Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have shared the world number one spot in their dominance on the ATP Tour in the last two years.
Sinner was world number one for much of 2025, until Alcaraz was able to oust him when he won the US Open.
Alcaraz extended his lead over Sinner at the Australian Open by lifting the trophy, while the Italian lost out to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Despite there being 2850 ranking points between them ahead of the Qatar Open, Sinner now has an excellent opportunity to become the world number one once again.
Jannik Sinner heads into a very important period if he wants to become world number one
Sinner missed three months of the season due to his ATP ban in 2025 following his victory at the Australian Open.
After the Grand Slam, Sinner did not return to ATP Tour action until the Italian Open at the beginning of May.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
That means Sinner now has a three month period where he is not defending any ranking points, and he could make up huge ground on his Spanish rival.
That includes four ATP 1000 events in Miami, Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, and Madrid, where Sinner will essentially be given a free hit.
If Sinner even wins just a handful of tournaments in the next three months, he will very likely become the world number one again.
How many points is Carlos Alcaraz defending in the next three months?
Thankfully for Alcaraz, he did not perform spectacularly in 2025 while Sinner was out of action due to his ban.
The star only won one ATP 1000 tournament, at Monte Carlo, so he will have all of those points to defend on the clay.
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He reached the semi-finals of Indian Wells, which is another huge slice of points to defend, but he will now be thankful for his early exit at the hands of David Goffin in Miami.
Elsewhere, Alcaraz reached the final of the Barcelona Open and the quarter-final of the Qatar Open, so the pressure will be on Alcaraz to perform over the next three months.
Despite Alcaraz’s iconic victory at the Australian Open, you would imagine Sinner will be confident of becoming world number one before Roland Garros.
