Jannik Sinner may have wrapped up the year-end world No 1 ranking on the ATP Tour, but the battle for top spot with his big rival Carlos Alcaraz is a little tighter in the constantly updated UTR Ranking.
Sinner’s triumph at the Shanghai Masters last weekend was sealed with an impressive win against Novak Djokovic in the final, with a potential showdown against Alcaraz in China halted when the young Spaniard lost against Tomas Machac.
That win for Sinner in Shanghai saw him leap back to the top of the UTR Rankings, just a few days after he was knocked off top spot by a surging Alcaraz.
Alcaraz and Sinner shared the Grand Slam titles in 2024, with the Spaniard winning the French Open and Wimbledon and the Italian lifting the Australian Open and US Open.
Separating the duo is tough as they are both playing at such a high level consistently and we can expect the No 1 ranking to flip between the duo in both ATP and UTR rankings in the coming years, with seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander giving the duo the ultimate praise with his latest comments.
“They are following in the footsteps of the ‘Big Three’ in terms of level,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“I hope Roger, Novak, and Rafa are not listening, but in terms of level, when Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best, there is no way anyone has ever played better tennis, that the tennis ball has done more different, complicated, difficult things than the ball is doing between Sinner and Alcaraz.
“It keeps happening every single time they play. They come up with suspense, they come up with entertainment.
“What you see with them is that the match can go any direction. Either of them can win. Neither of them are intimidated by the other person.
There are momentum changes in their matches just like any other tennis match, but they don’t last that long. They last for five or ten minutes maximum, and then the other guy comes back and does something, and then he’s back on top.”
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The method for calculating the UTR ratings differs greatly from the rolling ATP list, which ranks players based on the points they collect over 52 weeks.
Victories against higher-ranked played are worth more in the UTR list than the official ATP or WTA Ranking, meaning they offer up a more accurate reflection of the current form at the top of the game.
The UTR Rankings are based on the current form from the last few weeks and months rather than reflecting results that occurred up to a year ago, with the system created to promote fair and competitive play across the tennis world.
All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.
The UTR Ranking is open to players of all levels of the game and the algorithm used provides an intriguing insight at the top of the game.
Novak Djokovic is at No 3 in the UTR list, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion among those who have endorsed the algorithm used to produce this rankings list.
Alexander Zverev is at No 4 in the UTR Rankings, with Taylor Fritz at No 5 and Alex de Minaur at No 6.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has served up some indifferent form in recent weeks and he is at No 7 with compatriot Andrey Rublev next on the list.
Britain’s Jack Draper is up to No 9 after his run to the US Open semi-finals last month and Tommy Paul completes the top ten.
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