Jannik Sinner overtakes Carlos Alcaraz to reclaim world No. 1 after Paris triumph

Sunday, 02 November 2025 at 22:26

byErik Virostko

Jannik Sinner won the 2025 Paris Masters and achieved something he thought might be impossible only a week ago.

Sinner arrived in Paris as one of the top two favorites to win the title. The other one was, of course, Carlos Alcaraz. However, the Spaniard shockingly lost in his opening match, so Sinner became the overwhelming favorite to win the title in the French capital.

Despite some health struggles along the way, the Italian player dominated against his opponents, beating Zizou Bergs, Francisco Cerundolo, Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime without losing a set.

Thanks to his title win, Sinner will return to the world No. 1 spot on Monday, something that seemed too distant only a week ago. The four-time Grand Slam champion was asked about his chances of returning to the top ranking spot ahead of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris, and then, he saw it as impossible.

"No, it's impossible. Honestly, I'm not thinking about this at the moment. It's going to be a goal for next year. This year, it's not in my hands. Let's say it like this. But considering how the whole year went, you know, we have achieved some incredible things."

"Now I just want to finish the season the best possible way. If I can do something great, amazing. If not, I did something great already this year. I will try, as last year was, December is going to be a very important month for me, because I feel like we can make a lot of changes and a lot of work there."

"Also getting ready for the next season and the beginning of the season, I know how important it is for me for many scenarios. So let's see what I can achieve and do there, but I'm relaxed. You know, I'm very happy what I did this year, and then we see what's coming. And that's it."

Although Sinner's words were likely mostly focused on finishing as the year-end world No. 1, he not only retook the world No. 1 spot but also entered the conversation for the year-end No. 1 as well. He needs to win the ATP Finals without losing a match, while Alcaraz can't win more than two round-robin matches and then lose in the semi-finals.

After winning the title in Paris, Sinner admitted he was happy to return to the world No. 1, but he's not currently focusing on the top ranking spot. He wants to play his best tennis, and his ranking is the direct outcome of his performances.

"Well, it's not only in my hands, but I'm of course happy. I knew from the beginning of the week that there was a chance. But as I said, before the final, before every tournament or before every match, I try to put the best performance I can on the court, and then whatever comes, comes. And this is how I went on court."

"In Turin, I'm going to do the same. I watch my side, and I just play the best possible tennis I can, and if it's not gonna be, it's not gonna be. The goal of this week was to go day by day, trying to maximize my potential, which I have done for this week, and I'm extremely happy. As I said, now we recharge and hopefully be as ready as possible then for Turin, and we hope for a great tennis week there."