Djokovic Holds Onto Top Spot In Olympics Race Despite Extended Break From Tour

Novak Djokovic is firmly in control of the Olympics Race with just a few months remaining at the showpiece event in Paris.

The Serb has garnered 7,360 points since the race was incepted in the middle of June last year. Most of Djokovic's points came from winning four "Big Titles" in the second half of last season.

He won two Masters (Cincinnati and Paris-Bercy), sandwiching his 24th Grand Slam success at the US Open. Additionally, Djokovic lifted the ATP Finals for a record-breaking 7th time in his career. The 36-year-old has made an inauspicious start to 2024 by his own lofty standards.

Djokovic was part of the Serbian team that exited the United Cup in the group stage. And later on, he relinquished his Australian Open crown to Jannik Sinner. But even as he takes an extended break from the tour, he is unlikely to cascade in the Olympics race this month.

His closest rival is Sinner, who has accumulated 6,225 points. The Italian can truncate Djokovic's lead but can't pass him as he only plays one tournament this month (Rotterdam, worth 500 points). Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, is in third spot.

The Spaniard led the race for some months last season after winning Wimbledon and finishing as a runner-up in Cincinnati. But Alcaraz's worrying title drought has cost him the top spot for now.

And just behind him is Daniil Medvedev, who will play as a neutral athlete in Paris after the lifting of the ban by the International Olympic Committee. The defending gold medalist, Alexander Zverev, is in fifth spot, ahead of Andrey Rublev.

Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, and Ben Shelton complete the Top 10. Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas is down in 15th, but he is expected to be his country's No. 1 player.

According to the regulations, only the Top 56 will qualify based on the actual ATP ranking on June 10th, 2024, which will be in line with the Olympics Race that accumulates points within a 52-week window.