Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s rankings battle at the ATP Finals is not only crucial in terms of the year-end No 1 spot, but it will also decide who is the top seed at next year’s Australian Open.
With Alcaraz losing early at the Paris Masters, Sinner reclaimed top spot in the ATP Rankings with a title run at the ATP 1000 event in the French capital as he returned to No 1, having lost this position to the Spaniard after the US Open.
The Italian leads his rival by only 250 points [Sinner is on 11,500 points compared to Alcaraz’s 11,250], but his stay at the top will be brief as they will swap places again when the rankings are updated this coming Monday as points from the 2024 ATP Finals will be removed.
But their final positions will be determined after this year’s season-ending tournament in Turin with Alcaraz the favourite to finish the year at No 1 and it will be crucial as it will also confirm who will be the top seed at the 2026 Australian Open.
Following a rule change, entries for the 2026 Australia swing – including the season-opening Grand Slam – will be based on the year-end ATP Rankings, with the final update taking place on November 17, the day after the ATP Finals conclude.
In the past, the entries for the Australian Open were only determined one week before the start of the tournament. For example, this year’s Melbourne event started on January 13 and seedings were based on the rankings of January 6.
The thinking behind the tweak is that it will stop players from battling for ranking points at lower-tier events during December and early January to secure a last-minute entry into the hard-court major.
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The change will not only have an impact on the official main draw and qualifying lists for the Australian Open, but also the seedings with this week’s Moselle Open and Hellenic Championships and next week’s ATP Finals the final ATP Tour events.
The points players earn on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour before the cutoff date of November 17 will also count and give those lower down the rankings a chance to qualify.
But of course, it will also determine the top 32 seeds.
As things stand in the Live Rankings, Alcaraz has already regained top spot from Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic is up to No 4 as he is in action at the Hellenic Championships, while Jack Draper has been confirmed as the year-end No 1 despite missing the final few months of the season due to injury.
Top 10 In Live Rankings:
1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Ben Shelton
6. Taylor Fritz
7. Alex de Minaur
8. Felix Auger-Aliassime
9. Lorenzo Musetti
10. Jack Draper
Djokovic and Musetti are still in action in Athens this week while the top eight players will also feature at next week’s ATP Finals, so there could still be a few changes to the top 10.
In terms of the remaining players currently among the top 32, only Cameron Norrie is still in action as he has reached the quarter-final in Metz and a title run could see him rise to No 24.
Meanwhile, Valentin Vacherot – who was outside the top 100 just over a month ago – is set to be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career as he is at No 29 following his Shanghai Masters title run.
Rest Of The Seeds:
11. Alexander Bulbik
12. Casper Ruud
13. Daniil Medvedev
14. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
15. Holger Rune
16. Andrey Rublev
17. Jiri Lehecka
18. Karen Khachanov
19. Jakub Mensik
20. Tommy Paul
21. Francisco Cerundolo
22. Flavio Cobolli
23. Denis Shapovalov
24. Joao Fonseca
25. Tallon Griekspoor
26. Luciano Darderi
27. Arthur Rinderknech
28. Frances Tiafoe
29. Valentin Vacherot
30. Cameron Norrie
31. Tomas Machac
32. Brandon Nakashima
As for those outside the current seeding positions, Learner Tien (No 37), Lorenzo Sonego (No 42) and Alexandre Muller (No 43) could still move into the top 32.
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t be seeded for the first time since 2018 as he is at No 33 and has not played since the US Open.
The post ATP Rankings: How rule change will affect seedings at 2026 Australian Open appeared first on Tennis365.
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