Jannik Sinner’s lead at the top of the ATP Rankings may be commanding for now, but he will need to continue his flawless form if he is to avoid a nail-biting race to finish 2025 at the top.
Sinner has arrived in Cincinnati as he prepares to play his first tournament since winning Wimbledon in convincing fashion by beating his big rival Carlos Alcaraz last month.
Sinner and Alcaraz were among the big names who opted to skip playing in this week’s ATP 1000 tournament in Toronto in favour of an extended break after the grass court season, but the trio are expected to be in action in what will be the final big warm-up tournament ahead of this month’s US Open.
The sight of Sinner practicing in Cincinnati on Sunday confirmed he was eager to get acclimatised to conditions early, as he may not play his first match in the tournament until next weekend.
He had been practicing in Monte-Carlo prior to flying to America and footage of him applying new grips to his racket were posted by Cincinnati tournament officials as he took to the courts ahead of the defence of the title he won last year.
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Sinner’s return to Cincinnati will doubtless give him some flashbacks from this time last year, as he won the tournament shortly before the world discovered he had tested positive in a doping test a few months earlier.
The last 12 months have seen Sinner win three Grand Slams, cement his status as world No 1 and also serve a three-month suspension following that positive test.
Now he is facing a crucial few weeks as he will be defending 5,800 ranking points between now and the end of 2025.
If those points were taken off his total now, Sinner would lose his world No 1 status and would be close to dropping down to No 3.
Morning chores for defending champion @janniksin pic.twitter.com/nlp8y4Cm8y
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 3, 2025
That scenario is unlikely to be a concern as the prospect of hard court king Sinner drawing a blank as he looks to defend his titles in Cincinnati, as well as at the US Open, the Shanghai Masters and the ATP Finals in Italy in November.
If Sinner does not retain all those titles, his ranking points total will drop and the biggest threat to his dominance will come from Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has just 1,050 ranking points to defend after he endured an inconsistent finish to 2024, so that gives him a big chance to make up ground on Sinner.
Sinner currently has a 3,430 lead in the rankings from Alcaraz and while he is a strong favourite to finish this year as world No 1, a dip in form or an injury could derail his ambitions in double quick time.
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