to return to the tournament often dubbed as ‘the fifth Grand Slam’.

The current world No.480 has received a wildcard for Indian Wells this year, making her first appearance at the WTA 1000 tournament in five years, to which she responded on social media by saying, “Can’t wait to be back at #TennisParadise.”

Can’t wait to be back at #TennisParadise ????????️ https://t.co/O7bpNh67Yh

— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) February 13, 2024

Williams has never won either the singles or doubles titles in California, but the 43-year-old has reached the semi-finals in singles three times and doubles once.

It is not just Williams who has received a wildcard, with fellow former No.1 and 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki also being awarded direct entry to the event.

Indian Wells will kick-off the sunshine double on Sunday 3rd March, concluding two weeks later on 17th March.

Inside the baseline…

The Williams’ sisters and Indian Wells have had a rocky relationship with the Indian Wells tournament over the years, boycotting the event between 2001 and 2015 after receiving racism from the crowd. So, this wildcard shows that the relationship with the tournament has healed over time and hopefully shows a change in attitude towards one of the greatest sportspeople in history. Venus Williams has suffered a lot with injury over the past few years, so it would be great if she could have as pain-free season as possible in what is the twilight of her career.

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Carlos Alcaraz is gearing up to play his first tournament since the Australian Open this week, with the Spaniard revealing some of his goals for the season.

Alcaraz is bidding to defend his title on the clay courts of Buenos Aires this week, following the world No.2’s Australian Open quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev.

And in his pre-tournament press conference, the Wimbledon champion was asked about whether he would prefer to win the title at the Paris Olympics or add another Grand Slam to his trophy cabinet this year, “I would say the Olympic title.

“For me, it is a dream to bring a medal to my country, to Spain, and winning gold is one of the greatest things that can happen to you in the world of sport in general. This year, if you gave me a choice, I would say that I will keep the Olympic gold… although I would like to win both.”

Alcaraz continued to speak about some of his other dreams, including being alongside the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the history books, “I am a boy who dreams big. I am very ambitious and I target the best in the world and the best in history.

“That’s what motivates me to give my 100% day to day and to go to the tournaments to be able to win them. I’m a very competitive, very ambitious guy. I always want to win everything, it is what drives me to continue training at my highest level, to continue going to the tournaments with a lot of desire to get more titles.”

He added, “Seeing Djokovic up there, the players who are winning titles now, is something that motivates me to be at the same level as them. Also speaking of the ‘Big Three’, it motivates me to get closer to them.”

???????????????????????? https://t.co/xwiX9X4UmZ

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 12, 2024

The 20-year-old went onto list the aforementioned Djokovic and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner as his main rivals, “I think Djokovic and Sinner are the rivals to beat.

“There is no doubt, both for me and for everyone. Zverev also has the winning head-to-head against me, he is a rival that I have very much in mind, but I do think that Djokovic and Sinner are at the top right now.”

Alcaraz will return to the match court later this week against either Juan Pablo Varillas or Camilo Ugo Carabelli, after receiving a bye to the second round as the top seed.

Inside the baseline…

Carlos Alcaraz has every possibility of being one of the greats in the sport, and he has already put his name in the history books after becoming the youngest world No.1 at the 2022 US Open. It is understandable as to why the Olympics are so important to him, considering they only come around every four years, compared to four Grand Slams a year. Paris will be even more special to Alcaraz, considering it will be his first ever Olympic Games and the tennis will be held on the historic grounds of Roland Garros.

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Three tournaments took place on the main tour this week, resulting in a total of 10 new top 100 career-highs in the most recent update of the ATP rankings. 

The ATP 250 events in question took place in Marseille, Dallas and Cordoba, resulting in champions of Ugo Humbert, Tommy Paul and Luciano Darderi, respectively.

As a result of keeping up his 100% record in ATP singles finals (5/5), Humbert has risen three places upto a career best ranking of world No.18 and has also regained his status as French No.1.

Masterclass in Marseille????@HumbertUgo is now unbeaten in his last 5 tour-level finals after defeating Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 to lift the @Open13 title!#Open13Provence pic.twitter.com/M7N8hOjQfW

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 11, 2024

Big Movers

It is actually the aforementioned Darderi who is the biggest upward mover of the week, after claiming his maiden ATP title from qualifying on the clay of Cordoba.

The 21-year-old was only playing his third main draw ATP tournament, and as a result has climbed a colossal 60 places upto a career-high of No.76.

Darderi is now one of six Italian’s ranked inside the world’s top 100 and will look to continue his rise in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, this week.

Despite not playing on the main ATP Tour this week, Indian Sumit Nagal has also been able to climb inside the top 100 for the first time in his career.

In February of last year Nagal was ranked outside the top 500, but after winning his fifth ATP Challenger title in Chennai has been able to climb 23 places to a ranking of No.98.

Welcome to the Top 100, @nagalsumit! ????

A few weeks after becoming the first Indian man to beat a seed at a major in 35 years, ???????? Sumit Nagal has now secured his Top 100 debut after winning the 5th Challenger title of his career in Chennai. ????

He was ranked #509 a year ago:

— TENNIS (@Tennis) February 11, 2024

Other significant upward movers this week include Marcos Giron (+15 to No.52), Yoshihito Nishioka (+6 to No.77), Facundo Diaz Acosta (+8 to No.87), James Duckworth (+9 to No.97) and Facundo Bagnis (+69 to No.138).

On the other side of the coin is J.J. Wolf, who has dropped 18 places to No.94 after being unable to defend his semi-final points from Dallas last year.

The American is not the only one to have slid down the rankings this week, with Albert Ramos-Vinolas (-15 to No.99), Federico Coria (-13 to No.106), Quentin Halys (-10 to No.111), Tomas Barrios Vera (-12 to No.120), Liam Broady (-23 to No.121) and Hugo Dellien (-23 to No.136), also doing so.

ATP Rankings Top 20 (12/02/24)

Here are the current top 20 ranked players after this week’s action:

For a full list of the rankings, visit the official ATP website

Race to the ATP Finals in Turin (12/02/24)

The ATP Finals are a highly anticipated event that take place at the end of each year, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams from the tennis season.

Once again not too much has shifted after this week, however Jannik Sinner will have an opportunity to extend his lead in Rotterdam:

1. Jannik Sinner – 2000 points

2. Daniil Medvedev – 1300 points

3. Alexander Zverev – 1135 points

4. Novak Djokovic – 860 points

5. Andrey Rublev – 650 points

6. Hubert Hurkacz – 650 points

7. Grigor Dimitrov – 515 points

8. Alex de Minaur – 465 points

—————————————————-

9. Taylor Fritz – 445 points

10. Carlos Alcaraz – 400 points

Next week

There are more points on offer this week, headlined by the historic ATP 500 event taking place on the hardcourts of Rotterdam.

This is where Australian Open champion and 2023 runner-up Jannik Sinner will return to action, as he looks to build-on winning his first major title.

Alongside Rotterdam will be two ATP 250 events in Buenos Aires and Delray Beach, featuring the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.

READ MORE – Tennis on TV Next Week: How to watch WTA Doha, ATP Rotterdam and more!

ATP Rankings rules

ATP rankings track and rank all the players on tour over a 52-week period. Points are awarded for performance, with the biggest tournaments giving out the most points over the course of the year.

Those rankings are then used to determine a number of things, such as seedings at tournaments and deciding who qualifies for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

ATP rankings points awarded/tournament

The following points are awarded for the different tiers of tournaments on the ATP Tour, with some slight alterations made for the 2024 season:

Admissible tournaments

To prevent players from manipulating the rankings by playing a large amount of smaller tournaments, only 19 tournaments are admissible over the course of the year to make up a ranking.

That number does not include the ATP Finals, with that treated as an extra earned opportunity to win rankings points. However, the bigger and most prestigious tournaments are considered ‘mandatory’ entries. For example, if a player lost in round one of a Grand Slam, they would not be permitted to omit it from their ranking in favour of an ATP 250 which earned them more points.

Therefore, players who compete at all the mandatory events in a season will have the following breakdown of admissible rankings points:

• 4 Grand Slams
• 8 Masters 1000
• 7 ‘Best Other’ performances

The rankings always cover the previous 52-week period, so any points won further back than that are deducted from a player’s total. That player will, though, have the chance to ‘defend’ their points by repeating or improving upon their previous performance.

An example would be a player who was a defeated finalist at the US Open in 2023 will have 1200 points deducted from their ranking following the 2024 final. Those points would then be replaced by those won at the 2024 tournament.

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner reveals ‘dream’ ahead of ATP Tour return

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