Carlos Alcaraz holds a healthy lead over his big rival Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings, but an alternative lists suggests the Italian is a step ahead of the Spaniard.
Alcaraz cemented his position at the top of the ATP Rankings with a stunning at the Australian Open in January, with Sinner suffering a shock defeat as he lost against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
That loss for Sinner ended a run of three straight Grand Slam finals contested between Alcaraz and Sinner and the duo will be looking to re-establish their dominance when they return to action at this week’s Indian Wells Masters event.
The ATP 1000 tournament is one of the showpiece moments of the tennis year and Sinner will have a big chance to close the gap Alcaraz has opened up on him in the ATP Rankings.
Sinner missed Indian Wells and the Miami Open event that follows it in March last year as he was serving a doping suspension, so all the points he collects in these two events this year will bolster his current ranking.
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He won’t have a chance to overtake Alcaraz in the ATP Rankings until the middle of this year, but he has been given a boost on the eve of the Indian Wells tournament after it was confirmed he is world No 1 in an alternative rankings list.
The UTR rankings are calculated using a different method to the traditional ATP list, with current form and the ranking of your opponent taken into account when the final analysis is made.
The method for calculating the UTR ratings differs greatly from the rolling ATP list, which ranks players based on the points they collect over 52 weeks.
Victories against higher-ranked played are worth more in the UTR list than the official ATP or WTA ranking, meaning they offer up a more accurate reflection of the current form at the top of the game.
The UTR rankings are based on the current form from the last few weeks and months rather than reflecting results that occurred up to a year ago, with the system created to promote fair and competitive play across the tennis world.
All players, regardless of age, gender, geography, or skill level, are rated on the same scale between 1.00 and 16.50 based on actual match results.
The UTR rankings have been endorsed by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who has suggested they may offer a more accurate reflection of the current form in the game.
Alcaraz and Sinner have been swapping positions in the UTR Rankings for the last couple of years, but it is the latter who has claimed top spot despite a couple of defeats at the start of 2026.
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Sinner will be keen to reaffirm his aura as he returns to Indian Wells, with former British No 1 Tim Henman suggesting the route to tactics required the Italian are tough to execute.
“The way to play Sinner is very easy when you talk about it. Your serve aces and you hit winners,” said Henman, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.
“That is easier said than done, of course, and the reason there is a gap between Alcaraz and Sinner is their level is so consistently high.
“What we saw at the Australian Open was the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner in their two matches against Novak Djokovic.
“Sinner has been the best player on hard courts for the last couple of years and even when Djokovic was pushing him, he didn’t change his game. He backed himself to win and he came up short.
“He tried to fight fire with fire and was just going for it. If anything, that played into Djokovic’s hands.
“Then you look at the final against Alcaraz and when Djokovic wins the first set 6-2, you are thinking maybe this can happened and Grand Slam No 25 is coming for Djokovic, but Alcaraz did have the variation in his game to change his tactics and he turned the match around.
“He started playing with more height on the ball, used his slice backhand and found a way to win.”
Sinner is in the bottom half of the Indian Wells draw and he could face big-serving American Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.
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