Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1, Nadal Extends Top 10 Record

  • Posted: Dec 05, 2022

Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1, Nadal Extends Top 10 Record

Seven 25-and-under players finish in the Top 10

The ATP today published the 2022 year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings on ATPTour.com with Spaniards Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal headlining a season of record-breaking performances and milestones. Alcaraz and Nadal are the first countrymen to finish No. 1 and 2 since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.

Alcaraz, 19, is the first teenager and youngest player to finish No. 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings, while Nadal, 36, is the oldest to finish in the Top 2. Nadal also finishes in the Top 10 for a record-extending 18th consecutive year and ties Roger Federer for the most Top 10 finishes overall with 18.

Alcaraz is the first player other than Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to finish No. 1 since Andy Roddick in 2003. He also makes the biggest jump to year-end No. 1 in history, rising from No. 32 at the end of 2021.

Alcaraz and No. 11 Holger Rune, also 19, are the first pair of teenagers to finish in the Top 15 since 1990 (No. 5 Sampras, No. 9 Goran Ivanisevic and No. 15 Chang). Rune finished 2021 at No. 103 before breaking into both the Top 100 and the Top 10 during the 2022 season.

Alcaraz is one of three new faces in the year-end Top 10 along with No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 9 Taylor Fritz. Auger-Aliassime, 22, is the youngest Canadian to end a year in the Top 10 and second overall (Milos Raonic in 2014 at No. 8 and 2016 at No. 3). Fritz, 25, is the youngest American in the year-end Top 10 since No. 6 Roddick, 24, in 2006.

Djokovic finishes in the Top 5 for the 15th time in the past 16 years. He was also ranked No. 1 for 20 weeks during the season, bringing his record total of weeks atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to 373.

Three players were ranked No. 1 in 2022: Alcaraz (16 weeks through 31 December), Djokovic (20 weeks) and Daniil Medvedev (16 weeks). Alcaraz and Medvedev are the first pair of players to debut at No. 1 in the same season since Roddick and Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2003.

At least seven players 25-and-under finished in the Top 10 for the second year in a row (8 in 2021). Joining Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and Fritz in the 2022 year-end Top 10 are 23-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway, 24-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and 25-year-olds Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz.

2022 Year-End Pepperstone ATP Rankings Top 10
1) Carlos Alcaraz –
Second Spanish year-end No. 1, joining five-time year-end No. 1 Rafael Nadal

2) Rafael Nadal – Ends year at No. 2 for eighth time and in Top 2 for record 13th time

3) Casper Ruud – Best year-end ranking for a Scandinavian player since No. 2 Stefan Edberg of Sweden in 1992

4) Stefanos Tsitsipas – Ends year in Top 10 for fourth straight season, equalling year-end high from 2021

5) Novak Djokovic – Finishes in Top 5 after winning record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals championship

6) Felix Auger-Aliassime – Led ATP with 45 hard-court wins, including victories against Alcaraz, Nadal, Tsitsipas and Djokovic

7) Daniil Medvedev – Reached World No. 1 in February, finishes in Top 10 for fourth consecutive season

8) Andrey Rublev – Posted 4-0 record in 2022 finals to end third straight year in Top 10

9) Taylor Fritz – First American in year-end Top 10 since No. 10 John Isner in 2018

10) Hubert Hurkacz – Only Polish player to finish in Top 10, doing so for second year in a row

2022 Year-End Pepperstone ATP Rankings Quick Facts

  • 471 spots jumped by Ben Shelton – most in year-end Top 100 (No. 568 in 2021 to No. 97 in 2022)
  • 217 spots jumped by Jack Draper – most in year-end Top 50 (No. 259 in 2021 to No. 42 in 2022)
  • 37-year-old John Isner is oldest player in year-end Top 100 at No. 41
  • 25 players 30-and-over finished in the Top 100 (31 in 2021, 40 in 2020)
  • 16 players 25-and-under in Top 30 – up from four in 2014 and most since 17 in 2008
  • 13 players from USA in year-end Top 100 – most since 14 in 1995 and most of any country in 2022
  • Nine Americans in year-end Top 50 – most since nine in 1996 and most of any country in 2022
  • Nine #NextGenATP players in year-end Top 100 (born in 2001 or later)
  • Four Britons in year-end Top 50 for first time (No. 14 Cameron Norrie, No. 27 Daniel Evans, No. 42 Jack Draper, No. 49 Andy Murray)
  • Two Aussies, No. 22 Nick Kyrgios and No. 24 Alex de Minaur, finish in Top 25 for first time since 2003 (No. 9 Mark Philippoussis, No. 17 Lleyton Hewitt)

The 2023 ATP Tour season begins on 29 December 2022 with the 18-country United Cup, which will take place across Australia in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

View Full 2022 Year-End Pepperstone ATP Rankings

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