How Alcaraz extended lead in battle for World No. 1 with Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz’s Australian Open victory was important for more than just the moment. With his triumph at Melbourne Park, Alcaraz crucially extended his lead over Jannik Sinner in the battle for World No. 1.
Alcaraz, who on Sunday lifted the Australian Open trophy for the first time, currently leads the PIF ATP Rankings with 13,650 points, 3,350 points more than World No. 2 Sinner.
With just 400 quarter-final points to defend in Melbourne, Alcaraz had room to gain and he did so by leaving with the trophy and 2,000 points.
Meanwhile Sinner, the 2024 and 2025 champion, was defending 2,000 points from last year’s title run. The Italian reached the semi-finals in this year’s edition, earning 800 points. Because of that, he departed Australia with 1,200 fewer points than he entered with.
Alcaraz entered the season’s first major with just a 550-point advantage over his rival. But thanks to Alcaraz’s gain and Sinner’s loss, the battle swung 2,800 points in Alcaraz’s favour.
PIF ATP Rankings
| Player | Points |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 13,650 |
| 2) Jannik Sinner | 10,300 |
| 3) Novak Djokovic | 5,280 |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 4,605 |
| 5) Lorenzo Musetti | 4,405 |
With that said, it is still early in the season and there are many points up for grabs in the coming weeks and months. Sinner enjoyed a 65-week debut reign atop the PIF ATP Rankings, which ended after the Italian fell to Alcaraz in last year’s US Open final. The back-and-forth battle continued as Sinner reclaimed the honour for one week after winning the Rolex Paris Masters in November, before Alcaraz secured ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the second time in Turin.
[NO 1 CLUB]While Sinner’s 66 weeks as World No. 1 places him 12th among the 29 ATP No. 1 Club members, Alcaraz is not far behind at 57 weeks (14th in PIF ATP Rankings history). Across every phase of their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, Alcaraz and Sinner have remained in close pursuit of one another.
By triumphing in Melbourne, Alcaraz captured his seventh major trophy and completed the Career Grand Slam — a feat that Sinner will have his chance of conquering at Roland Garros.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]