Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev have distanced themselves from other players on the ATP Tour, according to former French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic.
That trio ended as the Top 3 players in the year-end ATP rankings. Sinner is No. 1, Zverev finished at No. 2, and Alcaraz sits at No. 3, although those rankings are somewhat controversial.
Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon this year but still finished below Zverev. Roger Federer's former coach argues that the outcome is a glitch in the system used to determine the rankings.
Finishing ahead of Alcaraz has not made Zverev lose sight of what he wants to achieve. The German admitted Alcaraz and Sinner are ahead of him because they won all the Grand Slams in 2024, and securing a maiden major title is Zverev's goal for 2025.
Sinner claimed his first Grand Slam titles this year at the Australian Open and the US Open. He also won the ATP Finals in Turin, the Davis Cup with Italy, and three Masters 1000 titles over the course of the year.
Although he did not win a major title, Zverev's impressive year included two Masters 1000 crowns at the Italian Open and Paris Masters, and coming within one set of a maiden Grand Slam title in the French Open final against Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, Sinner, and Zverev undoubtedly played the most consistent tennis throughout the season. Novak Djokovic's level dropped, but the Serbian might not care much since he won an Olympic gold medal, his biggest goal ahead of 2024.
Taylor Fritz was the runner-up at the US Open and ATP Finals, and Daniil Medvedev pushed Sinner to five sets in the Australian Open final, but no other man can credibly argue they had a year as good as Sinner, Alcaraz, and Zverev.
In an episode of the Rennae Stubbs Podcast, Petkovic outlined the substantial difference in ranking points between the Top 3 players and those below them to illustrate why they have set themselves apart.
"I was looking at the top 5 today, and what really stood out to me, so Taylor is No. 4, Daniil Medvedev is No. 5, and they are at 5,000 points, roughly. One is 5,100 and the other is 5,030 or something."
"And then, Carlos and Zverev, are around 7,000 points and Jannik has almost 12,000. So this is what I'm saying. I do think Carlos, Sascha and Jannik Sinner have set themselves apart from the pack."
"The points are telling the story because 2,000 points between Carlos and Taylor and Daniil, 2,000 points is winning a Slam tournament and Carlos and Sascha lose first round, which won't happen. That's a big difference."
At this stage, it is hard to know which man is most likely to challenge that dominance in 2025. Fritz was the most improved player in the Top 10, but Medvedev is a six-time Grand Slam finalist who should never be ruled out on hard courts.
Djokovic has already spoken about playing during the opening week of the 2025 season to prepare for the Australian Open, showing the 37-year-old still believes he can challenge at the most significant tournaments.