The ATP rankings were turned upside down with the end of Indian Wells. Novak Djokovic becomes world number 2 again, Alcaraz at 19 takes over the reins of world tennis and above all, Rafael Nadal leaves the top 10, a first since 2005…
Monday March 20, 2023 will remain a historic date. The same day, Carlos Alcaraz, after his title in Indian Wells regained the place of world number 1 at the expense of Novak Djokovic excluded from the United States for health reasons. Recently returned to the courts and at the age of 19, the young Spaniard has already regained the throne of world tennis, he pocketed his 3rd Masters 1000. He beat Danil Medvedev who had 19 straight victories and 3 titles ( Dubai, Doha and Rotterdam).
At the same time, Novak Djokovic has again become the world number 2. The Serb could actually have kept this first place in the world if he was not banned by the United States from territory. Nole refuses to inject himself with a dose of the vaccine out of personal convictions. This is necessary to enter American territory. This obviously has consequences for the ATP ranking. With all the tournaments where the winner of the Australian Open was banned from participating, “the Djoker” could not defend nearly 12,000 points. Alcaraz is now world number 1 with over 7000 points.
The big reversal of this ATP ranking is also the descent to 13th place of Rafael Nadal. The former world number 1 left the world top 10 for the first time since 2005. The man with 22 Grand Slam titles spent 912 weeks, or 17 years and 11 months playing the leading roles. Never has a player been able to stay at the top for so long. The Spaniard was undeniably helped by his outstanding performances on clay. The king of clay, who will be absent from the Masters 1000 in Miami, is preparing for his return to competition, which should take place in Monte-Carlo on April 15.
This Masters 1000 in Indian Wells also benefited Félix Auger-Aliassime who won 4 places by now positioning himself 6th in the world. Taylor Fritz who failed to retain his title lost 5 places and is now 10th. Jannik Sinner, semi-finalist, is hot on his heels. Frances Tiafoe continues to progress by climbing to 14th place. One of the most beautiful progressions is that of Jack Draper who rose 13 places (43rd). The other British, Andy Murray finds himself on Monday at the gates of the top 50. Stan Wawrinka, 100th, gave himself a chance to be competitive by climbing to 87th place. Among the French, Richard Gasquet has raised his ranking by becoming 40th in the world. Adrian Mannarino took 6 places (62) and Hugo Gaston returned to the top 100 (98th).
Monday March 20, by winning his 3rd Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, Carlos Alcaraz regained the place of world number 1. Novak Djokovic has been demoted to second. Rafael Nadal left the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2005. The ATP ranking:
The Race ranking is dominated by Serbian Novak Djokovic, winner of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Unlike the “classic” ATP ranking, which is updated weekly taking into account points earned over the previous 52 weeks, the ATP Race ranking only takes into account points earned during the current season and gradually accumulates the ten -eight best results.
The ATP ranking consists of awarding points based on the performance of each player during major competitions. In total, 18 competitions are taken into account and the points accumulated are valid for 52 weeks. So, for example, the winner of a grand slam gets 2000 points, the runner-up 1200 points, the semi-finalist 720 points and so on. For each major tournament the points are not the same, because in the masters 1000 the victory awards 1000 points, the final 600 points, and the semi-final 360.
The leaderboard is updated weekly and the points are valid for one year, but instead of being added up, they are compared. In other words, the performance of the player on a competition of the current year is compared to that of the same competition the past year. The points obtained are added to his total to obtain a new total for the week, for a new ranking that comes out every Monday.
